Brutalism
by Brutalism was a notorious architectural style that grew out of the principles of European Modernism. It was practiced in Britain during the 1950s and 60s. Brutalism created the 1960s tower blocks and estates which are now so unpopular with the public.
No. 50 Queen Anne’s Gate
Newcastle City Library (demolished) was another building designed by Basil Spence. The library shows the direct influence of Le Corbusier’s Dominican monastery of La Tourette near Lyon (1953-7). This was one of Le Corbusier’s last major works. Both have vertical concrete mullions over the windows. Both have rough execution, using the texture of concrete and both are dominated by overhanging forms. The concrete has a wood-grained surface, indicating that it was cast from wooden moulds. This is an example of Modernist truth-to-materials – revealing how it was made and constructed. So Brutalism followed Modernist principles.
Monastery of La Tourette
A local example is Gateshead Car Park (1962), which is famous because it features in Get Carter, a British gangster movie that was filmed in the North East. This was designed by Owen Luder, a former president of the RIBA. It has seven tiers of concrete decks. Like Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation, the whole structure is raised on columns, and like Trellick Tower it has an almost freestanding access tower. The tower has a continuous rhythm that is punctuated by a solid block of concrete. Again, it is like an abstract sculpture.
Gateshead Car Park (1962)
Not all Brutalist buildings were cheaply built. The National Theatre (1976) in London is a building of quality that used the democratic ideal of Brutalism to good effect. This was designed by Denys Lasdun. Although the raw concrete is harsh and severe, there is a complex interlocking of forms and sophisticated spatial treatment. Prince Charles said the National Theater looked like a nuclear power station, but it really demonstrates the best of Brutalism. The finish is stark and austere, so there is nothing to detract from the basic composition. It is extremely well-composed, with long cantilevered decks reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright.
National Theatre (1976)
More extensive was Denys Lasdun’s design for the University of East Anglia. This was a hall of residence with classrooms behind. The residential quarters have a pyramidal massing. The glazed surface is unusual in Brutalist architecture, but it gives a crystalline effect. At the rear, there is a block with a continuous, unbroken axis and a sculptural composition of volumes which is more typical.
University of East Anglia
In conclusion, post-war reconstruction was largely carried out in the Brutalist style, which was a derivative of Modernism. Brutalism was associated with a socialist ideology: it tried to eradicate hierarchical distinctions between building types and, to some extent, between people. Unfortunately, concrete weathers badly and the buildings quickly deteriorated. Brutalism became extremely unpopular with the public. The failure of Brutalist structures was a symptom of urban decay, and led to the unpopularity of both the architectural style and the ideology behind it.
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