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February 4, 2015 2:09 PM Subscribe
A collection of paper cut-out models representing brutalist architecture of London from 1960s-1970s. See also Warsaw.
One of the shorter intervals between seeing a Metafilter post and spending some money for me there.
posted by sobarel at 2:25 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sobarel at 2:25 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is awesome but I wish it was a nicer selection of buildings.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 2:43 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 2:43 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
They need to follow it up with Brutal New York, featuring Albany (Empire State Plaza), Buffalo (Court Building), Goshen (Orange County Government Center), The City So Nice They Had to Name it Twice, Poughkeepsie (Eleanor Roosevelt State Office Building), and White Plains (Westchester Public Library and Richard J. Daronco Westchester County Courthouse) to name just a few.
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:44 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:44 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Looks like the box they came in. I'm sorry to brutalism fans, but these buildings are ugly.
posted by adept256 at 2:45 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 2:45 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
I like brutalism because it's ugly. I can never really tell if the architect made the building look that way on purpose, or because they had an abundance of concrete and a short deadline. Brutalism is like the lovable '70s schlock B-movie genre of architecture.
posted by wormwood23 at 2:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by wormwood23 at 2:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
The fifth floor landing smells of fish.
Not just on Friday, every single ot-her day.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:04 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not just on Friday, every single ot-her day.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:04 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Brutalism isn't ugly, it's utopian. It's beautiful. (There are certainly individual ugly brutalist buildings, and I am a bit skeptical of all buildings shaped like tall tin cans.)
I used to hate it and make fun of it, but I pass by a number of brutalist buildings on my way to work - and indeed, work in one - and seeing them in different light over time really changed my perspective. I love how they look like science fiction buildings. (I always think how my particular building looks like what the sand people from Star Wars would build if they built a university complex.) I love how, when you're in a brutalist building, you're always encountering unusually-angled views - windows in odd places that give you views like some kind of modern painting, balconies and courtyards and odd little corners. I love how brutalist buildings are maybe the last kind of buildings where they were not afraid to be ugly and a little weird instead of anodyne pomo glass capitalist towers with that ubiquitous blue-silver reflective glass that are "pretty" just like a "serious" television drama is "intellectual". I love how brutalist buildings are not perfectly rationalized. I love how you're supposed to be aware of the building, not just moved along to your little cubicle in the sky.
A lot of brutalist buildings, too, were intended to be surrounded by greenery - even though that's usually too much luxury for the poor and the universities. There was some older one that used to be in London that had basically hanging gardens and elevated bridge connecting sections all over plants and trees, and it was amazing. Gone now, I expect.
posted by Frowner at 3:11 PM on February 4, 2015 [23 favorites]
I used to hate it and make fun of it, but I pass by a number of brutalist buildings on my way to work - and indeed, work in one - and seeing them in different light over time really changed my perspective. I love how they look like science fiction buildings. (I always think how my particular building looks like what the sand people from Star Wars would build if they built a university complex.) I love how, when you're in a brutalist building, you're always encountering unusually-angled views - windows in odd places that give you views like some kind of modern painting, balconies and courtyards and odd little corners. I love how brutalist buildings are maybe the last kind of buildings where they were not afraid to be ugly and a little weird instead of anodyne pomo glass capitalist towers with that ubiquitous blue-silver reflective glass that are "pretty" just like a "serious" television drama is "intellectual". I love how brutalist buildings are not perfectly rationalized. I love how you're supposed to be aware of the building, not just moved along to your little cubicle in the sky.
A lot of brutalist buildings, too, were intended to be surrounded by greenery - even though that's usually too much luxury for the poor and the universities. There was some older one that used to be in London that had basically hanging gardens and elevated bridge connecting sections all over plants and trees, and it was amazing. Gone now, I expect.
posted by Frowner at 3:11 PM on February 4, 2015 [23 favorites]
these buildings are ugly.
Not only ugly, downright anti-human. The most striking part of Orson Welles's The Trial was how bleak and soulless were the architecture and landscapes of mid-century Yugoslavia.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:17 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not only ugly, downright anti-human. The most striking part of Orson Welles's The Trial was how bleak and soulless were the architecture and landscapes of mid-century Yugoslavia.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:17 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Some of the newer buildings in London are pretty ugly -- like The Shard (or as I call it, The Stupid Shard. I was recently in London, so I'd say to my husband "So, where's The Stupid Shard?" or "Look, it's that Stupid Shard again!" or "Gah -- The Stupid Shard is in the way!")
And now there's that Walkie Talkie building which looks like it should be bouncing up and down in some animated short. It just looks wrong.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 3:24 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
And now there's that Walkie Talkie building which looks like it should be bouncing up and down in some animated short. It just looks wrong.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 3:24 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Walkie Talkie building
Gah! It's wretched! Is there a name for that style of architecture? I suggest cute-alism.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:46 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Gah! It's wretched! Is there a name for that style of architecture? I suggest cute-alism.
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:46 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
California has a wealth of brutalist architecture, which may be why I love it so much.
My personal favorites are the Oakland Museum of California and the Geisel Library at UCSD. I think the latter is my favoritest building in the entire world.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:48 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
My personal favorites are the Oakland Museum of California and the Geisel Library at UCSD. I think the latter is my favoritest building in the entire world.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:48 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh and the Oakland Museum is a good example of what Frowner said about brutalist structures and greenery. It kind of melds with the earth... as much as a bunch of giant blocks of concrete can, anyway.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:52 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by elsietheeel at 3:52 PM on February 4, 2015
I think there's also well-done brutalism and appallingly-done brutalism, and it's way too easy to do do brutalism badly. Like Frowner, I work in a brutalist building, and I've come to love it. (Until last summer, we had a green roof on part of the building, and that was entirely awesome.) And when you put brutalism in a green environment, it's got a strangely soothing scifi feel. (Altho: a giant concrete building in the forest is about the worst place to get a cell signal.)
posted by epersonae at 4:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by epersonae at 4:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Those buildings are gorgeous, compared to the god-awful concrete madness that my city (Monterrey) decided to build in the late 70s early 80s.
Palace of Justice
State Congress
State Theater
State Library
posted by Omon Ra at 5:16 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Palace of Justice
State Congress
State Theater
State Library
posted by Omon Ra at 5:16 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I would like to see a cutout of Wurster Hall , which houses Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. My friends in the program, who would disappear for days at a time to complete their design projects, would be said to be "wursterbating".
posted by Edward L at 5:49 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Edward L at 5:49 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
That Balfron Tower is just gorgeous. I wish they'd come up with a different name for this architectural movement. People hear "brutalism" and it just weirdly overrides their capacity to actually look at the building. There are bad brutalist buildings, of course, but no more than in any other style. And the best brutalist buildings are among the greatest buildings of the C20th.
posted by yoink at 6:01 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 6:01 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
No one has mentioned the HUD Building? For shame.
The thing I love the most about Brutalism is the way that the concrete can take the impression of the mould, so in some ways it's super regular, but then the patina it gets through aging makes any individual cell or frame or block or whatever unit very individual at the same time.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 6:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The thing I love the most about Brutalism is the way that the concrete can take the impression of the mould, so in some ways it's super regular, but then the patina it gets through aging makes any individual cell or frame or block or whatever unit very individual at the same time.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 6:55 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The Walkie Talkie? You mean the Death Ray (previously)?
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:02 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:02 PM on February 4, 2015
The way the concrete takes the impression of the mold means it will snag on your clothes if you brush up against it. It's like the building hates you. I'm with the fellow earlier that called them anti-human. Cold grey slabs of soul-less concrete, weathering with grime and decay. They remind me of bunkers and machine gun posts. It's like bauhaus became ill.
Again I apologise. What a boring world it would be if we all shared the same aesthetics. But I must say I really dislike this architectural principle. Many people agree, which is why much of brutalism is being torn down these days.
posted by adept256 at 7:35 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Again I apologise. What a boring world it would be if we all shared the same aesthetics. But I must say I really dislike this architectural principle. Many people agree, which is why much of brutalism is being torn down these days.
posted by adept256 at 7:35 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I agree there are some brutalist beauties, but, man, I spent 9 years commuting to a brutalist behemoth 5 days a week and it kind of sucks the hope from your bones. Concrete on the inside walls! It was like some horrible re-education centre.
Context is important--the blah blocky grey shapes can look fantastic in the sun, surrounded by greenery, like the Oakland Museum. Whereas in a place where overcast skies and perpetual drizzle are the norm, it's like Nature and Man and Art are conspiring to make you forget joy.
posted by looli at 7:41 PM on February 4, 2015
Context is important--the blah blocky grey shapes can look fantastic in the sun, surrounded by greenery, like the Oakland Museum. Whereas in a place where overcast skies and perpetual drizzle are the norm, it's like Nature and Man and Art are conspiring to make you forget joy.
posted by looli at 7:41 PM on February 4, 2015
I spent three years in grad school in this concrete bunker of a building and everything about it sucked. It leaked. You couldn't get any cell or wifi service in it and it was cold and dark and noisy.
posted by octothorpe at 7:58 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by octothorpe at 7:58 PM on February 4, 2015
octothorpe: I love Mother Wean. ...But I can understand why you'd hate working in it.
You've heard the story of the time the roof caught on fire, right? Sometime back in the 90s, maybe, the tar? on the roof caught on fire. But either the fire alarms didn't work, or were too quiet, or went off too often so people ignored them. People in the Wean clusters were informed of the fire by people in *other* clusters sending them pictures by means of old-school file sharing.
Sadly, they're moving the cheeto to be in front of some freshling dorms.
Also it makes a great playing field for capture the flag.
posted by you could feel the sky at 10:21 PM on February 4, 2015
You've heard the story of the time the roof caught on fire, right? Sometime back in the 90s, maybe, the tar? on the roof caught on fire. But either the fire alarms didn't work, or were too quiet, or went off too often so people ignored them. People in the Wean clusters were informed of the fire by people in *other* clusters sending them pictures by means of old-school file sharing.
Sadly, they're moving the cheeto to be in front of some freshling dorms.
Also it makes a great playing field for capture the flag.
posted by you could feel the sky at 10:21 PM on February 4, 2015
What a boring world it would be if we all shared the same aesthetics.
Boring, sure, but think how pretty it would be!
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:15 AM on February 5, 2015
Boring, sure, but think how pretty it would be!
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:15 AM on February 5, 2015
There was some older one that used to be in London that had basically hanging gardens and elevated bridge connecting sections all over plants and trees, and it was amazing. Gone now, I expect.
No idea if its the one you're thinking of but Gateway House just got given Grade II listed status.
posted by Ness at 3:16 AM on February 5, 2015
No idea if its the one you're thinking of but Gateway House just got given Grade II listed status.
posted by Ness at 3:16 AM on February 5, 2015
C'mon... These are just paper printouts glued onto U-Haul moving boxes.
You're not fooling me with that "paper cut-out models" nonsense.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:44 AM on February 5, 2015
You're not fooling me with that "paper cut-out models" nonsense.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:44 AM on February 5, 2015
Baltimore's brutalist jewel, the Morris Mechanic Theater is being demolished as I type this, about two blocks from where I type this. Meanwhile this monstrosity still stands.
posted by jetsetsc at 12:43 PM on February 5, 2015
posted by jetsetsc at 12:43 PM on February 5, 2015
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posted by jmccw at 2:24 PM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]