Archives: Brutalisms

Villa Delin

Designed by the centenarian architect Léonie Geisendorf, who studied under Le Corbusier, Villa Delin hides a surprisingly airy, Scandinavian dwelling behind its Brutalist exterior. Large glass windows enable views over the lake. It is surrounded by a …

Maihaugen Museum

Banham writes: “The museum might well be regarded as an attempt to find an ideal solution for a difficult site, and it sports a certain amount of ‘brut’ concrete on its exposed roof-slabs. But in a world of architecture as small as that in Norway,…

St. Peter and Paul Church (Cathedral of Clifton)

The central sculptural structure that towers up creates a shaft of space inside, which is both the sanctuary area and the primary source of light, setting an example to be followed, for example in St. Matthew’s in Birmingham or St. Paul’s in Tower H…

Behavioral Sciences Building, University of Illinois

Structuralism? Or Brutalism after all? The university building arose as the result of Netsch’s “network theory”. The ground plan seems to be the direct translation of a planning diagram. Inside, there are numerous different types of areas associat…

Conference Center UNESCO

Breuer’s folded concrete walls had been massive and used coarse shuttering in St. John’s Abbey Church, whereas in the UNESCO auditorium the sections are smaller and more refined. At the same time, the structure gets truly celebrated, as the particip…

Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex

Located in Morocco’s interior the thermal bath complex is a very early example of an expansive, expressive concrete landscape. Here the architectural brief is given a new interpretation.

Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS)

For the administration of the Costa-Rican social insurance system Alberto Linner designed a high-rise that vaguely recalls the metabolist Yamanashi Press and Broadcasting Center by Kenzo Tange. Despite the highly irregular facade design, with each side …

Secondary School (Smithdon High School)

This was the first edifice to visualize the concept of Brutalism with a built structure, at least in terms of Reyner Banham’s definition. Characteristically, the interior fit-out relies on prefabricated, customary industrial products that are utilized…

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 474 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 499 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 633 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 135 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 167 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 96 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 166

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