page_title: Brutalist architecture
section_title: Brutalism today
hierarchical_section_title: Brutalist architecture / Brutalism today
caption_attribution_description: Български: Автогара Престън, Престън, Ланкашър, Англия English: Preston bus station, in Preston, Lancashire, England. Polski: Dworzec autobusowy, Preston, Lancashire, Anglia. Русский: Автовокзал Престона, Ланкашир, Англия. Українська: Автовокзал Престона, Ланкашир, Англія.
context_page_description: Brutalist architecture, or New Brutalism, is an architectural style which emerged during the 1950s in Great Britain, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel, timber and glass, are also featured.
  Descending from the modernist movement, Brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. Derived from the Swedish phrase nybrutalism, the term "New Brutalism" was first used by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson for their pioneering approach to design. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic Reyner Banham, who also associated the movement with the French phrases béton brut and art brut.
context_section_description: Although the Brutalist movement was largely over by the late 1970s and early 1980s, having largely given way to Structural Expressionism and Deconstructivism, it has experienced a resurgence of interest since 2015 with the publication of a variety of guides and books, including the Brutalist London Map (2015), This Brutal World (2016), SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey (2017) as well as the lavish Atlas of Brutalist Architecture (Phaidon, 2018).
  Many of the defining aspects of the style have been softened in newer buildings, with concrete façades often being sandblasted to create a stone-like surface, covered in stucco, or composed of patterned, pre-cast elements. These elements are also found in renovations of older Brutalist buildings, such as the redevelopment of Sheffield's Park Hill. Cladding of the exterior may be undertaken in part to improve the neighbours' view, and cladding itself may bring fire risks; this is widely seen to be one of the causes of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
  Villa Göth was listed as historically significant, due to its extreme architecture and "Brutalist" description inspiring a new building style, by the Uppsala county administrative board on March 3, 1995. Several Brutalist buildings in the United Kingdom have been granted listed status as historic and others, such as the Pirelli Building in New Haven's Long Wharf, and Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's St. Peter's Seminary, named by Prospect magazine's survey of architects as Scotland's greatest post-war building, have been the subject of conservation campaigns. The Twentieth Century Society has unsuccessfully campaigned against the demolition of British buildings such as the Tricorn Centre and Trinity Square multi-storey car park, but successfully in the case of Preston bus station garage, London's Hayward Gallery and others.
  Notable buildings that have been demolished include the Smithson's Robin Hood Gardens (2017) in East London, John Madin's Birmingham Central Library (2016), Marcel Breuer's American Press Institute Building in Reston, Virginia, and Araldo Cossutta's Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, D.C. (2014).
  Notable buildings which are threatened include the Sirius building in Sydney and Atlanta Central Library in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The Welbeck Street car park in London was demolished in October 2019.
  Game developer Remedy Entertainment used the concept of Brutalism for the Oldest House in the 2019 paranormal/shooter video game Control.
caption: After two unsuccessful proposals to demolish Preston bus station (Lancashire, UK), it gained Grade II listed building status in September 2013
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