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104-483: It is a controversial and prominent example of Brutalist architecture , part of the modernist movement. It was designed by the architecture firms Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles and Campbell, Aldrich & Nulty , with LeMessurier Consultants as engineers. Together with the surrounding plaza , City Hall is part of the Government Center complex. This project constituted a major urban redesign effort in

208-562: A 1976 Bicentennial poll of historians and architects regarding the United States' greatest buildings, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, Boston City Hall received the sixth-most mentions. When Boston's Mayor Menino stirred controversy in 2010 with a discussion of selling City Hall (see below), opponents of the proposal expressed praise of the building for its influence, design originality, and symbolism as

312-511: A Landmarks Commission official said that the petition to designate the building as a landmark had been accepted for study, giving the building pending landmark status. Members of the group Citizens for City Hall also opposed Mayor Menino's plan to build a new City Hall on the South Boston waterfront because it would be a major inconvenience for tens of thousands of city residents. In December 2008, Menino suspended his plan to move City Hall as

416-456: A brutalist structure must satisfy the following terms, "1, Formal legibility of plan; 2, clear exhibition of structure, and 3, valuation of materials for their inherent qualities 'as found'." Also important was the aesthetic "image", or "coherence of the building as a visual entity". Brutalist buildings are usually constructed with reoccurring modular elements representing specific functional zones, distinctly articulated and grouped together into

520-631: A building will usually be directed against a brutalist one. According to Simon Jenkins , "Few styles in history can have been met with so many pleas from its users to see it destroyed." In 2005, the British TV programme Demolition ran a public vote to select twelve buildings that ought to be demolished, and eight of those selected were brutalist buildings. One argument is that this criticism exists in part because concrete façades do not age well in damp, cloudy maritime climates such as those of northwestern Europe and New England . In these climates,

624-603: A certain faction of young British architects". The first published usage of the phrase "new brutalism" occurred in 1953, when Alison Smithson used it to describe a plan for their unbuilt Soho house which appeared in the November issue of Architectural Design . She further stated: "It is our intention in this building to have the structure exposed entirely, without interior finishes wherever practicable." The Smithsons' Hunstanton School completed in 1954 in Norfolk , and

728-436: A commentator wrote that, "I believe it's only a matter of time, and it will have to be totally removed, not modified, not retrofitted, not adapted." In 2008, the building was voted "World's Ugliest Building" in an online poll by the travel agency Virtualtourist . A number of news outlets picked up that moniker, and Mayor Tom Menino adopted it during his long tenure as a boon to tourism. A 2013 essay by columnist Paul McMorrow in

832-483: A comprehensible style might emerge", supporting the Smithsons' description of the movement as "an ethic, not an aesthetic". Reyner Banham felt the phrase "the new brutalism" existed as both an attitude toward design as well as a descriptive label for the architecture itself and that it "eludes precise description, while remaining a living force". He attempted to codify the movement in systematic language, insisting that

936-540: A crowded city at arm's length. Paul McMorrow (columnist), The Boston Globe , 2013 Popular news media considers City Hall the "world's ugliest building", including the Boston Globe and the Telegraph . In the 1960s, Mayor John F. Collins reportedly gasped as the design was first unveiled, and someone in the room blurted out, "What the hell is that?" City Hall is very unpopular with some Bostonians, as it

1040-738: A marker of Boston's rebirth in the 1960s. Supporters of the building applied to the Boston Landmarks Commission for its designation as a landmark, with supporting signatures and letters from architecture critic Jane Holtz Kay , Friends of the Public Garden President Henry Lee, and others. The Boston Globe published editorials recognizing the building's importance. Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote an article published in The Wall Street Journal in which she contrasted

1144-491: A modernist building in steel and glass before cost considerations meant the structural elements were redesigned in concrete and moved to the outside of the building. Evans Woollen III 's brutalist Clowes Memorial Hall , a performing arts facility that opened in 1963 on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis , was praised for its bold and dramatic design. The University of Minnesota 's West Bank campus features

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1248-553: A new building on another site. On December 12, 2006, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino proposed selling the current city hall and adjacent plaza to private developers and moving the city government to a site in South Boston . Amid his plans, in April 2007, the Boston Landmarks Commission reviewed a petition to make the building a city landmark, supported by a group of architects and preservationists. On July 10, 2008,

1352-493: A prominent, visible tower. Rather than being hidden in the walls, Hunstanton's water and electric utilities were delivered via readily visible pipes and conduits. Brutalism as an architectural philosophy was often associated with a socialist utopian ideology, which tended to be supported by its designers, especially by Alison and Peter Smithson , near the height of the style. Indeed, their work sought to emphasize functionality and to connect architecture with what they viewed as

1456-571: A small number of local communities (with many brutalist buildings having become official, if not popular, cultural icons, sometimes obtaining a protected status). The term nybrutalism (new brutalism) was coined by the Swedish architect Hans Asplund to describe Villa Göth , a modern brick home in Uppsala , designed in January 1950 by his contemporaries Bengt Edman and Lennart Holm. Showcasing

1560-402: A unified whole. There is often an emphasis on graphic expressions in the external elevations and in the whole-site architectural plan in regard to the main functions and people-flows of the buildings. Buildings may use materials such as concrete, brick, glass, steel, timber, rough-hewn stone, and gabions among others. However, due to its low cost, raw concrete is often used and left to reveal

1664-406: A visual and symbolic connection between the city and its government. The effect is of a small city of concrete-sheltered structures cantilevered above the plaza: large forms that house important civic activities. The cantilevers are supported by exterior columns, spaced alternately at 14-foot-4-inch (4.37 m) and 28-foot-8-inch (8.74 m), which are steel-reinforced. The upper stories contain

1768-584: Is known for his brutalist academic buildings. Marcel Breuer was known for his "soft" approach to the style, often using curves rather than corners. In Atlanta , Georgia, the architectural style was introduced to Buckhead's affluent Peachtree Road with the Ted Levy-designed Plaza Towers and Park Place on Peachtree condominiums. Many of the stations of the Washington Metro , particularly older stations, were constructed in

1872-755: Is largely brutalist, designed as an expression of Afrikaans identity. Several universities in Southeast Asia also feature brutalist designs, including those at the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmaceutical University , the Royal University of Phnom Penh , and the Industrial College of Hue . A 2014 article in The Economist noted its unpopularity with the public, observing that a campaign to demolish

1976-688: Is sometimes used for parades and rallies and, most memorably, the region's championship sports teams, the Boston Celtics , Boston Bruins , New England Patriots , and the Boston Red Sox , have been feted in front of City Hall. A huge crowd in the plaza also greeted Queen Elizabeth II during her 1976 Bicentennial visit, as she walked from the Old State House to City Hall to have lunch with the Mayor. From 2013 to 2016, City Hall Plaza

2080-525: Is with some employees of the building. In 2006 some described it as a dark and unfriendly eyesore . In part, such opinions are a reaction against greater Boston's numerous examples of concrete modernism from the 1960s. The building's popularity declined as the tide turned away from modernism in New England to more traditional and post-modern styles in the 1970s and 1980s. The building was no longer new, architectural monumentality fell out of favor, and

2184-487: The bao cấp era (lit: subsidizing), the period during which the country followed Soviet-type economic planning . Many Soviet architects , most notably Garol Isakovich , were sent to Vietnam during that time to help train new architects and played an influential role in shaping the country's architectural styles for decades. Isakovich himself also designed some of the most notable brutalist buildings in Vietnam, including

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2288-603: The Award of Merit by the American Institute of Architects in 1976 for distinguished accomplishment in library architecture. However, in recent years, as public attitudes towards brutalism have shifted, the library has been referred to as one of the "ugliest" buildings in Georgetown and Washington, D.C. Examples of brutalist university campuses can be found in other countries as well. The Robarts Library at

2392-517: The Boston Globe described it as "the worst building in the city" and advocated demolition. Curbed Boston included City Hall on its 2018 list of Boston's "10 ugliest buildings." A 2016 Boston Globe essay about "Boston flops, flubs, and failures" said City Hall was "cracking internally like a dead molar waiting to be pulled. The surrounding City Hall Plaza has experienced a similar change in assessment over time. Although its recessed fountain, trees, and umbrella-shaded tables drew crowds in its early years,

2496-562: The Central Hall of the University of York with its surrounding colleges, designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners, who would go on to build the universities of Bath , Stirling and Ulster . A notable pairing of brutalist campus buildings is found at Durham University , with Ove Arup 's Grade I-listed Kingsgate Bridge (1963), one of only six post-1961 buildings to have been listed as Grade I by 2017, and

2600-565: The Florey Building at Queen's College, Oxford , both also Grade II*), is described in its listing as "a distinctive example of a new approach to education buildings, from a period when the universities were at the forefront of architectural patronage". The building of new universities in the UK in the 1960s led to opportunities for brutalist architects. The first to be built was the University of Sussex , designed by Basil Spence , with

2704-592: The Great Recession set in, stating, "I can't consciously move ahead on a major project like this at this time." An advocacy group, Friends of Boston City Hall, was established to help develop support for preserving and enhancing City Hall and improving the Plaza. In 2010, the Boston Society of Architects held a competition for ideas for modifying City Hall. In March 2011, plans were announced to rethink

2808-1403: The Laval University campus in Quebec City; Habitat 67 , Place Bonaventure , the Maison de Radio-Canada , and several metro stations on the Montreal Metro's Green Line ; the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown; the National Arts Centre in Ottawa ; the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston; the Ontario Science Centre , Robarts Library , Rochdale College in Toronto ; Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Canadian Grain Commission building in Winnipeg ; and

2912-554: The Rarig Center , a performing arts venue by Ralph Rapson from 1971 that has been called "the best example in the Twin Cities of the style called Brutalism". Faner Hall at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has long been controversial for its use of brutalism and has been considered an eyesore on campus, deemed to have a "facade only a mother could love" by the university itself. The Joseph Mark Lauinger Library ,

3016-620: The Royal Institute of British Architects . Denys Lasdun 's work at the University of East Anglia , including six linked halls of residence commonly referred to as 'ziggurats', is considered one of the finest examples of a 1960s brutalist university campus. Other notable examples include the Grade II listed lecture block at Brunel University , used as a location in Stanley Kubrick 's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange , and

3120-458: The September 11 attacks in 2001, security was further increased. The north entrance, facing the plaza, was barricaded with jersey barriers and bicycle racks. All visitors entering the front and the back entrances must pass through metal detectors. City Hall was constructed by using mainly cast-in-place and precast Portland cement concrete and some masonry. About half of the concrete used in

3224-522: The University of Toronto was designed by Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde and built between 1968 and 1973. Although it has been called "a crowning achievement of the brutalist movement", its opening in 1974 came after public sentiment had turned against brutalism, leading to it being condemned as "a blunder on the grandest scale". Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa (now Kingsway Campus Auckland Park , University of Johannesburg )

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3328-636: The Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Palace of Culture and Labour (1985). In his later years, Isakovich, who was awarded the Hero of Labor by the Vietnamese government in 1976, is said to have deviated from the brutalist style and adopted Vietnamese traditional styles in his design, which has been referred to by some Vietnamese architects as Chủ nghĩa hiện đại địa phương (lit: local modernism ) and hậu hiện đại ( postmodernism ). In

3432-407: The modernist movement , brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. Derived from the Swedish phrase nybrutalism, the term "new brutalism" was first used by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson for their pioneering approach to design. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic Reyner Banham , who also associated

3536-470: The "Architects and Engineers for the Boston City Hall" as the entity responsible for construction, which took place from 1963 to 1968. The architects designed City Hall as divided into three sections, aesthetically and also by use. The lowest portion of the building, the brick-faced base, which is partially built into a hillside, consists of four levels of the departments of city government, where

3640-513: The 'as found' design approach that would later be at the core of brutalism, the house displays visible I-beams over windows, exposed brick inside and out, and poured concrete in several rooms where the tongue-and-groove pattern of the boards used to build the forms can be seen. The term was picked up in the summer of 1950 by a group of visiting English architects, including Michael Ventris , Oliver Cox, and Graeme Shankland, where it apparently "spread like wildfire, and [was] subsequently adopted by

3744-569: The 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick , angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel , timber , and glass , are also featured. Descending from

3848-456: The 1960s, as Boston demolished an area of housing and businesses. The building has been subject to widespread public condemnation, and is sometimes called one of the world's ugliest buildings. Calls for the structure to be demolished have been regularly made even before construction was finished. Architects and critics considered it to be excellent work, with one poll from 1976 finding that professional architects describe Boston City Hall as one of

3952-453: The 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic? , to characterise a somewhat recently established cluster of architectural approaches, particularly in Europe. In the book, Banham says that Le Corbusier's concrete work was a source of inspiration and helped popularise the movement, suggesting "if there is one single verbal formula that has made the concept of Brutalism admissible in most of

4056-524: The 1970s in the world. The treatment of the form and details is slightly associating the building with postmodernism and is today one of the rare surviving representatives of this style's early period in Serbia. The artistic expression of the gate marked an entire era in Serbian architecture. In Vietnam , brutalist architecture is particularly popular among old public buildings and has been associated with

4160-595: The Blackstone Block buildings across Congress Street. The intermediate portion of City Hall houses the public elected officials: the Mayor, the City Council members, and the Council Chamber. The large scale and the protrusion of these interior spaces on the outside, instead of being buried deep within the building, reveal the important public functions to the passers-by and are intended to create

4264-761: The British capital include the Barbican Centre ( Chamberlin, Powell and Bon ) and the National Theatre ( Denys Lasdun ). In the United States , Paul Rudolph and Ralph Rapson were both noted brutalists. Evans Woollen III , a pacesetter among architects in the Midwest , is credited for introducing the Brutalist and Modernist architecture styles to Indianapolis , Indiana. Walter Netsch

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4368-687: The East Campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago ) under a single, unified brutalist design. Netsch also designed the brutalist Joseph Regenstein Library for the University of Chicago and the Northwestern University Library . Crafton Hills College in California was designed by desert modern architect E. Stewart Williams in 1965 and built between 1966 and 1976. Williams' brutalist design contrasts with

4472-515: The Grade I listed Falmer House as its centerpiece. The building has been described as a "meeting of Arts and Crafts with modernism", with features such as hand-made bricks that contrast with the pre-fabricated construction of other 1960s campuses, and colonnades of bare, board-marked concrete arches on brick piers inspired by the Colosseum. It is also considered one of the "key Brutalist buildings" by

4576-790: The Grade II-listed Dunelm House (Richard Raines of the Architects' Co-Partnership ; 1964–66), described in its listing as "the foremost students' union building of the post-war era in England" but only saved from demolition in 2021 following a five-year campaign by the Twentieth Century Society . One of the earliest brutalist buildings in the US was Paul Rudolph 's 1963 Art and Architecture Building at Yale University where, as department chair, he

4680-807: The Smithsons' Robin Hood Gardens (2017) in East London , John Madin 's Birmingham Central Library (2016), Marcel Breuer's American Press Institute Building in Reston, Virginia , Araldo Cossutta 's Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, D.C. (2014), and the Welbeck Street car park in London (2019). Congress Street (Boston) Congress Street in Boston , Massachusetts ,

4784-646: The Sugden House completed in 1955 in Watford , represent the earliest examples of new brutalism in the United Kingdom. Hunstanton school, likely inspired by Mies van der Rohe 's 1946 Alumni Memorial Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago , United States, is notable as the first completed building in the world to carry the title of "new brutalist" by its architects. At the time, it

4888-468: The United Kingdom, brutalism was featured in the design of utilitarian, low-cost social housing influenced by socialist principles and soon spread to other regions around the world, while being echoed by similar styles like in Eastern Europe. Brutalist designs became most commonly used in the design of institutional buildings, such as provincial legislatures, public works projects, universities , libraries , courts , and city halls . The popularity of

4992-437: The United States have been recognized, such as the Pirelli Tire Building in New Haven's Long Wharf. The Twentieth Century Society has unsuccessfully campaigned against the demolition of British buildings such as the Tricorn Centre and Trinity Square multi-storey car park but successfully in the case of Preston bus station garage, London's Hayward Gallery , and others. Notable buildings that have been demolished include

5096-427: The University of Sydney (his State Office Block is another), the High Court of Australia and Warringah Civic Centre by Christopher Kringas , the MUSE building (also referred to as C7A MUSE) which was the original Library at Macquarie University before the new library replaced it, and WTC Wharf (World Trade Centre in Melbourne ). John Andrews 's government and institutional structures in Australia also exhibit

5200-432: The anniversary year, architect Aaron Betsky wrote that City Hall "is one of the last concrete examples of government willing to fight for what it thinks is right, which is, or should be, or common good." City Hall is so ugly that its insane upside-down wedding-cake columns and windswept plaza distract from the building's true offense. Its great crime isn't being ugly; it's being anti-urban. The building and its plaza keep

5304-475: The architects sought to create a bold statement of modern civic democracy, placed within the historic city of Boston. While the architects looked to precedents by Le Corbusier , especially the monastery of Sainte Marie de La Tourette , with its cantilevered upper floors, exposed concrete structure, and a similar interpretation of public and private spaces, they also drew from the example of Medieval and Renaissance Italian town halls and public spaces, as well as from

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5408-444: The attractive elements of smaller structures." Architect, educator, and writer Donlyn Lyndon wrote in The Boston Globe , "Boston City Hall carries an authority that results from the clarity, articulation, and intensity of imagination with which it has been formed." Architectural historian Douglass Shand-Tucci, author of Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800–2000 , called City Hall "one of America's foremost landmarks" and "arguably

5512-477: The basic nature of its construction with rough surfaces featuring wood "shuttering" produced when the forms were cast in situ . Examples are frequently massive in character (even when not large) and challenge traditional notions of what a building should look like with focus given to interior spaces as much as exterior. A common theme in brutalist designs is the exposure of the building's inner-workings—ranging from their structure and services to their human use—in

5616-409: The bold granite structures of 19th-century Boston (including Alexander Parris' Quincy Market immediately to the east). Many of the elements in the design have been seen as abstractions of classical design elements, such as the coffers and the architrave above the concrete columns. Kallmann, McKinnell, and Knowles collaborated with two other Boston architectural firms and one engineering firm to form

5720-428: The brutalist style. Architectural historian William Jordy says that although Louis Kahn was "[o]pposed to what he regarded as the muscular posturing of most Brutalism", some of his work "was surely informed by some of the same ideas that came to momentary focus in the brutalist position." In Australia , examples of the brutalist style are Robin Gibson 's Queensland Art Gallery , Ken Woolley 's Fisher Library at

5824-582: The building and its surrounding plaza. While a candidate for Mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh called for the sale of City Hall for mixed-use redevelopment. But after his election, Walsh did not pursue such a sale. In 2015, the City of Boston launched a "Rethink City Hall" program to gather ideas for changes to the building and to City Hall Plaza. The Getty Foundation awarded Boston a grant of $ 120,000 in 2017 to study ways to preserve and enhance City Hall and its plaza. The Foundation noted "a shift in public sentiment" in recent years, "with many residents now embracing

5928-423: The building is dark with brick, Welsh quarry tiles, mahogany walls, and darker concrete. As the building ascends, the overall color lightens, as lighter concrete is used. The public response to Boston City Hall continues to be sharply divided. Arguments for and against continued use of the structure provoke strong counter-arguments from politicians, local press, design professionals, and the general public. City Hall

6032-447: The building was precast (roughly 22,000 separate components), and the other half was poured-in-place concrete. All of the concrete in the structure, except that of the columns, is mixed with a light, coarse rock. While the majority of the building is created using concrete, precast and poured-in-place concrete are distinguishable by their different colors and textures. For example, cast-in-place elements are coarse and grainy textured because

6136-425: The building's visual weight, making it less top-heavy and intimidating, more welcoming, and improve its energy efficiency. On the Congress Street side, the glass sheath would provide protective covered passageways for pedestrians and traffic. In August 2015, a developer's donations for a kitchen renovation was criticized by a fiscal watchdog. In January 2016, Mayor Walsh announced plans to install new LED lighting on

6240-457: The center city, and decentralization instead of centralized civic power, funding was funneled away from City Hall. Compared to the Boston Public Library , some users and occupants have found City Hall to be unpleasant and dysfunctional. It has been the butt of jokes in some local magazines. The structure's complex interior spaces and sometimes-confusing floor plan have not been mitigated by quality wayfinding, signage, graphics or lighting. In 2006,

6344-416: The challenge being, in part, the numerous approvals required at the city, state, and federal levels. In 2001, some City Hall workers complained that they were suffering from sick building syndrome . However, consultants hired by the city "did not identify any building-wide or acute air-quality issues." Since 2006, a number of proposals have been made to modify City Hall or to demolish it and replace it with

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6448-414: The church of the Westminster Abbey in British Columbia. Prominent Vancouver-based architect, Arthur Erickson was responsible for several noteable brutalist developments including Simon Fraser University 's main campus building, the MacMillan Bloedel Building , Vancouver's Evergreen Building, the Museum of Anthropology and Vancouver Law Courts . In Serbia , Božidar Janković was a representative of

6552-402: The city a $ 120,000 grant to study the building's history and to propose a strategy for renovations. The result of the study, a 327-page Boston City Hall Conservation Management Plan, was published in 2021. The study won awards from the Boston Preservation Alliance and docomomo-us. City Hall is located in Government Center , in Downtown Boston. The adjoining 8-acre (3.2 ha) City Hall Plaza

6656-405: The city's office space, which are used by civil servants not visited frequently by the public, such as the administrative and planning departments. The bureaucratic nature is reflected in the standardized window patterns, separated by pre-cast concrete fins, with an open office plan typical of modern office buildings. (The subsequent enclosure of much of this space into separate offices contributed to

6760-413: The concept of Brutalism." New brutalism is not only an architectural style; it is also a philosophical approach to architectural design, a striving to create simple, honest, and functional buildings that accommodate their purpose, inhabitants, and location. Stylistically, brutalism is a strict, modernistic design language that has been said to be a reaction to the architecture of the 1940s, much of which

6864-446: The concrete becomes streaked with water stains and sometimes with moss and lichen , and rust stains from the steel reinforcing bars . Critics of the style find it unappealing due to its "cold" appearance, projecting an atmosphere of totalitarianism , as well as the association of the buildings with urban decay due to materials weathering poorly in certain climates and the surfaces being prone to vandalism by graffiti. Despite this,

6968-415: The concrete was poured into fir wood frames to mold it, and precast elements, such as trusses and supports, were set in steel molds to gain smooth, clean surfaces. This distinction also originates from the different types of cement used: the exterior poured-in-place pieces are of type I cement, a lightly colored cement, while the exterior precast components use type II cement, a dark-colored cement. The base of

7072-452: The department, and designed by Colin St John Wilson and Alex Hardy, with participation by students at the university. This inspired further brutalist buildings in Cambridge, including the Grade II listed University Centre and the Grade II listed Churchill College . The Grade II* listed History Faculty Building, the second building in architect James Stirling 's Red Trilogy (along with the University of Leicester Engineering Building and

7176-455: The enduring value in Heroic-era architecture, we can also hope for a measure of boldness — and recognize the downside of being too timid." In 2018, Boston Magazine ranked City Hall as #1 on its list of the 100 best buildings in the city. A 2019 essay by Anthony Flint argued that City Hall is "an elegant, successful work of architecture." In 2019, a commemorative pin was produced in honor of the building's 50th anniversary. In an essay written during

7280-408: The exterior of the building. "We are committed to creating a welcoming, lively City Hall Plaza," Walsh said. The lights were turned on in October 2016. A more extensive set of renovations, designed by the Boston firm Utile, was completed in 2018. The renovations included new security and seating areas in the lobby, a coffee kiosk, new lighting, and new signage. In 2017, the Getty Foundation awarded

7384-402: The exterior of the building. In the Boston City Hall , designed in 1962, the strikingly different and projected portions of the building indicate the special nature of the rooms behind those walls, such as the mayor's office or the city council chambers. From another perspective, the design of the Hunstanton School included placing the facility's water tank, normally a hidden service feature, in

7488-469: The former South Vietnam , notable buildings that are said to carry brutalist elements include the Independence Palace (1966) designed by Ngô Viết Thụ , the first Asian architect to become an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects . However, whether South Vietnamese architecture prior to 1975 was brutalism or not remains a matter of dispute, with some architects argued it

7592-527: The great building of twentieth-century Boston." In the AIA Guide to Boston , Susan and Michael Southworth wrote that "the award-winning City Hall had established its architect's reputation and inspired similar buildings across the nation." Stylistically, City Hall is considered by some to be a leading example of Brutalist architecture . It is listed among the "Greatest Buildings" by Great Buildings Online, an affiliate of Architecture Week . Additionally, in

7696-585: The idea of a "new" era and a "new" Boston became old-fashioned. The changes in style coincided with political changes, as Kevin White 's mayoral administration ended. Following the September 11 attacks , the environment changed from what had been intended as a civil center and community space on the stairways and plaza around the building as public access was sharply reduced by the erection of security barriers and closing of numerous entrances. Under subsequent administrations, which focused on neighborhoods rather than

7800-432: The lavish Atlas of Brutalist Architecture (Phaidon, 2018). Many of the defining aspects of the style have been softened in newer buildings, with concrete façades often being sandblasted to create a stone-like surface, covered in stucco , or composed of patterned, precast elements. These elements are also found in renovations of older Brutalist buildings, such as the redevelopment of Sheffield's Park Hill . Villa Göth

7904-575: The main library of the Georgetown University Library System, was designed by John Carl Warnecke and opened in 1970. Originally conceived with a traditional design similar to other buildings at Georgetown University , the final design of the Lauinger Library embraces brutalism and was intended as a modern interpretation of the nearby Healy Hall , a Flemish Romanesque building. The building once received

8008-456: The more conventional designs of most of the other entries (typified by pure geometrical forms clad with sleek curtain walls) to introduce an articulated structure that expressed the internal functions of the buildings in rugged, cantilevered concrete forms. While hovering over the broad brick plaza, the City Hall was designed to create an open and accessible place for the city's government, with

8112-480: The most heavily used public activities all located on the lower levels directly connected to the plaza. The major civic spaces, including the Council chamber, library, and Mayor's office, were one level up, and the administrative offices were housed above these, behind the repetitive brackets of the top floors. At a time when monumentality was typically considered an appropriate attribute for governmental architecture,

8216-515: The movement began to decline in the late 1970s, with some associating the style with urban decay and totalitarianism . Brutalism's popularity in socialist and communist nations owed to traditional styles being associated with bourgeoisie, whereas concrete emphasized equality. Brutalism has been polarising historically; specific buildings, as well as the movement as a whole, have drawn a range of criticism (often being described as "cold" or "soulless") but have also elicited support from architects and

8320-507: The movement with the French phrases béton brut ("raw concrete") and art brut ("raw art"). The style, as developed by architects such as the Smithsons, Hungarian-born Ernő Goldfinger , and the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon , was partly foreshadowed by the modernist work of other architects such as French-Swiss Le Corbusier , Estonian-American Louis Kahn , German-American Mies van der Rohe , and Finnish Alvar Aalto . In

8424-574: The poor treatment of Boston City Hall with Yale University 's recent sympathetic restoration of its similarly challenging Brutalist landmark, the Art and Architecture Building by architect Paul Rudolph . In 2009 a major exhibition of the original design drawings for City Hall, now part of the archive of Historic New England, was mounted at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. In 2015, Boston Globe columnist Dante Ramos wrote that "if we see

8528-404: The public has wide access. The brick largely transfers over to the exterior of this section, and it is joined by materials such as quarry tile inside. The use of these terra cotta products relates to the building's location on one of the original slopes of Boston, expressed in the open, brick-paved plaza, and also to historic Boston's brick architecture, seen in the adjoining Sears Crescent block and

8632-422: The realities of modern life. Among their early contributions were " streets in the sky " in which traffic and pedestrian circulation were rigorously separated, another theme popular in the 1960s. This style had a strong position in the architecture of European communist countries from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s ( Bulgaria , Czechoslovakia , East Germany , USSR , Yugoslavia ). In Czechoslovakia, Brutalism

8736-463: The site as a key feature of the city fabric." In 2015, the Boston Globe published a proposal by Suffolk University professor Harry Bartnick, that the building be enclosed in a variegated glass sheath, extending diagonally outward from just below the top-most line of windows into the surrounding plaza on 3 sides, and across Congress Street to the street meridian. The effect would be to re-distribute

8840-537: The so-called "Belgrade School of residence", identifiable by its functionalist relations on the basis of the flat and elaborated in detail the architecture. Known example, Western City Gate also known as the Genex Tower is a 36- storey skyscraper in Belgrade , Serbia , which was designed in 1977 by Mihajlo Mitrović . It is formed by two towers connected with a two-storey bridge and revolving restaurant at

8944-644: The space has more recently been cited as problematic in terms of design and urban planning. To illustrate the range of opinion regarding the Plaza, in 2004 the Project for Public Spaces identified it as the worst single public plaza worldwide out of hundreds of contenders, and it has placed the plaza on its "Hall of Shame." On the other hand, in 2009, The Cultural Landscape Foundation included City Hall Plaza as one of 13 national "Marvels of Modernism" in its exhibition and publication. Several rounds of efforts to liven up City Hall Plaza have yielded only minimal changes, with

9048-411: The steep terrain of the area and was chosen in part because it provided a firebreak from the surrounding environment. One of the most famous brutalist buildings in the United States is Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego . Designed by William Pereira and built 1969–70, it is said to "occup[y] a fascinating nexus between brutalism and futurism" but was originally intended as

9152-528: The style is appreciated by others, and preservation efforts are taking place in the United Kingdom. Although the Brutalist movement was largely over by the late 1970s and early 1980s, having largely given way to Structural Expressionism and Deconstructivism , it has experienced a resurgence of interest since 2015 with the publication of a variety of guides and books, including Brutal London (Zupagrafika, 2015), Brutalist London Map (2015), This Brutal World (2016), SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey (2017), and

9256-691: The style. Canada possesses numerous examples of brutalist architecture. In the years leading to the 100th anniversary of the Confederation in 1967, the Federal Government financed the construction of many public buildings. Major brutalist examples, not all built as part of the Canadian Centennial , include the Grand Théâtre de Québec , the Édifice Marie-Guyart (formerly Complex-G), Hôtel Le Concorde , and much of

9360-437: The ten proudest achievements of American architecture. Boston City Hall was designed by Gerhard Kallmann , a Columbia University professor, and Michael McKinnell , a Columbia graduate student who co-founded Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles . In 1962, they won an international, two-stage design competition for the building. Their design, selected from 256 entries by a jury of prominent architects and businessmen, departed from

9464-688: The term "new brutalism" with art brut and béton brut , meaning "raw concrete" in French, for the first time. The best-known béton brut architecture is the proto-brutalist work of the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier , in particular his 1952 Unité d'habitation in Marseille , France; the 1951–1961 Chandigarh Capitol Complex in India; and the 1955 church of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp , France. Banham further expanded his thoughts in

9568-465: The top. It is 117 m (384 ft) tall (with restaurant 135–140 m (443–459 ft)) and is the second-tallest high-rise in Belgrade after Ušće Tower . The building was designed in the brutalist style with some elements of structuralism and constructivism . It is considered a prime representative of the brutalist architecture in Serbia and one of the best of its style built in the 1960s and

9672-508: The ventilation problems of those floors.) The top of the brick base was designed as an elevated courtyard melding the fourth floor of the city hall with the plaza. Security concerns caused city officials in recent years to block access to the courtyard and the outdoor stairways to Congress Street and the plaza. The courtyard is occasionally opened up for events (such as the celebration of the Boston Celtics championship in 1986). After

9776-470: The world's Western languages, it is that Le Corbusier himself described that concrete work as ' béton-brut '". He further states that "the words 'The New Brutalism' were already circulating, and had acquired some depth of meaning through things said and done, over and above the widely recognised connection with béton brut . The phrase still 'belonged' to the Smithsons, however, and it was their activities above all others that were giving distinctive qualities to

9880-400: Was actually modernism . In recent years, public sentiments in Vietnam towards brutalist architecture has shifted negatively, but the style is said to have made a comeback recently. An early example of brutalist architecture in British universities was the extension to the department of architecture at the University of Cambridge in 1959 under the influence of Leslie Martin , the head of

9984-441: Was both client and architect, giving him a unique freedom to explore new directions. Rudolph's 1964 design for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is a rare example of an entire campus designed in the brutalist style, and was considered by him to be "the most complete realisation of his experiments with urbanism and monumentality". Walter Netsch similarly designed the entire University of Illinois-Chicago Circle Campus (now

10088-493: Was characterised by a retrospective nostalgia. Peter Smithson believed that the core of brutalism was a reverence for materials, expressed honestly, stating "Brutalism is not concerned with the material as such but rather the quality of material", and "the seeing of materials for what they were: the woodness of the wood; the sandiness of sand." Architect John Voelcker explained that the "new brutalism" in architecture "cannot be understood through stylistic analysis, although some day

10192-479: Was described as "the most truly modern building in England". The term gained increasingly wider recognition when British architectural historian Reyner Banham used it to identify both an ethic and aesthetic style, in his 1955 essay The New Brutalism . In the essay, Banham described Hunstanton and the Soho house as the "reference by which The New Brutalism in architecture may be defined." Reyner Banham also associated

10296-500: Was given two stars by the Michelin Green Guide , which said that the building "has been one of Boston's controversial architectural statements since its completion in 1968." The building's 50th anniversary in 2019 prompted both positive and negative commentary. In the 2021 Boston mayoral election , candidates for mayor Andrea Campbell , John Barros , and Kim Janey voiced negative opinions on it, Annissa Essaibi George

10400-520: Was home to the Boston Calling Music Festival . Since November 2016, the plaza has been home to Boston Winter, a holiday-themed shopping center, complete with a skating rink and other holiday events, held annually from November to January. Boston municipal government history Site history Notes Bibliography Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during

10504-492: Was listed as historically significant by the Uppsala county administrative board on 3 March 1995. Several brutalist buildings in the United Kingdom have been granted listed status as historic, and others, such as Gillespie, Kidd & Coia 's St. Peter's Seminary , named by Prospect magazine's survey of architects as Scotland's greatest post-war building, have been the subject of conservation campaigns. Similar buildings in

10608-420: Was neutral on it, while Michelle Wu voiced positive opinions on it. While assessment of the building's architecture has been influenced by the vagaries of changing architectural style, the building at the time was acclaimed by some architects as well as by the professional association, American Institute of Architects , which gave the building its Honor Award in 1969. Representative of the contemporary praise

10712-794: Was presented as an attempt to create a "national" but also "modern socialist" architectural style. Such prefabricated socialist era buildings are called panelaky . In the United Kingdom , architects associated with the brutalist style include Ernő Goldfinger , wife-and-husband pairing Alison and Peter Smithson , some of the work of Sir Basil Spence , the London County Council / Greater London Council Architects Department, Owen Luder , John Bancroft , and, arguably perhaps, Sir Denys Lasdun , Sir Leslie Martin , Sir James Stirling and James Gowan with their early works. Some well-known examples of brutalist-influenced architecture in

10816-440: Was the opinion of The New York Times critic Ada Louise Huxtable , who wrote that "in this focal building Boston sought, and got, excellence." Historian Walter Muir Whitehill wrote that "it is as fine a building for its time and place as Boston has ever produced. Traditionalists who long for a revival of Bulfinch simply do not realize that one does not achieve a handsome monster either by enlarging, or endlessly multiplying,

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