Wonjae Lee
Brutal Beauty: Reimagining Concrete
Brutalism, Concrete, Morphology, Aesthetics
This thesis aims to explore the new potential of Brutalism through morphological and material experimentation, drawing inspiration from the imperfections and irregularities found in Brutalist architecture. Furthermore, it delves into the prospects offered by concrete as a medium for pushing the boundaries of architecture beyond Brutalism.
Emerging in the mid-20th century, Brutalist architecture refers to an architectural aesthetic that emphasizes the expressiveness and formability of materials, especially concrete, in and of themselves rather than as a covering. So far, Brutalism has been discussed stylistically, but it is ethical in nature, meaning that it is more of a tradition that is constantly evolving, drawing from a variety of influences. Through the stimuli derived from this evolutionary process, I hope to find a middle ground between complacency and revolution, and a correspondence between aesthetics and ethics.
The first step is to analyze the iconic material of Brutalism, concrete, and explore new possibilities to see how we can be more involved in developing the future of this material. Centering on the question, "How should concrete look in order for it to be culturally accepted as a sustainable material?", I propose that aesthetics, culture, and material localism are as essential to a sustainable future for concrete as the chemical processes of concrete production. Through this process, we will explore the social potential of Brutalist architecture as something worthy of elaboration, while embracing the subjectivity of aesthetics and the empiricism of engineering.
The next step is to disrupt the existing order of Brutalism through the simple but brutal act of cutting Robin Hood Gardens, the site of this thesis. These cuts changed the height, volume, orientation, and center of gravity, creating new faces and overlapping regions. The cut breaks the order of architecture. It not only evokes a kind of memorability as image which potentially responds to the urban relationship, but also brings out a brand-new order inside a building which reconstructs and organizes its mass, circulation, and program, affording more nuanced relations between interior and exterior, and other environmentally aware features.
By integrating these interrelated but somewhat independent experiments, I hope to deconstruct and extend the monumentality of conventional Brutalist architecture to propose living spaces that go beyond mere stylistic concerns and continue to accommodate contemporary needs. This creates a more socially engaging and aesthetically pleasing language, opening new possibilities for Brutalism.