middle class home interior design
the period after world war two saw thespread of massive concrete blocks in city centers around europe. the germanarchitecture museum in frankfurt is devoting an exhibition to theconstruction style known as brutalism - featuring giant models. the curators hadthe replicas built to showcase prime examples of brutalist buildings fromaround the world. "our exhibition 'sos brutalism' is subtitled 'save the concrete monsters!' we wanted to bring viewers close to the power and the sculptural quality of this era. we have these huge monsters standing around like animals in a zoo and basically it's a conservation project; we have an endangered species, these
concrete monsters, the brutalist buildings of the 1960s. and our aim is to protect them and raise people's awareness of them." the afe tower in frankfurt was knocked down -- like many other brutalist buildings. robin hood gardens in london were recently slated for demolition, too. the residental block was designed by architect couple alison and peter smithson. they pioneered brutalism in britain after world war two - as it rebuilt its destroyed cities. the name brutalism derives from the french "beton brut" -- meaning 'raw concrete'. "the typical brutalist building shows its materials plain and naked. there is no covering
over it, no paint, nothing that hides the construction. the toughest phase of modernism which i'd say was brutalism, fascinates a lot of people, because it emerged in that time with a new kind of massiveness." a craze for brutalism has broken out on the internet. tens of thousands of fans call for these buildings to be preserved. but few people could imagine living in them. "i like the very strong shapes , that is very powerful." "bunkers. that's what i feel." "it is lovely, i love it. because i like architecture and i think this building has some feeling.â€
"i'd have it torn down. that's my opinion." more then ten percent of the buildings from the period are currently threatened with demolition. that's why the website "sos brutalism" was launched. users helped create a world map showing more than 900 brutalist buildings, along with an overview of currently endangered examples. "you can use this 'sos brutalism' platform to create a kind of public sphere withlike-minded people. so we are a kind of 'concrete grass roots movement'." many architects are among the fans of
brutalism. arno brandlhuber of berlin applies the principles of brutalism to his new designs forbuildings. he's trying to revamp concrete's poorimage "people seem to automatically associate concrete with 'big housing projects', 'surreal', and 'social problems'. and they associate natural stone, brass door handles, and wallpaper with happiness and social peace. but is that the way it really is?" in a modest one-family home, he can create more living space by remodeling withconcrete. the principle is "much space for
little money" - the brutalist buildings of the 1950s and '60s paved the way. "the message is: make more from less. and i think this way of thinking spatial generosity withsimpler materials is a timely stands for architecture. "sos brutalism – save the concrete monsters!“ . it's an exhibition that does more than document a trend. it alsoprovides provides an impetus to change architecture, the way brutalist architecture once shaped the future.