Brutalism Architecture

My contribution today is titled Walking with buildings. The flâneur and the (im)mobilizing power of non-human narrators and aims to reflect on the contrasting encounter between the apparent immobility of buildings, as non-human inert bodies, and the peculiar mobility of the flâneur. I said apparent immobility because my provocation starts precisely from the idea that buildings, despite their inertia, have an intrinsic power to mobilize our gaze and move our feet: my proposal is to imagine them as non-human narrators that invite the flâneur to move in the city both vertically, discovering changes in time, and horizontally, exploring connections in space. Furthermore, as (im)mobile concrete archives, buildings invite us to reflect once again on the peculiarity of the flâneur’s mobility, which is made of a constant alternation between walking and resting, listening and writing practices. Even if always on the move, the flâneur constantly takes time for slow practices like resting, reflect and writing, thus resisting through his own body to the rapid flows of contemporary cities and neoliberal rhythms.
I will explore these suggestions by proposing three examples: first, a graphic novel by Will Eisner published in 1987 and titled "The building"; second, "Living with buildings and walking with ghosts" the latest work by the well-known psychogeographer Iain Sinclair, which appeared in 2018 and became also an exhibition; third, a personal flânerie in the Brutalist Robin Hood Gardens Estate, that I’ve realised in February 2019 while I was living in Tower Hamlets, East London. Following Sinclair’s exploration, I will focus on brutalist estates as architectural bodies that have peculiar stories to tell thanks, to their controversial and critical position in contemporary London as in many other cities. But, How can we listen to voices of buildings, interpreting them as non-human narrators that keep stories hidden in them? Furthermore, “is there a link between the walking and storytelling practice of the flâneur and the encounter with the (im)mobilities
of buildings?”

Wenn heute vom Forum die Rede ist, dürfte eine breite Assoziationskette ins Spiel kommen, da das Forum längst zum Synonym für Öffentlichkeit geworden ist . Es darauf zu reduzieren, wäre jedoch zu kurz gegriffen und würde seinem Einfluss auf Architektur und Stadt nicht gerecht. Dies gilt auch für die folgende Annäherung an einen Strang der Forumsidee, der auf das ‚Bürgerforum‘ zielt. Der zu Beginn vielleicht irritierend wirkende Begriff ‚Action Architecture‘ ist als abgewandelte Allusion auf seine manifestartige Definition von Gerhard Kallmann im Jahr 1959 zu verstehen . Der Architekt war ein Protagonist der von Kallmann, McKinnell & Knowles in den 1960er Jahren errichteten City Hall in Boston, die dem Stil des Brutalismus verpflichtet ist. Konzipiert war sie als ein city forum und urban theater, als ein Ort für Demonstrationen und für Feierlichkeiten. Es ging den Architekten um ein Rathaus, das auf sich aufmerksam macht, um eine Architektur, die im Sinn einer ‚Action Architecture‘ in den Stadtraum aus- und eingreift, um eine Architektur, die der modernen Angst vor dem Nichts etwas entgegenstellen sollte, wie der Architekturhistoriker David Monteyne schreibt. Aufgrund dieser bewussten architektonischen Haltung gegenüber der bestehenden sozialen Realität erweist sich ‚Action Architecture‘ als anregende Kategorie für das Nachdenken über das Potenzial der Forumsidee. Sie steht, so die These, für die Suche nach kommunaler bzw. bürgerlicher Teilhabe, Macht und Repräsentation. Da die Forumsidee an die Antike als Dispositiv gebunden ist, gehen mit deren Reaktivierung auch besondere Erwartungen an die soziale Kraft und emotive Wirkung von Architektur- und Stadträumen einher.

The interior architecture of five selected NSW Brutalist civic-scale buildings from 1963-1978 is addressed through an analysis of interior planning, internal scale, lighting and materiality to identify and isolate the sensual elements in interior architecture the scholar Reyner Banham interprets as Brutalism’s “emotive” imagery. Working with the definitions established by Banham’s Brutalist essays and his interpretations of the Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson practice, the early definitions of Brutalism are used to differentiate between the Smithson-associated Brutalist variant of interior architecture and the interior work found in the five NSW Brutalist case studies. The interior architecture of the five selected NSW Brutalist civic buildings significantly expanded the “emotive imagery” Reyner Banham identified as characteristic of the first wave of Brutalist buildings initiated by the Smithsons’ early practice. These NSW case studies examples illustrate attempts to “bridge” through inventive interior architecture an identified gap “between the traditional ideal of beauty and the Brutalist image” raised by Anthony Vidier. These interiors demonstrate the evocation of sensual responses was a first order concern for the designers. Designing emotive “human associations” of rhythmic procession, light, texture, acoustics and interior ambience in this Brutalist interior architecture signals the architects’ desire to directly engage with the intimate “sense memories” of their audiences. March 2015.

Jean François Zevaco, attraverso un uso originale e ardito delle potenzialità estetiche e strutturali del calcestruzzo, trasforma il progetto del Complesso termale di Sidi Harazem (1961) in un percorso poetico nel quale struttura-architettura e paesaggio sono intimamente concatenati: Zevaco dà forma allo spazio fisico e lo amplifica, alludendo ad un’ulteriore dimensione, infinita e astratta.

Jean Franćois Zevaco, through an original and daring use of the aesthetic and structural potential of concrete, transforms the project of the Thermal bath complex of Sidi Harazem (1961) into a poetic experience in which structure-architecture and landscape are intimately linked: Zevaco gives shape to the physical space and amplifies it, alluding to an additional dimension, infinite and abstract.

Emerging from a feeling of trauma, protest and a spirit of optimism, brutalism melds two partly contradicting approaches: The theoretical approaches of a small group, whose architectural expression was initially found in the fundamental disclosure of material and construction; and the international manifestation, which despite its wide variety always creates massive and sculptural forms and communicates through rough material. At the beginning praised as progressive experiments, the brutalist structures quickly fell into disfavor. Due to a lack of maintenance and repair, the brutalist buildings continued entering a downward spiral. Finally, after more than 50 years of existence, their future is revealed today as a multi-dimensional challenge.

The case studies, three brutalist town halls in Germany with different conservation statuses and levels of renovation, confirm many arguments from literature and reporting that argue against the preservation of brutalist structures. In addition to the rejection from the population, many brutalist buildings show considerable structural deficiencies and the spatial programs and equipment features are particularly special and do not match today’s demands. In contrast, many brutalist buildings are an important part of the respective city’s history, reflect the sanguine zeitgeist of the 60s and 70s and pass on democratic and social values. The buildings display technical developments of that particular time and embody special architectural and artistic characteristics.

Nevertheless, in the debate about the future of those buildings, these arguments hardly seem to outweigh the shortcomings and rejection. Furthermore, the negative stigma is particularly persistent. Nevertheless, more and more approaches are showing how brutalist architecture can be communicated and how clichés can be resolved. In order to adapt the buildings to today’s requirements and still preserve and appreciate their brutalist character, the buildings must be developed in a courageous and creative, yet at the same time carefully way which respects their special characteristics and intentions.

There is still a lack of practice experience on how to rehabilitate and preserve the brutalist features. Further, there are only a few examples of how brutalist buildings have been transformed for future tasks by structural add-ons, partly removals or by re-using them.

[EN]

"DOCUMENTING THE BUILT: RECOGNISING & MAPPING SINGLE-FAMILY BRUTALIST HOUSES OF BRASILIA"
- Dissertation thesis: Bachelor's Degree (BA) in "Theory, Criticism and History of Art", University of Brasília

The project's proposal was to demystify the city of Brasília beyond the limits of Brasília's Plano Piloto, and consequently, the white and official “niemeyerian” architecture and the urban morphology of the “Superquadra”, a multifamily housing project designed by Lucio Costa from the conception of the “Neighborhood Unit”. Among the existing architectural heterogeneity in this capital city, the investigation aimed at cataloging brutalist or “brutalist connections” residences, that is, architecture that possess brutalist elements.

- Supervision: Prof. Dr. Nivalda Assunção (Université Paris 1- ENSAPLV).
- Examining Board: Prof. Postdoc. José Galbinski (MIT) and Prof. Postdoc. Eduardo Rossetti (USP)

Note: The following work is written in Portuguese

The Barbican Estate is a mixed use residential estate built between 1963 and 1982, in London, following a competition launched by the City of London Corporation, in 1951, to develop a high-quality housing scheme in the north area of London Wall, with the aim of encouraging people to move back to the city after the devastation of the WWII.
The design from Christof Bon (b. St. Gall, Switzerland, 1921-1999), Peter Chamberlin (b. London, 1919-1978) and Geoffry Powell (b. Bangalore, India, 1920-1999), approved in 1959, proposed the creation of a high density urban center still alive today and much-loved by its residents. With clear definition of functions and circulation systems, it comprises more than 2,000 flats with around 4,000 residents, schools, arts center (with concert hall, theatre, cinemas, library, art gallery, conservatory, restaurants and offices), car-parking, gardens and canal.
As a prominent symbol of brutalist architecture, the entire estate was listed at Grade II, in 2001.
The Barbican Listed Building Management Guidelines, published in 2005 and revised in 2012, were created to guide the implementation and management of change in the Barbican estate, while preserving its character. For that end, an extensive consultation program, with public meetings, was undertaken, involving the work of different experts and institutions (Avanti Architects, the City of London Corporation’s Department of Planning and Transportation, the English Heritage, the Twentieth Century Society, etc), together with residents. All interested parties were able to contribute for the development of the document, which keeps being under regular revision, through an inclusive approach, connected with different disciplines. Working as a manual for assuring best practices, this methodology endorses a systematic approach to change in the entire Barbican Estate, cultivating the general maintenance while promoting a variety of transformation solutions.
This paper aims to reveal how these guidelines, now in service of the British estate, may act as a tool for sustainable preservation strategies of large scale post-war housing estates.

The etymology of the word estate serves as a fitting framework for our discussion. Derived from the middle English -in the sense state or condition, and speaking to social ranking, class, property and possessions, estate applies to property at both ends of the social spectrum: ‘an extensive area of land in the country, usually with a large house, owned by one person, family, or organization,” and “a housing or commercial development.”  This term encompasses the wide range of sites visited in London, showcasing the breadth of approach within the context of historical architecture and the decorative arts spanning the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Britain. While the grandeur of sites such as Hampton Court, Spencer House, and Strawberry Hill stunned with breathtaking opulence and decorative detail, it was the brutalist structure of the Barbican Estate, and in particular our visit to a minimalist flat that left a lasting impression, warranting further investigation. Several questions will inform my mode of inquiry: Do Barbican residents seek to embody the brutalism of the structure? What generates the level of respect that the Barbican appears to command of its occupants? Is a common approach to interiors replicated across flats in the Barbican and the objects inside? And finally, what constitutes a home? In order to formulate a response to these questions I will look at the events surrounding the building of the Barbican Estate, the goal of the architects, critics of modernist estates, as well as undertaking an analysis of the sample interviews and photo-documentation of twenty two residents and their flats from Inside the Barbican Estate, A Photographic Study by Anton Rodriguez. Lastly, Bourdieu’s theory of Habitus will enable us to further understand the Barbican community in the context of the economic, social, cultural, and symbolic capitals they share within this particular field.

In the theatrical narrative of Shakespeare’s play 'Julius Caesar' is the portrayal Caesar’s tragic death. Taking place in Act 111, and at the point of being stabbed to death, Caesar recognising ‘Brutus’ his most trusted supporter among his assassins, cries out 'Et tu, Brute!'. In this instance the utmost of betrayals takes place, that is, when your most trusted friend becomes your own worst enemy.
This piece of incredible theatre can indeed be used to explain the plight of Sydney Brutalism, even as an overstatement. Once revered, these celebrated post-war buildings were conceived at the time when governments (both local and state) had a modernizing agenda. Now being assigned much prejudice, partly due to a misunderstanding of what constitute Brutalism today, these buildings were commissioned within a very different socio-political climate. Like Brutus’ treatment to Caesar, the clients that once commissioned and endorsed these modern buildings are now the cause of their undoing.

This paper was presented at ‘Tusculum’, the Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) on 6 September 2016.

Abstract:
For the twenty seven years in which the Brutalism aesthetic found favour in Sydney, the urban morphology of the region underwent great change. While Brutalism did not necessarily shape the cities of the Sydney region it certainly was an important contributor, resulting in a number of significant projects. With the first Brutalist buildings in the region being small experimental houses located in the bushland settings of Sydney’s lower north shore and dating to the early 1960s, the later Brutalist projects of the 1980s were large public projects with an urban presence. Consequently Brutalism came to reflect an image of an optimistic modern day city – an urban metropolis that was indeed international and multi-dimensional. Brutalism has a long and complex history, and as a result takes many aesthetically diverse forms and appearances. From its initial British manifesto of the mid-1950s, Sydney Brutalism was recognised and accepted by the NSW State Government, Local Government, all state universities, the church (for their schools as well as places of worship), corporations and even the speculative developer.  Unfortunately today there is limited recognition and support for the retention of these buildings, especially those that are government owned, is indicative of a shift in socio-political thinking away from government ownership and government led design to one now dominated by the free market. For many of these Brutalist projects their current failing is that they once symbolised government investment and a positive engagement with the public realm. Sadly the celebrated ties for these buildings have changed. This paper examines the acceptance of this late modern aesthetic and seeks to reconfirm itscultural value within a city that looked towards the new.

While the topics of Brutalism, world building and dystopias have been researched independently, they have yet to be analysed merged in the form of a video game. In 2019 Remedy Entertainment published their newest game, Control. The dystopian narrative and strong emphasis on architectural world building arguably crowns this game the culmination of the aforementioned themes. Befittingly, Control serves as the main subject matter of this research, where the main question 'How does Control use Brutalism to build a dystopian virtual world?' Is answered through an inductive methodological approach of qualitative directed content analysis strongly guided by existing theory, to examine a multilateral data sample comprised of game reviews, gameplay footage and media interviews with Control's developers. Three general themes were identified as all-encompassing overarching themes relevant to the research question; world building & architecture, science fiction & dystopias and mechanics & technology. By way of thorough analysis of the findings it was uncovered that to build a dystopian virtual world, Control makes use of a combination of firstly, Brutalist architecture for its aesthetic and narrative qualities to enhance storytelling and immersivity. Secondly, dystopian science fiction elements visualised through a mixture of observable and narrative paranormal events, implicit references to dystopian pop culture and dehumanising architecture. And thirdly, in ways augmenting aforementioned aspects, an incorporation of game mechanics such as a forced third person view, complicated interactive map design and realism-enhancing ray tracing technology. Concludingly, in terms of theoretical implications, this study's findings simultaneously subscribe to and contest existing theories on the topics. They demonstrate studied concepts being employed in unison in the Brutalist construction of the Dystopian world of Control, however also highlight a lack of focus on the role gameplay mechanics play within the context of architectural world building. Finally, limitations relating to the qualitative approach of this research are discussed and possible future research suggestions are provided. Topics of interest include the resurgence of Brutalism's popularity in relation to modern media such as photo sharing platform Instagram, players' awareness and interpretation of architecture in games, and lastly, an exploration of possible demand for a novel form of video game where the virtual space itself serves as the main experience.

In Function Follow Form Theory, form is a major focus in the design, making visual acceleration  is very important, while the function of the space must be able to follow and set based on pre-existing  forms. This theory also spawned the development of concepts forming and shaping a more advanced ,such as the superimposition and hybrid. How to combine, and adaptive blending of the geometric  forms as a free and un oriented without direction. With these  forms, the layout planning, configuration and interaction of existing space in shell form of brutalism becoming a special concern in the design because the design process will be reversed in the review of its design criteria for a space that is functional requirements such as air conditioning, lighting, and acoustics.

Abstract: A new and bold architectural movement, New Brutalism gained momentum in the 1950s across the world. At the same time, in Bulgaria in the wake of the April Plenum of 1956, architecture was let free to protest against the imposed until then Communist party line of nationally reframed socialist realism. This paper would try and show as to whether architecture in this country really felt free to experiment with forms and models so that to achieve the visual and ideological aesthetics of English Brutalists or Japanese metabolists. To provide evidence, some of the works of architect Stefka Georgieva would
be dealt with. She was a government’s architect, who, however, designed buildings in a distinctively “pro-western” manner with increasingly formal, ironic and unceremonious citing of Bulgarian building tradition. And though her buildings have been interpreted either as an ingenious reading of this tradition or branded as formalism for the formalism’s sake, they are now the most vivid example of the universal architectural language, used by architects of the second half of the twentieth century.

Massive, raw concrete structures - the likes of the Telecommunications Building (1972/1981) by Janko Konstantinov; the campus of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (1974) by Marko Mušič; the National Hydraulic Institute (1972) by Krsto Todorovski; and the Bank Complex (1970) by R. Lalovik and O. Papeš - have led to the production of an enduring monumental presence and helped inspire Skopje’s title as the ‘brutalist capital of the world.’ These works followed Kenzo Tange’s introduction of Japanese Metabolism to Skopje through his role in the 1965 United Nations sponsored reconstruction competition. The unique position of a Non-Aligned Yugoslavia staged and facilitated architectural and professional exchange across the Cold War. Each trajectory and manifestation illustrates the complex picture of international architectural exchange and local production. Skopje and its numerous brutalist edifices is an elucidative story because it represents a meeting point between Brutalism, Metabolism and its American parallel.

This paper will look in particular at the Skopje Archive Building (1966) and the “Goçe Delčev” Student Dormitory (1969), two buildings by the architect Georgi Konstantinovski, realised on his return from a Masters programme at Yale University and employment within I.M. Pei’s New York office. Their architecture illustrates the simultaneous preoccupations of leading architects at the time in regaining a conceptual ground made explicit through a complete and apprehensible image.  From this particular position the paper will explore the question of ethics and aesthetics central to Banham’s outline of the New Brutalism.

Der Architekt Andres Liesch ist wohl die markanteste Persönlichkeit
der Architektur nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in Graubünden.
Über 250 Gebäude aus seiner Feder stehen in Graubünden
und im Kanton Zürich. Einen bedeutenden Teil davon bilden
37 Schulhäuser, welche er vornehmlich in Graubünden errichtete.
Lieschs Generation von Architekten und Bauingenieuren war für
den Bau der noch heute benutzten Infrastruktur verantwortlich.
Sie hat den modernen Kanton Graubünden erbaut.
Andres Liesch hat neben Schulen viele öffentliche Bauten errichtet.
Gerade hier zeigt sich, dass seine Bauwerke von hoher räumlicher
Komplexität und struktureller Stringenz geprägt sind. Seine
Bauwerke sind effizient organisiert und solide konstruiert. Sie
strahlen nicht nur Langlebigkeit aus, durch die konsequente Verwendung
von stabilen Baumaterialien wie Beton und Holz sind
sie auch einfach zu unterhalten.

The Swiss architect Andres Liesch (1927-1990) was in the 1960s and 1970s one of the most important architects in the Grisons in Switzerland. His architecture was rational organized, often built in concrete and inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. He designed a major part of the public work for schools, town houses and for the military in the Grisons. And his private houses are sculptural inventions.

This introduction to the early 1960s formation of Britain's celebrated avant-garde architecture group, Archigram, was written for The Twentieth Century Society's 2002 book "The Sixties," edited by Elain Harwood and Alan Powers. It argues that the group was a reaction to British "brutalist" architecture, with which Archigram members were both enamored and discontented, pushing brutalism to new extremes at the London County Council's South Bank Arts Centre and in florid, visionary competition entries.

Pretendo nesta dissertação descrever os acontecimentos que estiveram na origem do termo Brutalismo, a partir da discussão que foi suscitada pelos arquitectos e críticos que o desenvolveram como sendo uma hipótese de superação do Movimento Moderno.

Durante os anos 1950, enquanto o Reino Unido recuperava o seu poder económico e social, os arquitectos Alison e Peter Smithson preconizavam uma vontade de mudança e, no fulgor do seu percurso inicial, decidem usar a escrita como método para então propor uma nova maneira de olhar para a arquitectura. No mesmo período, o crítico e historiador Reyner Banham associa-se a esta demanda ao expandir as ideias estes arquitectos para o campo da crítica, possibilitando uma leitura mais abrangente com a junção da arquitectura e da arte.

Sucederam-se então várias discussões em volta do Brutalismo, tendo sempre como protagonistas principais os arquitectos e o crítico citados. Depois deste período denso que durará até ao início dos anos 1970, estes voltaram-se para outras investigações dentro do seu campo de trabalho, ao mesmo tempo que o ímpeto inicial do Brutalismo que haviam incutido em Inglaterra era apropriado por diferentes facções a nível global, distanciando-se das premissas estabelecidas.


O objecto de investigação encontra actualmente um interesse renovado por parte de uma nova geração de arquitectos, críticos e historiadores. O conjunto de projectos, edifícios e textos ligados ao Brutalismo, que estabeleceram contornos polémicos no passado, podem ser analisados de outra forma no presente graças a uma distância temporal que o permite.

A dissertação encontra-se dividida em três capítulos, sendo iniciada por uma breve contextualização do objecto da investigação, seguindo-se uma descrição dos textos principais que o potenciaram, assim como os acontecimentos dentro da arquitectura e da arte que se seguiram. No segundo capítulo, são analisadas as reacções subsequentes dos arquitectos e críticos que entram na discussão em volta do Brutalismo britânico, passando depois pelos projectos de Alison e Peter Smithson e pela obra de Reyner Banham. No terceiro e último capítulo, é abordado o ressurgimento do Brutalismo que acontece a partir de  retrospectivas do período analisado nos primeiros dois capítulos e também sob a forma de uma herança declarada por arquitectos britânicos contemporâneos em volta do trabalho de Alison e Peter Smithson.

RESUMO
O objetivo do presente estudo é investigar e analisar as diversas possibilidades projetuais e construtivas que se apresentam perante o desafio do “projetar” em arquitetura, que surgem ao longo da jornada profissional e pessoal, e que podem, inclusive, se transformarem em uma linguagem característica do arquiteto, identificando sua autoria em obras distintas. Tal pesquisa se dará por meio da análise do projeto do ginásio do Sesc Bertioga, concebido pelo arquiteto Ícaro de Castro Mello, e a aproximação desta obra a outros 7 ginásios, projetados pelo arquiteto e construídos no Brasil no período entre 1950 e 1970. Essa análise considerará a concepção arquitetônica da implantação, volumetria, estrutura e vedações possibilitando, assim, apresentar as diversas soluções existentes para uma mesma tipologia de edifício, conduzindo a obras por vezes muito semelhantes entre si, ou a outros projetos bastante singulares do arquiteto.
Palavras-chave: Ginásios, Ícaro de Castro Mello, projeto, soluções.

ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to investigate and analyze the various projective and constructive possibilities that present themselves before the challenge of "design" in architecture, that arise throughout the professional and personal journey, and may even turn into a language characteristic of the architect, identifying authorship in different works. Such research will be through the analysis of the project of SESC Bertioga’s gym, designed by architect Icaro de Castro Mello, and the approach of this work to other 7 gyms, designed by architect and built in Brazil in the period between 1950 and 1970. This analysis will consider the architectural design of the location, volume, structure and seals, allowing thus display the various existing solutions for the same type of building, leading to works sometimes very similar to each other, or to other projects rather singular from the architect.
Keywords: Gyms, Icaro de Castro Mello, project, solutions.

This study investigates changes in the popularity of Brutalist buildings from the 1940’s to present. Our methodological framework is derived from three sources: (1) Reinhardt Koselleck’s work on historical consciousness in the field of conceptual history; (2) Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological approach to temporality, mood, and perception, and: (3) Ernst Becker’s work on the denial of death and the quest for immortality. Our thesis is that changing perceptions of Brutalist architecture, in many cases radically different evaluations of the same buildings, are the effects of historically specific cultural, political, and social structures. In phenomenological terms, these structures form fairly discrete systems of relevance. That which is held to be profoundly interesting, or exciting, or progressive in one system of relevance can appear dull, menacing, or foolish in another. The systems that we identity, describe, and explain, are: (1) Collective mobilization in the service of progr...

Resumen: Después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial surgieron las posvanguardias arquitectónicas; es decir, aquellas corrientes que reaccionan ante la totalidad del discurso de la arquitectura moderna. En 1953 los arquitectos Alison y Peter Smithson y los artistas Nigel Henderson y Eduardo Paolozzi organizaron la exposición Parallel of Life and Art, una muestra que reunía más de cien imágenes sustraídas de varios medios. Dos años después, valorando la potencia visual de este evento y considerando los primeros proyectos arquitectónicos de los Smithson, el crítico Reyner Banham anunció el nacimiento del neobrutalismo (1955), lo que implicó en la arquitectura, la percepción de una imagen reconocible y memorable: “lo que perturba cuando es mirado, lo que afecta las emociones”. Las posiciones asumidas por los Smithson, Paolozzi y Henderson se basaron en la adopción de la imagen de múltiples significados y, al tiempo, en el manifiesto The New Brutalism de Reyner Banham se explica cuál es el tipo de imagen que configura la arquitectura de los Smithson partiendo de Parallel of Life and Art. Considerando lo anterior, en este artículo se explican los significados que puede tener este movimiento en la teoría arquitectónica, a partir del evento inaugural del neobrutalismo, Parallel of Life and Art, y por medio de un método iconológico, resignificándolo como vanguardia pionera de la posmodernidad en arquitectura.

Abstract: After World War II, post avant-garde also arise reacting to modern architecture discourses. In 1953 the architects Alison and Peter Smithson and the artists Nigel Henderson and Eduardo Paolozzi organized the exhibition Parallel of life and art, a sample that gathered more than one hundred images subtracted from popular media. Valuing this event and considering the Smithsons’ first architectural projects, critic Reyner Banham announced the birth of New brutalism (1955), which would imply in architecture the perception of a recognizable and memorable image: “that which disturbs when looked upon, which affects emotions”. The positions assumed by the Smithsons, Paolozzi and Henderson are based on the adoption of images with multiple meanings and, at the same time, Banham’s new brutalism manifesto explains the type of image that their architecture implies. Starting with the inaugural event of New brutalism, Parallel of life and art, and through an iconological method, this text explains the meanings that this movement can have on architectural theory, resignifying it as a pioneer vanguard of postmodernism in architecture.

Diante de uma crescente presença da imagem e da fotografia como meio fundamental de transmissão de ideias e conhecimento na sociedade contemporânea, o presente artigo busca uma possibilidade de análise de projeto arquitetônico por meio da produção e análise fotográfica de uma obra. O movimento moderno, por sua tendência formal fotogênica (VIEIRA, 2012) será o escopo deste estudo, tomando como objeto o edifício da FAU-USP, que viabilizará - assim que analisado - correlações com outras obras do arquiteto Vilanova Artigas. A estratégia principal é produzir e analisar graficamente cada fotografia de um conjunto que seja coeso e demonstre em sua totalidade um trajeto apto a abranger a edificação em sua plenitude. Desta maneira podem-se evidenciar características marcantes de Artigas que ressoam pela própria FAU-USP e outras de suas criações, que são distinguíveis pela análise fotográfica e apontam para intenções de projeto e compreensões de mundo do arquiteto.

İstanbul’un Kadıköy ilçesinde bulunan Kaplancalı Apartmanı, Maruf Önal’ın tasarlayıp uygulamasını üstlendiği az sayıdaki apartman projesinden biridir. Bu özgün tasarım, Önal’ın olgunluk dönemi eserleri arasında yer alır. Kaplancalı Apartmanı’nın Önal’ın mimarlığındaki önemi, alışılmadık plan tasarımı ve yenilikçi malzeme kullanımıdır. Plan tasarımında farklı açılarla yerleştirilmiş mekânlar yapının cephelerini son derece hareketli kılmış ve biçimsel olarak yapıyı zenginleştirmiştir. Bu yönüyle, Önal’ın bu eserinde dünyada 1960’lar sonrası yaygınlık kazanan brütalist üslubun biçim dilini kullandığı söylenebilir.
Günümüze çok az değişiklikle ulaşmış olan apartmanın bulunduğu semt, yakın zamanda 6306 sayılı Afet Yasası kapsamında hızlı bir dönüşüme sahne olmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, bugün 40 yaşına yaklaşmış olan bu geç modern mimarlık ürünü yapıyla ilgili bazı tehditlerin varlığından söz etmek mümkündür. Bu makale, Kaplancalı Apartmanı’nı ait olduğu yer ve tarihi bağlam içinde değerlendirip tanıtmayı ve böylece Önal’ın geç dönem işlerinden olan yapının korunması ve mevcut miras değerleriyle yaşatılması konusuna dikkat çekmeyi hedeflemektedir.

Mirjana Lozanovska is Associate Professor at Deakin University. Her work investigates the creative ways that architecture mediates human dignity and identity through multidisciplinary theories of space, and it examines migration/mobility and the reinvention of the city. Her books include Migrant Housing: Architecture, Dwelling, Migration (2019) and Ethno-Architecture and the Politics of Migration (2016). She has published widely on Kenzo Tange’s masterplan for Skopje, including “Cold War Collaboration: Urbanism in the UN-Yugoslavian project for the reconstruction of Skopje after the 1963 earthquake,” Planning Perspectives, (2017, with I. Martek). A chapter on the role of Mimoza Nestorova-Tomić in this reconstruction project, in Ideological equality (eds. Pepchinski and Simon) extends interpretation about the role of women. Mirjana is co-editor of the major architectural history journal Fabrications: JSAHANZ. Mirjana leads the #Vacant Geelong project with a collaborative architecture-art team (Cameron Bishop, David Beynon, Anne Scott Wilson, Akari Nakai-Kidd; with Diego Fullaondo 2015-2018, Ciro Marquez 2017-2018). VacantGeelong connects architecture with art and industry to go beyond the usual pragmatic utilisation of ex-industrial sites through engagement of the cultural and social memories of the vibrant communities these vacant sites embody. Its creative and research works (since 2015) have been awarded funding from Arts Victoria, CoGG and National Wool Museum.

The term “brutalism” refers to the movement in architecture which arose from high modernism and lasted for a short period from 1950 to 1970. The first use of the term is connected to the works of English architects Peter Smithson and Alison Smithson, whoinspired by Le Corbusier’s architectural creation after the Second World War, the Marseille Block (Unité d'Habitation, 1952) and the objects in Chandigarh, India (Chandigarh, 1953), as well as the utilization of natural concrete (béton brut), designed a residential object Robin Hood Gardens (1969-72) in London. This object is considered one of the first examples of brutalism in the world. The movement emerged as a reaction to the architecture and ideology of the International style, promoted at the World Congresses of Modern Architecture (Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne, CIAM), which is why it focused on the need to utilize “honest” materials, applied in their raw state, such as nature-concrete and brick, which contributed to the high level of surface expressiveness. When brutalism is concerned, there are generally two interpretations:the first considers it a trend whose primary standpoint is that the materials used in finalizationof the object are applied in their original, natural form, without additional processing, which achieves the creation of "honest" architecture; the second claims that it is about architecture which is brutal or harsh in its expression. Although there are quite a few architectural objects that relied on brutalism style, in Serbian historiography and architectural reviews a generally expressed view is that the brutalism movement did not have a more significant impact on the Serbian architecture, which is why this topic was not researched into more depth. However, it is evident that there are numerous architectural objects in Serbia that utilized nature-concrete as the primary material in their esthetic articulation. Some of these include residential and business tower Genex in New Belgrade, motel “Mlinarev san” in Arilje, by architect Mihajlo Mitrovic, the building of Urbanistic Institute and Mostar highway loop in Belgrade, by architect Branislav Jovin, the building of Federal Executive Council III in New Belgrade, by architect Ljupko Curcic, sports complex “25 May” in Belgrade, by architect Ivana Antic, etc. Related to this concept, this interview aims to explore the circumstances that led to the emergence of brutalism tendencies in Serbian architecture and at the same time to inspire further research into the esthetics of brutalism.

Termin „brutalizam” označava pokret u arhitekturi koji je proistekao iz visokog modernizma i trajao tokom kratkog perioda između 1950. i 1970. godine. Prva primena termina se dovodi u vezu sa stvaralaštvom engleskih arhitekata Pitera Smitsona (Peter Smithson) i Elison Smitson (Alison Smithson), koji su, podstaknuti Le Korbizjeovom (Le Corbusier) arhitekturom nakon Drugog svetskog rata, Marsejskim blokom (Unité d'Habitation, 1952) i objektima u Čandigaru u Indiji (Chandigarh, 1953), kao i primenom neobrađenog natur-betona (béton brut), projektovali stambeni objekat „Vrtovi Robina Huda” (Robin Hood Gardens, 1969–1972) u Londonu, koji se smatra jednim od prvih primera brutalizma u svetu. Pokret se javio kao rekacija na arhitekturu i idelogiju internacionalnog stila, koja je promovisana na Svetskim kongresima moderne arhitekture (Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne, CIAM), zbog čega je u prvi plan istaknuta potreba za korišćenjem „iskrenih” materijala, primenjenih u sirovom stanju, poput natur-betona i opeke, čime se postiže visok nivo ekspresivnosti površine. Kada se govori o brutalizmu, generalno postoje dva tumačenja. Prvo je da je u pitanju pravac čije je primarno stanovište da materijali koji se koriste u finalizaciji objekta budu primenjeni u izvornom, prirodnom obliku, bez naknadnog dorađivanja, čime se postiže „iskrena” arhitektura, a drugo, da je u pitanju arhitektura koja je brutalna, ili gruba u izrazu. Iako je u svetu izveden značajan broj arhitektonskih objekata u brutalističkom maniru, u našoj istoriografiji i kritici je generalno prisutno mišljenje da pokret brutalizma nije imao značajnijeg uticaja na arhitekturu u Srbiji, zbog čega postoji veoma malo istraživanja na tu temu. I pored pomenutog, evidentni su brojni primeri arhitektonskih objekata u Srbiji, poput stambeno-poslovne kule „Geneks” na Novom Beogradu i motela „Mlinarev san” u Arilju, arh. Mihajla Mitrovića, zgrade Urbanističkog zavoda i Mostarske petlje u Beogradu, arh. Branislava Jovina, Saveznog izvršnog veća III na Novom Beogradu, arh. Ljupka Ćurčića, sportsko-rekreativnog centra „25. maj” u Beogradu, arh. Ivana Antića, i dr., kod kojih je natur-beton primenjen kao primarni materijal u estetskoj artikulaciji. S tim u vezi, ovaj intervju ima za cilj da ukaže na okolnosti koje su dovele do pojave brutalističkih tendencija u srpskoj arhitekturi, kao i da bude povod za dalja istraživanja estetike brutalizma.

The screening of the promotion video for Skopje 2014 made evident that the Macedonian government perceived the problem of Skopje to be one of aesthetics. The aim to participate in the global cultural economy and tourist industry was to be gained by transforming the dull grey matter of the brutalist architecture built in the period after the Kenzo Tange's 1965 master plan for the reconstruction of Skopje. These two versions of architectural ugliness, 'post-communist kitsch' and 'brutalism,' frame the argument that both Skopje 2014 and its criticisms, are politically driven in multiple ways.

SITU, founded and curated by Bruno de Almeida and developed by Galeria Leme, is a platform of production and research that promotes the dialogue between art, architecture and the city, as a tool to broaden the analysis and questioning of contemporary urbanity as a socio-spatial matrix.

This project invites a series of Latin American artists to, one after the other, take hold of the external spaces of Galeria Leme's building with temporary and site-specific works, which relate both to the building and to the adjoining public space. The choice of this gallery (a project commissioned to the Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha in collaboration with Metro Architects) relates not only to its double bond with the art and architecture world, but primarily to its strong architectural features and also to its complex history of construction, demolition, replication and expansion, which can be taken as a representation, on a small scale, of the evolutionary processes of São Paulo and of many other contemporary metropolises.

The curatorial focus falls upon artists whose researches gravitate around architectural and urban space issues, as well as other tangential topics. In addition, there is an emphasis on Latin American artists, as they have another bodily and intellectual spatial understanding that comes from an intense familiarity with the complexity of the public sphere and of the urban and social processes that are specific to Latin America.

By chaining a disparate series of artistic proposals that dialogue directly with the public space, SITU intends to continuously engage and incite a broader and more heterogeneous audience, inviting them to think critically about the city and the processes that shape it. The main purpose is to conceive works that are not innocuous representations of reality and through which pressing issues can be formulated, discussed and propagated.

The Baby Boom and the launch of Sputnik with its widely held belief that North America was falling behind the Soviet Union in education were the two factors leading to the establish of several new universities in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. This is a history of York University, Toronto, now the third largest university in Canada, and of its architecture.

The fall of the Berlin Wall not only anticipated the demise of Communism as a political symbol in the former Eastern Bloc and beyond, but it also meant for millions of citizens the loss of the reference points around which their identity and everyday life had been organised since the end of the Second World War.

This rebuttal proof is a response to several proofs of evidence submitted by objectors at this public inquiry. In particular it is a response to the evidence of Professor Loretta Lees  regarding so called displacement and 'breaking up the community'. In this rebuttal proof of evidence, I focus on those points where I consider the Inspector may find it helpful to have a written response in advance of the public Inquiry. I provide the main rebuttal points but do not provide a comprehensive line by line response to the Objectors’ evidence. In most instances I am willing to provide a response in oral evidence at the Inquiry. Therefore, if I have not responded to or referred to other points in the Objectors’ evidence, it is not because I have accepted those points.

Transitional Monument was made as a proposal for a public artwork. The two images show photos of a now demolished sixties tower block, Linosa Close, Liverpool, with William Morris designs digitally montaged onto the exterior. The proposal brings together the residues of the Morris designs’ utopianism and what they have now become. Conservative bourgeois interior decoration is juxtaposed with the architectural brutalism of the block that used to house many Liverpool dockers. The patterns simultaneously appear to be part of the building, whilst remaining montaged onto and separate from it, turning what is normally inside outside and what is domestic and intimate, public. The montage proposes a monument to two failed utopian aspirations, the original purpose of the block to replace slum housing in the 1960s and Morris’s utopianism. Given that the original block has now been imploded and new housing built on the site, Transitional Monument will also remain, at least in this specific form, an unrealised project.

The emergence of Brutalism in Serbian architecture is mainly connected to the works of several architects, with Branislav Jovin being one of the most significant authors in this group. He is well-known for his project “Belgrade Underground” and numerous other works, such as traffic intersection Mostar, the building of Institute of Urbanism Belgrade, New Belgrade Municipality building, etc. Jovin was equally successful as an accomplished creator of ground floor architecture. His solutions for the pedestrian zone in Knez Mijalova Street and part of the Republic Square, the Sava River Quay and free space in front of Yugoslavia Hotel and the Congress Center Sava determined to a great deal the cosmopolitan character of Belgrade. When in 1970 he completed the building of Institute of Urbanism Belgrade, by using natural concrete as a tool to achieving expressiveness, Jovin, along with other architects - Mihajlo Mitrovic, Ivan Antic, Ljupko Curcic, Bozidar Jankovic, Branislav Karadzic, Aleksandar Stepanovic, laid the foundations for research of brutalist aesthetics in Serbia. Although majority of his works include urbanist-architectural projects and management of outdoor spaces, the inspiration for this interview came primarily from his architectural achievements. The aim of the interview was to emphasize the circumstances that led to emergence of brutalist tendencies in Serbian architecture, as well as to encourage further research of the brutalism aesthetics.

Pojava brutalizma u arhitekturi u Srbiji uglavnom se dovodi u vezu sa stvaralaštvom nekoliko autora, od kojih je jedan od najznačajnijih Branislav Jovin. Poznat po projektu „Metro Beograd” i brojnim realizacijama, poput saobraćajne petlje Mostar, zgrade Urbanističkog zavoda grada Beograda, Skupštine opštine Novi Beograd i dr., Jovin se jednako istakao i kao veliki stvaralac parterne arhitekture. Njegovi projekti uređenja pešačke zone Knez Mihailove ulice i dela Trga Republike, Savskog keja i slobodnih površina ispred hotela Jugoslavija i kongresnog centra Sava, u velikoj meri su odredili kosmopolitski karakter Beograda. Kada je 1970. god. realizovao zgradu Urbanističkog zavoda grada Beograda, primenivši natur-beton kao osnovno sredstvo za postizanje ekspresivnog izraza, Jovin je, uz arhitekte Mihajla Mitrovića, Ivana Antića, Ljupka Ćurčića, Božidara Jankovića, Branislava Karadžića, Aleksandra Stepanovića i dr., postavio temelje za istraživanje brutalističke estetike u Srbiji. Iako veći deo Jovinovog opusa čine urbanističko-arhitektonski projekti i uređenje spoljnih prostora, upravo je značaj njegovih arhitektonskih ostvarenja pružio povod za ovaj intervju. Cilj razgovora je da ukaže na okolnosti koje su dovele do pojave brutalističkih tendencija u srpskoj arhitekturi, kao i da posluži za dalja istraživanja estetike brutalizma.