Brutalism Archives

Not So Brutal After All: Misconceptions About Brutalist Architecture

February 9, 2024
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image by Warren LeMay

If you want to start a lively architectural debate, bring up brutalist architecture or brutalism. Defined by blocky concrete forms with exposed utilities and creative use of both symmetrical and…

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Retro Road Trip

The Simple Geometric Beauty of Breuer’s BCC Buildings

December 6, 2023
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image by Zii1028/Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike 4.0 International License

While exploring New York City, you may stumble across a surprising amalgamation of architecture at the Bronx Community College (BCC) campus. The college is perhaps most famous for its Stanford…

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The symmetrical Geisel library with large concrete beams and many glass windows in the day time.

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Brutalist Architecture 101

August 17, 2023
Written by Hannah Strandberg

Brutalism has resulted in some of the most heated architectural debates in history. It often appears intrusive and intimidating, but a closer look at the fine print may help us understand these mysterious buildings.

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Retro Road Trip

Lauinger Library: A Brutalist Take on Romanesque Design

July 14, 2023
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image by catelinp

Among the Romanesque, Georgian and Gothic buildings that define the Georgetown University Campus, you will spot one Brutalist building that stands out through its stark modern lines. This structure is…

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Retro Road Trip

33 Thomas Street: A Sleek Brutalist Habitat for Machines

June 25, 2023
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image by Lars Plougmann

While you are exploring Lower Manhattan in NYC, you may notice a distinctive and unusual building soaring 550 feet and utterly devoid of windows. This ominous, mysterious structure is located…

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The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: A Window on the Landscape

April 1, 2023
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image photography by Dmadeo/CC-BY-SA-3.0

If you are ever at Cornell University, you have the chance to visit the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, also known simply as the “Johnson Museum” or the “Cornell…

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Boston City Hall: A Controversial Brutalist Landmark

March 18, 2023
Written by Kye Cardinalis and Featured image photography by Newton Court/CC-BY-SA-4.0.

If there is one building that divides Bostonians, it is the notorious Boston City Hall. This Brutalist structure looms imposingly over Boston City Hall Plaza, drawing both criticism and praise.…

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the Endo Pharmaceuticals building exterior

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Retro Road Trip

Endo Laboratories: The “Fortress for Pharmaceuticals”

March 16, 2023
Written by Kye

While in Garden City on Long Island, you can drive to see a brutalist structure that has been dubbed the “Fortress for Pharmaceuticals” by John Morris Dixon in “Progressive Architecture.”…

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