I grew up admiring the brutalist inspired buildings at UNM (the style blends nicely with adobe and Pueblo architecture). There are many in Albuquerque.
The style also reminds me of late 70s science fiction art depicting spaceships and vast buildings.
It's been shunned by my school for years; is due to be demolished; and there are few photos of the interior. It's a tragedy to me, since I spent as much time as I could lounging in it.
I'm not a fan of Brutalism in general. But there are some pretty good examples on the MIT campus including the group in east campus. I also rather like the Stratton Student Center on west campus by Eduardo Catalano. Other examples like McCormick are not great.
On the other hand I really enjoyed all the Brutalist architecture on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. The imposing concrete buildings made a great contrast to the otherwise entirely natural beauty of the Pioneer Valley.
I know to each his own, but I love the aesthetic of the Boston City Hall, and while not fully brutalist, a lot of really cool and abstract designs came from brutalism. My favorite college campuses I've been to have fully embraced the brutal with bizarre overhangs, odd shapes, posts, etc.
The ugliest campuses to me are either the ones that create a faux old world feel or just opt for business park chic.
Same goes for neighborhoods. I love seeing neighborhoods from the 60s or 70s that took a more brutalist/abstract inspiration. Large windows, backless stairs, conversation pits, etc.
To me it looks a whole lot nicer than modern home construction trying to mix southern porches with Victorian styles, all on top of a sears foundation.
Oh, and by the way, I think lots of 'futuristic' buildings in visual forms of fiction in fact look like brutalism and, I'm even afraid to say, constructivism. All those wacky towers and endless rooftops in cyberpunk films. Video games in particular, and especially Quake, remind a lot of brutalism-probably because individually designed brutalist buildings look interesting from every angle and at the same time are pretty simple (not much to model): https://www.format.com/magazine/galleries/design/lego-sculpt...
Guess some people actually like those forms, if you dress them up properly.
Thanks! When I see brutalism it conveys a sense of purpose and always looks futuristic. I guess I understand why people don't like it, but in my opinion, many of the buildings are much more interesting than seemingly cookie cutter modern glass towers.
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