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The first published usage of the phrase "New Brutalism" occurred in 1953, when Alison Smithson used it to describe a plan for their unbuilt Soho house which appeared in the November issue of Architectural Design. The term was picked up in the summer of 1950 by a group of visiting English architects, including Michael Ventris, Oliver Cox, and Graeme Shankland, where it apparently "spread like wildfire, and subsequently adopted by a certain faction of young British architects". Showcasing the 'as found' design approach that would later be at the core of Brutalism the house displays visible I-beams over windows, exposed brick inside and out, and poured concrete in several rooms where the tongue-and-groove pattern of the boards used to build the forms can be seen. The term Nybrutalism (New Brutalism) was coined by the Swedish architect Hans Asplund to describe Villa Göth, a modern brick home in Uppsala, designed in January 1950 by his contemporaries Bengt Edman and Lennart Holm. "New Brutalism" was used for the first time to describe this house. Villa Göth (1950) in Kåbo, Uppsala, Sweden. In 2006, several Bostonian architects called for a rebranding of the style to "Heroic architecture" to distance itself from the negative connotations of the term "brutalism". In recent decades, the movement has become a subject of renewed interest. īrutalism has been polarising historically specific buildings, as well as the movement as a whole, have drawn a range of criticism (often being described as "cold" or "soulless"), but have also elicited support from architects and local communities (with many brutalist buildings having become cultural icons, sometimes obtaining listed status). The popularity of the movement began to decline in the late 1970s, with some associating the style with urban decay and totalitarianism. Brutalist designs became most commonly used in the design of institutional buildings, such as universities, libraries, courts and city halls. In the United Kingdom, Brutalism was featured in the design of utilitarian, low-cost social housing influenced by socialist principles and soon spread to other regions around the world. The style, as developed by architects such as the Smithsons, Hungarian-born Ernő Goldfinger, and the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, was partly foreshadowed by the modernist work of other architects such as French-Swiss Le Corbusier, Estonian-American Louis Kahn, German-American Mies van der Rohe, and Finnish Alvar Aalto. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic Reyner Banham, who also associated the movement with the French phrases béton brut ("raw concrete") and art brut ("raw art").

Derived from the Swedish phrase nybrutalism, the term "New Brutalism" was first used by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson for their pioneering approach to design. ĭescending from the modernist movement, Brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. Top left: Park Hill Flats in Sheffield, UK top centre: Soviet era housing blocks in Talnakh, Russia top right: Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex in Caracas, Venezuela middle left: Royal National Theatre in London, UK middle centre: Boston City Hall in Boston, US middle right: Khrushchyovka style apartment block in the former Soviet Union bottom left: Robarts Library in Toronto bottom middle: Barbican Centre in London, UK bottom right: Alexandra Road Estate in Camden, UKīrutalist architecture is an architectural style which emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era.