We tend to be slightly down on buildings made from concrete. Most of them stem from a vogue for what is called brutalist architecture in the 1950s. However, there are plenty of examples where the use of a concrete building has created a masterpiece. Just ask a Concrete Gloucester based company like www.monstermixconcrete.co.uk, and they will agree.
- The National Museum of Brazil. A huge unsupported dome that houses a treasure trove of items precious to the Brazilian people and their culture.
- Saitan Building in Tokyo. This is a beautifully designed building where the concrete has been moulded to look like a tree growing and stretching its leaves out.
- The Paul Rudolph Hall at Yale University. Created as an example of the brutalist style for students, this is a hall of residence that has been going since the 1950s, the height of when the movement began.
- Set against the swirling Atlantic Ocean, the auditorium of the Casa Santiago in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is an amazing piece of architecture. It features a huge sweeping concrete wave that covers the building.
- Chandigarh, in India, is the dream of a utopian living space by Le Corbusier, one of the main exponents of brutalist design. The building is housed in a pool, and its crystal-clear water reflex’s the design. The inhabitants of the building love it. It even has a skate park on the roof.
- The Goldfinger building. Ernst Goldfinger developed one of the most well-known and innovative housing projects of the movement.