Design & architecture
Brutalism: how the world's most hated concrete became beloved
11 min
The raw-concrete style once condemned as ugly and oppressive is now fiercely defended and preserved. Explore the postwar utopian ideals behind Brutalism and why our feelings about it flipped.
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Show notes
Postwar steel shortages forced Le Corbusier to use raw concrete, creating the foundation for the Brutalist movement.
Architects designed elevated walkways called streets in the sky to foster social interaction in modern housing estates.
Porous concrete and rusting steel bars caused visual decay that turned public opinion against these massive structures.
Author Ian Fleming named the villain Goldfinger after a prominent Brutalist architect he personally disliked.
Demolishing concrete buildings releases massive amounts of embodied carbon, making adaptive reuse a vital environmental strategy.
Social media platforms like Instagram have sparked a design revival by highlighting harsh shadows and repetitive geometries.
In this episode
- 1Intro1 min
- 2The Raw Truth of Béton Brut2 min
- 3Utopian Foundations in a Broken World3 min
- 4The Great Concrete Backlash3 min
- 5The Preservation Paradox and Embodied Carbon2 min
- 6Outro1 min
Sources
- Why We Love/Hate Brutalist Architecture - JSTOR Daily
- BBC Arts - BBC Arts - The concrete truth? Brutalism can be beautiful
- Why architects appreciate brutalism, even if you don't : NPR
- Brutalist architecture: Love it or loathe it?
- Brutalist architecture
- An Introduction to Brutalism: The Iconic Postwar Architectural Style That Combined Utopianism and Concrete | Open Culture
- What Is Brutalism? The Cultural Impact of Utopian Architecture and Why It Endures Today | 20th Century Design | Sotheby’s
- Brutalist Architecture Is Divisive—Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Style to Determine Your Stance | Architectural Digest
- The Brutalists - 99% Invisible
- A Short History of Brutalist Architecture – Foreign Policy
- Brutalist architecture
- What Is Brutalist Architecture, and Why Is It Important?
- Unité d'habitation
- The era of radical concrete - BBC News
- Banham
- Brutalist buildings: Unité d'Habitation by Le Corbusier
- From “As Found” to Bush-Hammered Concrete – Material and Texture in Brutalist Architecture - IOPscience
- AD Classics: The Barbican Estate / Chamberlin, Powell and Bon Architects | ArchDaily
- Béton brut
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