Here I'll define brutalism as the exposure of concrete / ductwork in a way that makes the object have a brutal appearance. Be your own boss! The word means whatever you think it means. The word itself is an impression in the eye of the beholder... Brutalism is monumental yet hard-edged and sharp, giving it some power of intimidation. Whereas steel structures tend to be spare and graceful, brutalist buildings are typically made of concrete. A popular local example is Moos Tower (I didn't modify this picture; props to the artist.) It is easy to see this building is about to crush us all. That is what brutalism is all about. Crushing!! Below is an adjacent complex @ Munich. All stone. Sometimes brutalism merges (by necessity) with other blog topics such as airpots, churches, even -- ahem, -- all-time architecture classics. Like the Salk Institute at La Jolla, CA, by Louis Kahn. It's monumental and killer, skirting grace, without actually leaving monumental behind. Sometimes airports make you think brutalism... Paris - Charles du Gaulle Amsterdam Schiphol Philadelphia Anchorage, AK Tower. Some more brutalist sightings in Minnesota: The Minnesota Zoo is a big fan of concrete, particularly the early-1980s monkey exhibits. In the University of MN district, there are a number of brutalist buildings, some on the graceful side. Rarig Center, at the University of Minnesota Williamson Hall, also at the U, employs green topped, sub-terranian structure! Cedar-Riverside Towers is quite the eye-catcher beside a major highway. On the upside, it is a Brutalist landmark with LRT access on-site! Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, MN has a brutalist FOUNTAIN / SCULPTURE GARDEN..... who ever heard of this shit?! ...... CLASSIC BRUTALISM ........ This is the Key Bridge Mariott in Rosslyn, VA. Below is probably the prettiest building possible to include on this topic, the Saint Marie de le Tourette monastary, by Le Corbusier! Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington..... (More to Come: Rapson Dinkytown library, Girard Ave house, Snelling Ave church, O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul? Damn we have a lot of everything in MSP. Some other vaguely threatening brutalism from around the USA... And this Hawaiian walkway. The Buckner Building in Whitter, AK... it's brutal in some ways anyhow. Breck Chapel vs brutalism? This architect (Cunningham) build some similar buildings in 1982 era. Here is a shitty Communist apartment block I lived in in Rosslyn, VA. Totally original (AKA 1950s falling apart). Considering the wealth of that zip code, it's probably demolished / co-opped by now. The Washington, DC metro stations are, of course, icons of brutalism under designer Harry Weese. This Russian-influenced monolith at Al Fujairah, UAE just crushes with monumentality!! As does this arch... Ryugong hotel in North Korea: Nooooo it hurts This is a roads ministry in Tblisi, Georgia Town Hall at Yalta Scary ministry building in Kalinigrad, Russia The above few pictures are from this blog. Other photos on this post are mostly mine.