Steve Rose argues that the time may be ripe for a new respect for brutalism, the mid-century architectural movement that planners love to hate.
"No PR firm would have dreamt up the word "brutalism". The term was derived from Le Corbusier's "Béton brut"- French for "raw concrete", the movement's preferred material - rather than anything to do with brutality, with which it has sadly become better associated. In the popular imagination, brutalism is synonymous with harsh, hostile, ugly architecture (or death metal). Two key examples of the movement are currently under threat, Birmingham Central Library and Robin Hood Gardens, and both have sparked furious debate."
FULL STORY: Don't knock brutalism
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American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
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