Beautiful Brutality

Washington, D.C. Metro
Architect: Harry Weese/Late 1960s



Geisel Library, UC-San Diego
Architect: William Pereira/Late 1960s



Berkeley Art Museum
Architect: Mario Ciampi/Late 1960s



Boston City Hall
Architects: Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles/Mid 1960s



Phaeno Science Centre, Wolfsburg Germany
Architect: Zaha Hadid/Early 2000s
*Although not part of the original movement, undoubtedly inspired by... and too awesome not to include.







Last two photos Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina, Buenos Aires
Architects: Clorindo Testa, Francisco Bullrich and Alicia Cazzaniga


When we were in Buenos Aires in May, we stayed in Recoleta about 5 blocks from the Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina. Getting to see this building in person was one of the highlights of our trip. Originally founded in 1810 and located in another part of town, the library is built on the site of Quinta Unzue, the palace of the Peron's during their terms in office. In 1952, Evita Peron died here and due to the government's concern that the home may become a shrine they had it demolished. The government decided to build the new library on the site but due to political upheaval, financial scandals and disagreements over the design, which were finalized in the 60s, it took 3 decades to finish the project. It's a quintessintial example of Brutalist architecture... which is a movement that flourished from the 50s through the mid 70s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement. The term was coined in 1954, from the French béton brut, or "raw concrete", a phrase used by Le Corbusier to describe his choice of material.