Brutalism is a style with an emphasis on materials, textures and construction, producing highly expressive forms.
The term originates from the use, by the pioneer modern architect and painter Le Corbusier, of ‘beton brut’ – raw concrete in French.
​
The term was first used by Alison Smithson in 1953 for an unexecuted project for a house in Colville Place, Soho in which she described its warehouse aesthetic of bare concrete, brick and wood “as the first exponent of the ‘new brutalism’” in England.
However, it was architectural historian Reyner Banham’s review in 1955 of Alison and Peter Smithson’s school at Hunstanton in Norfolk, with its uncompromising approach to the display of the steel and brick structure and its services, that established the movement.
Features of Brutalist architecture
Rough
surfaces
Use of varied or contrasting textures and materials.
Expression
of structure
Creating a memorable and powerful image.
Massive
forms
Creating a sense of mass, weight, and scale.
Unusual
shapes
Parts of the building can be differentiated for dramatic effect.