Brutalism was an architectural style that spread widely from the 1950s through the 1970s, characterised by massive, blocky forms and the use of raw, exposed concrete. The name comes from the French phrase for raw concrete, beton brut, used by Le Corbusier for his Unite d'Habitation in Marseille, and was developed into the term New Brutalism by the critic Reyner Banham and the architects Alison and Peter Smithson in the mid-1950s. The style was popular for housing estates, universities, libraries and government buildings, and examples include the Barbican Estate in London and Boston City Hall. It was favoured for its honesty about materials and low cost, but many people found such buildings cold and imposing, and several have been demolished, though others are now valued and protected.
Before and after
- 1950Publication of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- c. 1950sDuverger's law
- 1950Founding of Olympique Lyonnais
- from 1950 to 1975Rise of Pathet Lao
- from c. 1950s to 1970sRise of brutalist architecture
- 21 January 1950Death of George Orwell
- 26 January 1950Constitution of India
- 15 February 1950Release of Cinderella
- 21 March 1950Birth of Sergey Lavrov
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1954Publication of The Lord of the Rings
- 1956Premiere of Eurovision Song Contest
- 1958Publication of Exodus
- from 13 August 1961 to 9 November 1989Construction of Berlin Wall
- 1986Construction of Musée d'Orsay
- from 17 April 2011 to 19 May 2019Premiere of Game of Thrones
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.