This Brutal World

Recently, I have been even busier than usual. School has started and at the same time, there is no one to take my place at work. That means that for the last 5 days, I woke up 6:30, went to school, went to work, get home at 22:30, went sleep and next day again. Marathon.

In this hectic life, there was one thing to calm my mind in the evening. This Brutal World.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Read. That is probably not the best word for it. The text in this book could definitely fit just on its cover. On the other hand, this book is packed with beautiful pictures.

Visual manifesto of brutalism. In black and white.

With the absence of colours, we can fully appreciate the form of the buildings. Brutalism mostly uses on-site poured concrete, hence its name – brutalism, from french Béton brut, raw concrete. But many people assume the name comes simply from the brutal appearance of the buildings. And many of them hate those buildings. However, to me and many architects, brutalism is beautiful. The pure sculptural form. Huge uninterrupted surfaces. Play with the textures. Nearly impossible shaping. Huge cantilevers. 

Brutalism is one of my favourites architectural styles. And this book is a great tribute to it. The author, Peter Chadwick, is a lifelong fan of this architectural style, as he explains in the essay at the beginning of the book. He was always fascinated, from the early childhood, by the monumentality of buildings around his home city. And his love is visible on every page of his book.

After an introduction, river of pictures starts to flow. Interrupted just by quotes, which tangentially touch the theme of brutalism. Pieces of poetry and quotes of the famous architects.

The buildings are both contemporary and from the gold age of brutalism, 50s to 70s. By this, we can see that many architects today take inspiration from brutalism. And sometimes, buildings built 40 years apart share many common traits, which are clear when put side by side on opposite pages.

The time changes and the form prevails.

The book shows us what is possible and for every lover of architecture, this is must-have. Beautifully curated collection of the best architecture. Cream of the creams of brutalism. Great coffee table book and excellent conversation starter. This was one of my first picks from Phaidon. This book probably won’t change your life. But can it change your perception of the beauty? It can and it will.

Get it here.

Cheers