Architectural Brute(alist)s

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• Ceit

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Architecture, like art and fashion, changes over time. Sometimes styles are remembered and recreated with nostalgia, and sometimes they are ... not. A particularly 20th century style is Brutalism, which sounds weirdly aggressive, but makes sense when one sees examples of it. It came about for a number of reasons, including financial ones, and although not exactly elegant or eye-catching, examples can have a certain classical aura about them. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/what-is-brutalism-brutalist-architecture-art-1234730107/ Like other styles, it leaked into other areas of design and construction. Here's a 10-year-old Slate article about Brutalist playgrounds: https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/06/the-hard-and-scary-playgrounds-of-yesterday-just-as-rooted-in-their-era-as-the-soft-padded-ones-of-today.html The article argues that not only were the playgrounds relatively cheap to build, they encouraged children to use their imaginations and create games for themselves on the uninstructive space they had. Some of us might just remember sharper angles and greater heights on playground equipment than can be seen today. Of course, by the '80s or so, Brutalist playgrounds were not really acceptable, but maybe what we had was still a little too risky for today's (probably) single-child parent. While primarily an exterior style, recently designers have been bringing the Brutalist aesthetic inside too. It seems to appeal to a sense of minimalism, escape from over-refinement or excessive decoration. Much like the playgrounds, the elements might not distract but I don't know if they're really the most comfortable things to have around you. I guess it depends on how much you want to escape from the hardness of reality in your personal space. https://sabiinadesign.com/brutalism-interior-design/