I learned something new today: the ugly concrete building style of the 50s to the 70s, exemplified by Le Corbusier, has a name. It is called Brutalist Architecture (the term brutalist originates from the French béton
brut or "raw concrete," but the name does fit the style
well):
The movement was initiated by French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, known more popularly as Le Corbusier. The Brutalist approach was marked by an unashamed display of building functions and construction using poured concrete in a way that did not disguise the rough materials with which buildings are made. Brutalism [sic] completely rejected the classical norms of beautification and decoration for hard angles, rough surfaces, and exposed plumbing and machinery.
Link | Brutalist Architecture at Wikipedia | Brutalist Architecture Flickr pool
(Photo: Barbican Centre in London by GarySmith70 [Flickr])
When a building looks like it it's either
1.An orthopedic device
2.Something from the machine room
3.A parking garage (when it's not)
Something is wrong.
Our entire college is done in a brutalist style. Consequently, we've been named the 11th ugliest college in the nation by the princeton review for the last decade or so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIT
http://blog.adonline.id.au/brutalist-architecture/