10 Pics That Perfectly Sum Up Brutalist Architecture, As Shared On This Online Page

Welcome to brutalism, probably the most divisive aesthetic humanity has created yet. Some may call it ugly and uninspiring. Others believe there are lots of possibilities for creativity using its aesthetics. But whether you’re a lover or a hater, you can’t deny it’s an influential architectural and aesthetic style.

The creators of this IG page also know this, as they are a part of the SocialistModernism project. The Brut Group Instagram is part of the project’s attempt to fight for “the acknowledgment of certain socialist landmarks as historic monuments.” As they continue to do that, Brut Group is a place for examples of brutalist architecture from all over the world, not just the former Eastern Bloc. We’ve prepared a new selection of pics from this IG page for you, Pandas, so scroll down and let us know your favorites.

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The Socialist Modernism page is an initiative developed by BACU – Birou pentru Artă şi Cercetare Urbană (Bureau for Art and Urban Research). It's an architectural heritage protection community-based in Romania. As already mentioned, their goal is to protect built heritage and research within the former Eastern Bloc. Their focus is on the buildings erected between 1955 and 1991.

"We are dealing with the protection/monitoring/research/preservation of the current state of those cities," the group writes on its website. That includes buildings, monuments, parks, squares, entire districts, and green areas.

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They describe the process of their work too: "In the first phase of this project, we will concentrate on the analysis/research/study." The second phase will involve the education of local authorities and inhabitants of those protected areas. They seek the protection of brutalist buildings through legislation.

If you go to the Modernist Socialism website, you can find an interactive map. It shows brutalist buildings from all over the world that architects, urban planners, art historians, and activists have submitted to the project.

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Although the website's mission statement focuses on former Soviet Union countries, the map also includes buildings from other continents.

Some entries are more or less what you'd expect, The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Cuba, for example. But there are other interesting examples, too. The Geisel Library of the University of California in San Diego might be a more surprising listing.

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