Description

This compelling and in-depth study looks at some of the most inspiring and iconic brutalist buildings, in a quest to find the soul of one of modern architecture's most misunderstood movements.

No modern architectural style has aroused so much awe and so much ire as Brutalism. This is architecture at its most assertive: compelling, distinctive, sometimes terrifying. But, as Concrete Concept shows, Brutalism can be about love as well as hate. 

This inspiring and informative photographic survey profiles 50 brutalist buildings from around the world. Travelling the globe – from Le Corbusier's Unite d’Habitation (Marseille, France), to the Former Whitney Museum (New York City, USA) to Preston Bus Station (Preston, UK) – this book covers concrete architecture in its most extraordinary forms, demonstrating how Brutalism has changed our landscapes and infected popular culture.

​Author and architecture expert Christopher Beanland writes passionately about how this style came to be, tracing its origins from the modernist art movement, the trauma of World War Two and the need for municipal renewal.

Now in a stylish mini format, this is the perfect tour of Brutalism's biggest hits. 

"A lively journey around the world's brutalist buildings" Frieze.com

"A dazzlingly shot whistle-stop of the much-maligned style's greatest hits ... the book showcases confidence, clarity and the historical importance of the movement." Monocle

About the Author

Christopher Beanland lives in London and is the author of Lido and Unbuilt. He has also written the novels The Wall in The Head and Spinning Out of Control. He writes about architecture, culture and the arts for newspapers including The Independent, Guardian, Telegraph and various global magazines.

Praise For…

"A lively journey around the world’s brutalist buildings." Frieze.com

"An almanac of fashionably extreme concrete" Financial Times

"A surprisingly light-weight book that provides us a visual world-tour of tortured edifices." Wallpaper*

"The text of this book, which profiles 50 brutalist beasts, is witty, lively and informative. The numerous photographs are first class. Concrete Concept gave me new eyes." Roger Lewis, The Times

"A dazzlingly shot whistle-stop of the much-maligned style's greatest hits ... the book showcases the confidence, clarity and historical importance of the movement." Monocle

“Concrete Conceptreinforces our love for all things grey, textured and modern.” ELLE Decoration

“A wholesome first introduction to the wonderful world of concrete brutes for those yet uninitiated” Icon

"Brick-like new tome Concrete Concept demonstrates the unexpected serenity of some of the world's greatest Brutalist buildings ... Open the pages up and you’ll be greeted by light, cheerful photographs and an accessible, tongue-and-cheek commentary." AnOther magazine

"A snappy and surprising read. The expansive selection of buildings and waggish commentary help take apart tired definitions and break open the prematurely closed canon of brutalist architecture." Michael Abrahamson, curator of F*ck Yeah Brutalism

"A breathless love letter to a disappearing epoch. This funny, smart and beguiling book will make you want to jump on a plane before it’s too late." Elizabeth Hopkirk, Building Design magazine

"This is not a worthy but dull architecture book. This is not a coffee table statement. Yes, it looks beautiful. Yes, you’ll seem sophisticated for owning it. But shockingly, it’s also insanely engaging. Beanland’s commentary is fast-flowing, smart and very funny. Exactly what you want from a book about concrete." Catherine O'Flynn, author of What Was Lost

"A witty, high-adrenalin, concrete-fuelled mega-tour of some of the world’s unfairly maligned ‘monstrosities’. Concrete Concept is a gutsy, bombastic love song." Catherine Croft, Twentieth Century Society

"This tour around some of the world’s great buildings is a treat for any brutalist architecture fan." John Grindrod, author of Concretopia

"The buildings chosen by Beanland truly evoke their period and each have something to say to us today." The Birmingham Press

"A fine slab of brutalism... it's a belter." @Brutal_Architecture

"A simply must have book for any fan of Brutalist architecture." @ThisBrutalLife

"Concrete Concept ... celebrates so-called brutalist buildings across the world." John Harris, The Guardian

"It's a fascinating glimpse into an area of architecture where abstraction seems to solidify into cold, hard - and sometimes beautiful - reality." Bespoke Living (City AM)