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Oh yeah! Jonathan Segal is designing and constructing these blocky concrete and glass buildings all over the city, generally on very tight lots. Some are Brutalist in many ways and he is known for his generally very simple building forms - blocky, lots of concrete interspersed with large sheets of glass, his glass to concrete ratio softens the otherwise sometimes severe structures- this example with its projecting balconies has a nice rhythm to it. I’m probably in the minority but I like most of his buildings, certainly San Diego is not known for being an architecture city so his examples bring to the city a certain bold modernity to what is almost always a very conservative industry with ho-hum building to show for it.
He is a rare, very wealthy architect as his business model of designer/developer/builder/landlord has made him very successful. I’ve met him a few times, real interesting guy. He is in the process of selling off all his buildings to finance a Super Tall (for San Diego’s FAA constrained 500’ limit) Skinny tower downtown. Should be interesting.
If you think about it, Jonathan’s designs harken directly to one of this region’s (and the world’s) most famous Brutalist-like building, Louis Kahn’s almost 60 year old Salk Institute on the cliffs of La Jolla.
I found it (the Continental) a bit hard to believe that it took such a prestigious award- but I think it had more to do with “affordable housing” than anything else. I find the term “affordable housing” in Cali an oxymoron.
The Salk is not much to look at from the south course either!!!
I’ve chased a few courses for the bucket list... I’m sure Augusta will remain insurmountable- well, I can think of a lot worse!!!
Yes, the classic example of the all-knowing architect deciding that "they're just workforce, they can live in apartments with all the charm of a shipping container". But of course the architect's SON gets the one three-bedroom special apartment in the building.
As T. Damon said, those CT building renderings are not Brutalist architecture, but are very attractive, imo. Also, the term brutal does not refer to the adjective, cheers
That type is now very common with the invention of chemically treated fire-resistant lumber, which can be used for midrise buildings that previously required steel. That may need a new label, since Brutalism is based on concrete. Black box, shoebox, etc.
Like them or not, the images linked previously in this thread do not reflect Brutalism in the slightest.
No one is saying that these new buildings are true examples of Brutalism. We are talking about a revival of the movement and how many of these have Brutalist elements. Call it Brutalism Revival if you like. Jay
A new apartment building is being proposed in New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven is home to Yale University which has a very prestigious School of Architecture. This has given the city a lot of great architecture which is a bit ahead of its time.
To me this building seems to have tones of Brutalistic Architecture from the 70’s. Is that coming back? I can’t say those buildings aged well. Do you think the s.tyle is coming back like 50’s/60’s architecture seems to have been? Jay
Even an expensive and trendy Brutalist building looks like a half-finished project in a Third World country, planned by a Communist government committee.
The building in the photo in the article isn't really Brutalist, though; 432 Park Avenue and 232 East 54th Street in midtown Manhattan have the same style. It's not decorative, but it's not hideous (i.e., it at least has decent proportions and lacks ugly shapes). When trends change, it can be fixed up a bit on the outside, unlike Brutalist buildings, which have ugly shapes and which all should be demolished immediately.
The recent Disney Star Wars offshoot, Andor used a number of gritty brutalist buildings in London, including the Barbican Estate and Brunswick Centre, whilst the series also made use of parts of Canary Wharf including the new Crossrail Station, as well as the McLaren Technology Centre near Woking, Surrey in England.
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