Brutalist Architecture Is Divisive-Here's Everything You Need to Know About the Style to Determine Your Stance

"The style is characterized by raw, exposed concrete and bold geometric forms. You've certainly seen it before in many cultural and civic buildings built between the 1950s and '70s. With countless examples spanning countries and continents, the look has both historical significance and remains popular-particularly in residential design-today."

"If modernism is about architecture being honest, Brutalist design is about architecture being brutally honest. Forms are as simple as can be and materials are stripped to be as bare and raw as possible."

"Brutalist architecture is a style of building design developed in the 1950s in the United Kingdom following World War II. With an emphasis on construction and raw materials, the aesthetic evolved as reconstruction efforts were underway in the post-war era."

Brutalist architecture emerged in the 1950s in the United Kingdom following World War II, emphasizing construction and raw materials during post-war reconstruction. The style is defined by exposed concrete and bold geometric forms, representing an approach where architecture is brutally honest about its materials and construction. The term Brutalism derives from the French word 'beton brut' meaning raw concrete, with Swedish architect Hans Asplund credited with coining it in 1949. British architectural critic Reyner Banham popularized the term through his 1955 essay 'The New Brutalism' and later a 1969 book. The style remains historically significant and continues influencing contemporary residential design, though it generates polarized reactions from both enthusiasts and detractors.

Read at Architectural Digest