Brutalist Architecture
- Thread starter jeff2
- Start date
I'm not a fan and always felt that way. York U is a classic example as mentioned by @Ponderling. "New" construction in the last two decades has toned down the stark and cold concrete slabs at York a bit but still an unattractive campus. Many examples in downtown Hamilton as well. The overall effect is a cold an uninviting place. Large expansive walls with no tecture and too few openings, especially on the ground floor.
The original Robert Campeau condos on Queens Quay near the Ferry Docks are another ugly example. As is the (former) Harbour Castle hotel beside it.
U of T Scarborough also has some rather famous brutalist architecture. Apologies for the BlogTO link. As the name implies I find the style rather oppressive, but I start to enjoy it more with some age patina, liberal amounts of interior and exterior greenery, and relatively minimalist interior design. Basically, brutalism with some of the brutal aged out of it.
Yeah, but they definitely can withstand sustained naval bombardments from USN's Great Lakes fleet the likes of which has seldom been seen before.
And the Westin Harbour Castle Pillbox Hotel and Armoury was built with no discernible entranceway for mere mortal humans with the added bonus of being able to destroy on contact any American Bunker Buster bombs unleashed upon it!
Brutalist architecture is adored by architects and purists (the inherit structure is the building expression). Owners and builders favoured it because they saved on claddings. The style did little to contribute meaningfully to the communities they lived in (hence the name). A brutalist structure on it's own can make a statement. A whole campus of brutalist buildings is best saved for prisons.
...and dystopian movies and TV, which actually kind of worked out...
Everything after Art Deco looks ugly to me.
Seeing the photo of Robarts Library in Jeff2’s original post on this thread reminded me that there’s a rumour that it was designed to look like a turkey, so I went to Perplexity (an AI bot) and asked about that rumour. According to Perplexity, the resemblance was not intended. I don’t know if I buy that — it looks way too much like a turkey. It’s got to be deliberate.
Seeing the photo of Robarts Library in Jeff2’s original post on this thread reminded me that there’s a rumour that it was designed to look like a turkey, so I went to Perplexity (an AI bot) and asked about that rumour. According to Perplexity, the resemblance was not intended. I don’t know if I buy that — it looks way too much like a turkey. It’s got to be deliberate.
Read From Bauhaus to Our House. Says it all. I hated the movie The Brutalist for glorifying this nonsense and for taking a big shit on America as a place to emigrate to.
There are lots of reasons to hate The Brutalist, but, while watching it, I suspected that part of its propagandistic intention was to make us think that ugly buildings are not ugly.
Exactly. In other words, the perpetual MO of any Marxist inspired system. It can only sustain itself through repression, and suppression of truth. If you can persuade people that boys should be allowed in girls lockers and sports, you can persuade people of anything.
"Who are you going to believe, the state, or your own lying eyes?"
"Who are you going to believe, the state, or your own lying eyes?"
