Among the easily recognisable styles, brutalist architecture is one of the few that immediately spring to mind. After all, it’s just made up of simple concrete structures that resemble blocks and are frequently stacked on top of one another. After World War II, certain architects were drawn to designing massive yet extremely efficient structures, which is how the style came to be. The buildings’ design’s purposeful simplicity and honest use of materials and shapes make them appear like the ideal setting for learning everything about architecture. Its rigorous geometry and unthinking simplicity have an evident appeal, even though it isn’t as beloved as Baroque or midcentury modernism. Here are a few of the world’s most stunning brutalist structures.
Let’s explore the architectural marvels that have defined an era with our guide to famous brutalist buildings. From towering monuments to concrete masterpieces, delve into the striking designs that have left an indelible mark on the urban landscape.
Madrid, Spain
Situated just a mile or so from the expansive Parque del Retiro in Madrid, the Torres Blancas, designed by Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza, are a striking contrast to the more neoclassical buildings that line the city’s streets. When the towers were completed in 1969, they were crammed residential complexes that the Spanish architect designed to mimic massive trees, replete with rounded balconies for leaves and trunks.
Marseille, France
Le Brasilia is the pinnacle of French brutalism and a tribute to the work of renowned architect and furniture maker Le Corbusier. The split-level flats, some with large loggias, were built by Fernand Boukobza for a developer hoping to provide housing for middle- and lower-class families. While Le Corbusier’s geometric designs served as the architect’s main inspiration, Boukobza’s trip to the capital of Brazil also influenced his design.
Ahmedabad, India
In 1961, B.V. Doshi, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect who had trained under Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn in the 1950s, received a commission to create Tagore Memorial Hall. The auditorium, which is close to Le Corbusier’s Sanskar Kendra museum, was named after Indian poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore. The outside of the building is composed of a sequence of concrete frames that give the impression of being folded. Doshi designed an interior that includes an autonomously supported “seating bowl,” the framework of which is visible in the lobby. There are 700 seats in the cosy performance area, which is hidden beneath acoustical tiles that resemble clouds.
London, England
The Royal National Theatre is unquestionably brutalist in construction, despite the fact that so many other historic buildings in London have more conventional architectural styles, like Edwardian or Tudor. The building was described as ‘a clever means of establishing a nuclear power station in the centre of London without anyone objecting’ by Prince Charles in 1988. Many others held the same low opinion of public theatre as he did.
Belgrade, Serbia
The Karaburma residential housing tower, affectionately known by locals as the Toblerone Tower, owes its nickname to the distinctive triangular shapes integrated into its architectural design. This residential landmark was envisioned and brought to life by the architect Rista Šekerinski, and its construction was successfully completed in 1963. This residential block is one of few landmarks in the former Yugoslav capital built in the brutalist architectural style.
Sydney, Australia
Sydney’s Sirius Building was first constructed as social housing in the 1970s, but as the city’s Rocks neighbourhood grew in popularity, property values skyrocketed. The brutalist complex was sold for $150 million to private developers by the Berejiklian government in 2019. To appeal to potential purchasers, it is now referred to as the Sirius Sydney Harbour building.
London, England
In designing London’s renowned Barbican architecture team, Chamberlin, Powell, and Bon built a city within a city. Constructed in a region devastated by the Second World War, the Barbican was planned with an emphasis on utopian living, featuring more than 2,000 flats, maisonettes, terraced homes, stores, eateries, a church, and an artistic hub. Constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, the Grade II brutalist complex was officially opened in 1982.
Birmingham, England
Birmingham is replete with sites from the Industrial Revolution era that operate as poignant reminders of the city’s past in manufacturing. With its striking exterior, the 1964 New Street Signal Box, often known as the Big Box, is all the more fascinating because it was (and still is) off-limits to the general public. It’s also far taller at five floors than a typical signal box.
Kazanlak, Bulgaria
The communist government constructed the Monumento Buzludja on the highest peak in central Bulgaria to honour a significant event in the nation’s history: in 1891, a group of socialists met in secret to revolutionise a socialist movement that eventually resulted in the establishment of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party. After several years of building, the structure was finally completed in 1981. Laying the mosaic tiles that encircle the monument’s interior was the most time-consuming part.
Créteil, France
A group of ten eccentric structures in the Créteil district of Paris, all exactly the same height, have brought the city much international recognition. Les Choux, which translates to ‘the cabbages’ in French, was designed by architect Gérard Grandva to be adorned with thousands of decorative plants and trees, which would both reinforce the building’s name and cause it to change appearance with the seasons. However, the planting phase was never completed, the brutalist building stands alone beautifully.
Montreal, Canada
It is somewhat ironic that one of Montreal’s most popular attractions is Habitat 67, given that Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie used the housing complex as his master’s thesis project at McGill University’s School of Architecture. Initially constructed by him as an Expo 67 pavilion, it has stood the test over the years and is currently recognised as a historically significant architectural community in the Canadian city.
Boston, Massachusetts
Three Columbia University professors, Michael McKinnell, Gerhard Kallmann, and Edward Knowles, won a worldwide design competition in 1962 to create Boston City Hall. Constructed using beton brut concrete, the controversial building was intended to foster a sense of community between the people and the government. Elected officials’ offices are housed in cantilevered spaces, which make them feel more approachable by the public than tucked away. The brick plaza extends the tapered building’s foyer.
San Diego, California
Perhaps among the most well-known examples of brutalist architecture is the Geisel Library. The building bears the name of Dr Seuss, the popular local author Theodor Seuss Geisel. The building’s concrete piers stand in for hands, and the glassed-in floors are like books. The Geisel Library, a 1970 building, is a component of the University of San Diego. William Pereira, the architect, was also responsible for the design of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, among other notable California structures.
Durham, England
While other towns are laid up around a town square, the village of Peterlee in County Durham was planned around an abstract brutalist building by artist and architect Victor Pasmore. The Apollo Pavilion, named after the Apollo space programme, was intended to be a combination of architectural and artistic creation when it was finished in 1969. Reinforced concrete was cast in place over a lake in the Sunny Blunts housing complex to construct the pavilion. Pasmore’s pavilion deteriorated over time, but in 2009, it was repaired, and in 2011, it was listed as a Grade II structure.
