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Lindsey

Context as Material: Brutalism and the Built Environment

Brutalist architecture is a notoriously controversial style. It is widely maligned for its imposing forms and criticized for the sense of eeriness and foreboding its buildings project on to their inhabitants. It is “monolithic, heavy and inscrutable, unfamiliar and incomprehensibly unfriendly.” But this reputation sits in uncomfortable contrast with the guiding philosophy of the design movement. Brutalism was conceived as a democratic enterprise where raw, honest materiality and stripped back ornamentation serve as the backdrop for an engaged populous.