What is Brutalism?
--
“A house is a machine for living in.” Le Corbusier
Brutalism is an architectural style characterized by massive, geometric, and monolithic forms with unfinished surfaces and exposed structural elements. The style emerged in the early fifties as European countries endeavored to reconstruct their cities after the war.
Brutalist architecture examples include institutional buildings and public housing, especially in Eastern Europe and the United Kingdom. The term Brutalism comes from beton brut, meaning raw concrete in French, and it is the aesthetic most often associated with this style.
The style went out of fashion in the 70s, as it was associated with Socialism. However, it is making a strong comeback in modern architecture and interiors due to its authentic aesthetic. Additionally, Brutalist designs are attractive, with exposed concrete surfaces with wooden and metallic furniture and fittings.
How Did the Brutalist Movement Emerge?
Brutalist architecture emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the cultural and social needs of post-World War II Europe. As the war destroyed the cities throughout the continent, the need to reconstruct housing and other urban buildings became necessary.
Due to the scale of reconstruction required, Brutalism became popular as it featured simple and functional designs with cheap materials. Although it borrows from other mid-century modernist styles, the Brutalist style is notable for its modular designs that enable mass reproduction, functionality, and monumentality.
Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille is one of the first examples of the Brutalist style in urban planning. Le Corbusier, born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887–1965), was a Swiss-French architect and one of the pioneers of modernist architecture.
The Unité d’Habitation (1945–1952) is a 12-story mixed-use housing development featuring modular apartment units with shops, restaurants, and educational and recreational facilities on every third floor and rooftop. Le Corbusier described his design as “the radiant city” because it included every service a resident might need within the building.
The design also pioneered some aspects that identify the Brutalist style. These include modular units that fit with the main structure, undecorated raw concrete exterior surfaces, and the vertical garden city concept.
Le Corbusier’s ideas about architecture emerged from his “machine for living” concept, which focused on designing functional, efficient, and affordable buildings with raw concrete (beton brut).
While he did not explicitly identify with the Brutalist movement, many of the early Brutalist architects were inspired by his works, referring to the style as Neo Brutalism. His designs for the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University are considered early examples of Brutalist architecture.
What Are the Features of Brutalism?
The design features of the Brutalist aesthetic include raw, undecorated concrete surfaces and simple geometric forms with a focus on the functional, efficient, and affordable aspects of the design. Let’s look at these design features in more detail below.
Raw Concrete/ Beton Brut
Raw concrete is the hallmark of this design style, pioneered by Le Corbusier. He used concrete to emphasize monumentality, durability, and strength in his buildings.
The concrete in Brutalist designs is typically left unfinished to highlight its raw nature as a design aspect and also reduce the costs of finishing the surfaces.
In modern Brutalism, the raw concrete ceilings and walls are often rough, with patterns left by the formwork contributing to the overall aesthetic. Other alternative textures designers may use to achieve the design include exposed brick or masonry blocks or walls and ceilings finished in grey stucco.
Geometric Forms
Brutalist buildings typically feature geometric forms like prisms, cubes, rectangles, and squares. The use of repetitive geometric shapes conveys order and rhythm in the design. Additionally, it creates modular units that make the design fluid, allowing easy expansion or contraction of the building.
Similarly, Brutalist interiors often showcase geometric shapes in furniture and decoration that project clean and efficient spaces. Also, structural elements like columns, beams, and joints are often left visible to emphasize the structure.
Functionality
Brutalism emerged when many countries were rebuilding their cities after World War II. Thus, architects of the time focused their designs on functional and efficient buildings that governments could build affordably.
Functionality is a design principle inspired by American architect Louis Sullivan, who created the concept that “form ever follows function” in 1896.
Sullivan believed a building’s design should focus on its intended function or purpose over its aesthetic. Thus, the form of a building should emerge from its intended function, and the architect’s role is to create a functional and beautiful design.
These ideas were instrumental in developing modern architecture in the 20th century. Many architects who followed in his footsteps, such as Le Corbusier, embraced the concept as their guiding principle.
In Brutalism, the architects used simple and modular designs with minimal ornamentation to develop functional spaces with less emphasis on beauty.
Thus, this style of construction became favored for functional buildings. The use of concrete was an authentic expression of the structure, with its form emerging from the material and its properties.
How to Create a Brutalist Interior
Brutalism-inspired interiors have become popular recently as people embrace minimalist interiors with durable and natural materials for sustainability. Here are some tips for creating a modern Brutalist interior for your home.
Embrace Concrete
Raw concrete is the defining feature of Brutalist design. Exposed concrete walls or ceilings featuring rough and uneven surfaces with lines left over by the formwork create an industrial feel.
On the other hand, you can experiment with polished concrete countertops or tables to provide a functional and modern aesthetic.
Keep it Simple
Brutalist interiors typically reflect minimalist ideals with clean, uncluttered spaces, focusing on functionality and efficiency. They are characterized by simple decors with a limited color palette of neutral tones, including grey, black, and white, with warm, diffused lighting.
The furniture is also typically simple, functional, and unadorned with ornamentation or decoration. Choose furniture pieces that emphasize clean lines, geometrical forms, and symmetry.
However, consider using a few bold color accents to add visual interest to your space without overwhelming its simplicity.
Incorporate Natural Materials
While concrete is the dominant feature of your interior, you can balance it with natural materials like leather and wood and natural fibers like wool, linen, and cotton. These materials can soften the hardness of concrete and provide warmth and texture to your space.
On the flip side, if your space doesn’t have unfinished concrete surfaces, you can alternate with a grey stucco finish to mimic concrete. Other options include using exposed brick or stone block walls, unadorned metal fixtures, and wooden floors.
