I’m not a fan of Le Corbusier, but this man (who is inspired by him) adds elements of beauty to Brutalism.
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I would argue that the vast majority of Tadao Ando’s work is not considered Brutalist Architecture and shouldn’t be considered that just because he uses concrete. Concrete itself is not what necessarily defines Brutalist architecture, its the forms, massing, and expression of the material that defines it, but also the time period because Brutalism was a movement, and while brutalist styled buildings are still built today, I wouldn’t classify most modern concrete based builds as being brutalist.
Le Corbusier was indeed a major player in the Brutalist movement with other buildings eventually taking inspiration from his Unité d’Habitation de Marseille, but he also partook in the International style. Tadao Ando also took inspiration from Louis Kahn, who, while also having many concrete based buildings that were influenced by thw brutalist movement, did not necessarily design them in the brutalist style.
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Le Corbusier all the way.
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I hate Brutalism. Here’s an article.
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Almost all the brutalist buildings used on college campuses and for similar institutional purposes (for example: Pace in NYC, the NYPD building by the Brooklyn Bridge) are ugly as sin. It’s hard to identify a Brutalist building that isn’t ugly. These institutions should do everyone a favour and remove those heinous eyesores and replace them with more thoughtful and attractive edifices.
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https://www.archpaper.com/2025/01/boston-city-hall-historic-landmark/
Arguably, one of the most hated buildings in Boston - is now a landmark…
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it’s so good though
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As this style goes the Hirshhorn Museum in DC is not too bad. And the interior is actually pretty good.
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No it’s not. That thing is absolutely an eyesore and landmarking it is a crime that ensures it persists for eternity.
There’s cool brutalism and then there’s ugly-as-sin brutalism. This one is in the “ugly-as-sin” category.
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Isn’t that like saying Henry Rollins is a bit too hardcore?
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ALC11–Glad to agree to disagree. That’s what makes attitudes about architecture interesting. I’ll add that I lived in DC for 35 years and went to the museum often. My feelings about it didn’t change over the long haul. Not a great building but not a terrible one either.
If your initial critical comment was about Boston City Hall I don’t like that one either. The posting order led me to think you were thinking of the Hirshhorn.
Yeah - it was about the city hall in Boston - which I personally dislike.
the Hirshhorn is not bad, the curves help to soften the look
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I was being critical of Boston City Hall. The Hirshhorn is neat. I saw it in person before.
Ugh. It takes up so much space. You could put four cool skyscrapers in the space that monstrosity occupies.
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I love brutalism.
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