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Brutalism: ten iconic buildings scattered around the world
Brutalism is an architectural movement that emerged in the 1950s, which no longer favors the pure lines of the Modern Movement, but a thinking that moves toward the ethics of aesthetics, which meets spontaneity and desired roughness as a manifesto of a straightforward functionalism without rhetoric.
This style of architecture uses "Beton Brut", i.e., exposed reinforced concrete, the hallmark of this style. It is an architecture alien to any intellectualism, speaking to the masses whose needs it interprets, especially in its conception of civic and community architecture.
We now take you around the world to see some examples of this Brutalism, one of the world's most powerful artistic expressions.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/belisario/ – Wikipedia.org
Geisel Library (USA)
This building is torn between the powerful vigor of Brutalism and the skyward tension of Futurism. It gives the impression of being a spaceship landed in California, specifically in San Diego.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidorban/ - Wikipedia.org
Tower Velasca (Italy)
Located on Corso di Porta Romana in Milan, built in the second half in the 1950s. It represents the will of the Milanese city to stand out against the sky after the devastation of the war.
UnpetitproleX - Wikipedia.org
Palace of Assemblies (India)
Located in Chandigarth, in a city of over a million people, it is a masterpiece of Brutalism. It was designed by Le Corbusier to celebrate the new capital of Punjab.
Andy Wright - Wikipedia.org
Unité d'habitation de Marseille (France)
This building was designed to house Marseillais in the immediate postwar period. Although from the outside it looks like a dehumanizing mega-building, much emphasis was placed in the design on the importance of common spaces and individual dwellings. A true micro-world, with supermarkets, swimming pool, laundry, game room, and more.
Wladyslaw – Wikipedia.org
Habitat 67 (Canada)
Presented at the 1967 Expo in Montreal , it was an attempt to combine prefabricated housing technology with the need for low-cost and still visually interesting housing units.
Carlos Delgado - Wikipedia.org
Royal National Theatre (UK)
This now historic London theater was built to be as harmonious as possible with its entire surroundings. The strong contrast between horizontal and vertical elements makes it something almost unique.
Gunnar Klack – Wikipedia.org
Government service center (USA)
Built by architect Paul Rudolph. It is one of the main components of the Government Center complex in downtown Boston. The complex consists of two connected Brutalist buildings: the Charles F. Hurley Building and'Erich Lindemann Building, as well as a courtyard; sometimes included is the newer Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, built in 1998.
Yamanashi broadcasting and press centre (Japan)
The initial idea of the project was for a mega facility that could be expanded as needed.
Wilfredor - Wikipedia.org
Museu de arte de Sao Paolo (Brazil)
Located in the heart of the Brazilian city, the relative simplicity of its forms is a typical example of Brutalist architecture.
Janericloebe - Wikipedia.org
Bartningallee 7 (Germany)
Located in Berlin, the use of primary colors red blue and yellow alleviates the heavy gray of the facades. It is one of the most classic examples of Brutalist architecture.
From the Road
18/06/2024
Prisons are one of the sad institutions on which, unfortunately, modern society is based. Removing individuals who are dangerous to the community, and enclosing them all together in one place for the purpose of surveillance and re-education, is one of the ways our ancestors found to ensure the safety of the population.
They remain places, albeit atrocious, that are nonetheless fascinating because of the peculiarity of their rules, the micro-world they inhabit, and also because of the many fictional works, films, books and many others, that have prisons as their main setting.
But which are the most famous prisons in the world? Among the largest, the most luxurious and the bloodiest, one can really find all possible and imaginable types.
Natural Events
08/06/2024
A meteorite crater (also called astroblem, impact crater or basin) is a circular-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite, asteroid, and in general a celestial body, on the surface of a planet.
Evidence of many of these craters, which have impacted our planet over geological eras, can be found on planet Earth. One of the most famous, for example, is the one believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs (called the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction).
Some of these craters can be found underground today, or at least the traces they left behind. Others have become beautiful lakes, others are still desolate and remote places today. But which are the largest in the world by diameter?
Home page
07/06/2024
We are all realising that our way of life, the one our parents, who were born and raised especially after the Second World War, taught us, is no longer sustainable. There are too many of us in this world now, and nature can no longer provide us with everything we need.
Capitalism, or consumerism for short, is forcing us to submit to environmentally worn-out logics that would not be sustainable even in the long run, but are even less so in the short time we have left before everything falls apart. Our way of life must change radically if we are to allow the survival of mankind. For example, the introduction of the law in Europe allowing the sale of insect meal aims at exactly that, at sustainability.
Therefore, it is necessary for all of us, while there is still time, to change certain behaviours to help the world. Here, then, are some tips for leading a greener and more sustainable life.
From the Road
06/06/2024
According to theMain Streets Across the World 2022report, which analyzes the main shopping areas of 92 cities around the world, New York Fifth Avenue is the most expensive route in the world followed by Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui. Post pandemic, the most expensive street in Hong Kong loses the top of the ranking and records the worst drop ever, -41%.
In detail, with an average annual fee of 14,547 euros per square meter, the Via Montenapoleone in Milan ranks ahead of New Bond Street in London and Avenue des Champs Élysées in Paris, respectively in fourth and fifth place in the global ranking of the most expensive streets in the world.
Via Montenapoleone in Milan, has earned the title of the most expensive shopping street in Europe and the third overall worldwide, with a jump of two positions compared to the last research of 2019.