Brutalism vs International Style
Brutalism evolved from International Style — pushed modernist material honesty toward raw concrete monumentality.
Brutalism
Raw concrete made monumental — massive, sculptural, honest-to-materials buildings that wear their structure on the outside.
- Exposed, raw board-marked concrete
- Massive, blocky, monolithic forms
- Sculptural, often repetitive modular geometry
- Honest expression of structure and services
- Deep recesses producing strong light and shadow
International Style
The austere, functional modernism of glass curtain walls and unornamented volumes — 'form follows function' built in steel and glass.
- Rectilinear, volumetric forms with flat roofs
- Glass curtain walls and ribbon windows
- No applied ornament — 'form follows function'
- Exposed structural grid; steel and reinforced concrete
- Open, flexible floor plans raised on pilotis in some works
At a glance
| Brutalism | International Style | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1950s–1970s | 1920s–1970s |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | United Kingdom, Worldwide | Germany, Worldwide |
| Family | Modernism | Modernism |
| Formal traits | monumental, raw-concrete, geometric, massive | geometric, minimal, functional, unornamented |
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