Public Spaces, Brutalism, Architecture, and Hostile Design

[Maddox]

...Brutalism escapes that by not even pretending plastic veneers and fake wood are pretty. Instead they club you over the head with contrast. "You like beauty? Well you better get your people to remember God otherwise your whole world will look like this!".

*I also enjoy the club over the head aesthetic of brutalism for this reminder.
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I can't tell what the ceiling blocks are made from, but I'll assume they're concrete. If you replaced the concrete in this picture with wood, I think it would look a lot better. It has a very geometric, 70s design, but I can deal with something like this if the materials were different.

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I too get a Logan's Run vibe from this one. Very dystopian.

 

[Laner]

I can't tell what the ceiling blocks are made from, but I'll assume they're concrete. If you replaced the concrete in this picture with wood, I think it would look a lot better. It has a very geometric, 70s design, but I can deal with something like this if the materials were different.



I too get a Logan's Run vibe from this one. Very dystopian.

I feel the need to stress again that Brutalism, particularly from Italy, is a response - or more like a distress signal - shot out of the minds of young men trying to warn the world of the impact communism (globalism) would play out if we abandoned God.

Modern architecture is 80% brutalism but with toxic veneers and glass.

 

[Maddox]

...Modern architecture is 80% brutalism but with toxic veneers and glass.

I'd argue that 80% is Internationalism (how perfect is that term since you see this everywhere).

The steel and glass architecture of today is often associated with the International Style, which emerged in the 1920s and became ubiquitous in the Western world by the 1970s. This style is characterized by clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and the use of mass-produced and lightweight materials, including steel and glass.

 

[Laner]

I'd argue that 80% is Internationalism (how perfect is that term since you see this everywhere).

The steel and glass architecture of today is often associated with the International Style, which emerged in the 1920s and became ubiquitous in the Western world by the 1970s. This style is characterized by clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and the use of mass-produced and lightweight materials, including steel and glass.

Exactly, the same people the Germans tossed out of Germany in the 30s and came to America where they squashed the Art Deco movement with their glass and steel International style. And we haven't looked back.

This International design is meant to make every International Hub into a replica of each other. You could fly from Sydney to Seattle to Toronto to Frankfurt to Dubai and not even really know you were in a different city. The people even are all the same shade of corporate.