Why Brutalism Is Awesome

Brutalism gets a bad rap. People call it cold, oppressive, even ugly. I think it's one of the most honest styles of architecture there is, and I love it.

It's honest

A brutalist building shows you what it's made of and how it stands up. No ornament, no decorative facade. Just concrete and steel doing the work. Next to the glass luxury towers going up everywhere now, that honesty stands out.

It was built for people

Brutalist buildings look like fortresses, and that's part of the point. The style took off after World War II, when cities needed durable buildings fast: libraries, schools, government offices, housing. They weren't trying to be pretty. They were trying to be useful.

It makes you feel something

The heavy forms and huge shapes demand your attention. Walk into a brutalist building and you feel it, sometimes awe, sometimes something quieter. It doesn't try to please you. It makes you think about space and what a building is for.

It's coming back

Brutalism is getting respect again. Buildings like Boston City Hall and London's Barbican Estate aren't treated as relics anymore. People see them for what they are: bold, honest design.

So yes, Brutalism is awesome. It shows its structure instead of hiding it, and I think more things should work that way.