Brutal Bold and Brilliant: Lets Talk!

Brutal, Bold and Brilliant is a photographic inventory designed to encourage fresh conversations about Brutalist architecture with particular reference to buildings in Belfast and Dublin.

Derived from Le Corbusier's French term 'béton brut'(rough concrete) Brutalism (originally called New Brutalism) in its early phase (1950's in the UK) was a design philosophy, not a style. The philosophy aimed to create an aesthetic based on the exposure of a building’s components: its frame, skin, and mechanical systems.

Brutalism evolved in the 1960's and 1970's as a reference to buildings that posessed rough concrete (beton brut finish), had bulky massing and quickly became a style that was villified.

It is unfortunate that the word brutalism has such negative connotations in the english language. It was never the intention of the philosophy or the style. The translation of brut of the term 'beton brut' is actually 'raw' and not 'brutal' in the english semantic. 'Beton' is the french word for concrete.

The buildings i am collating looks at the beauty of 'beton brut' in the architectural context of belfast and dublin. I hope to give a history of its origins. engage people in a discussion on brutalism, seek their opinions of the style and in doing so reveal its true original intentions. Some of the buildings collected are highlighted as 'Buildings at Risk' where redevelopment proposals aims to demolish the unlisted/unprotected structures in the short-term. Where such buildings are identified it would be advisable to explore the opportunity for a proposed architectural listing or protection.

The overall study is conducted by Sarah Newell and has received support from the Heritage Council of Ireland in 2010 under the Research Grants Scheme.

Contact us at: brutalboldandbrilliant@gmail.com

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Lets Talk!

2 comments:

Sarah Newell said...: We are interested in ensuring that the inventory of Brutalist buildings is maintained beyond the lifetime of the project's funding. Help us continue to compile a record of Brutalist buildings in Belfast and Dublin. Please tell us what you can about the structures collated here in this blog and any others you know of: locations, states of use and who built them and when. If you have a picture or an opinion, please share that too. Thankyou!

Contact us at: brutalboldandbrilliant@gmail.com; October 7, 2010 at 5:14 AM
J McEvoy said...: So far as I'm aware the Andersonstown Leisure Centre is due for demolition this summer (2017); May 26, 2017 at 2:57 AM

BRUTALIST BUILDINGS OF DUBLIN

*Water Tower, UCD Campus, Belfield

*Sports Hall, Willowpark Primary School, Blackrock

*James Joyce Library, UCD Campus, Belfield

*Sports Centre, UCD Campus, Belfield

*Berkeley Library, Trinity College, Dublin

CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION

*St Michaels Church, Dun Laoghaire

*Phibsboro Shopping Centre

*Marienella Seminary, Orwell Road, Rathgar

*Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin

*Marino College, North Strand, Dublin

*Administration Building, UCD Campus, Belfield

* RCSI, Rear of St Stephens Green, Dublin 2

The water tower at Belfield Campus is a striking and bold piece of concrete geometry accentuated by the deeply grooved ribs to the concrete surface. The tower stands at 55m high and is a dominant visual landmark both within and beyond the campus. The tower's geometry is based on a pentagonal stem with the tank element designed as an adjusted dodecahedron. The main construction of the tower is in-situ reinforced concrete, using sliding formwork for the stem. An interesting late-twentieth century addition to the campus at Belfield this prominent feature in the landscape has quite a sculptural form and is of technical merit. It is visible from a considerable distance and adds an interesting shape to the skyline.The tower has been listed as a protected structure under Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's Development Plan 2010-2016.

The Willowpark gymnasium is a distinctive building located out of public view behind the public front of the primary school. Aesthetically, the building is an example of restrained Brutalism, characterised by a high level of solid to void interrupted asymmetrically by voids of floor to ceiling glazing at ground floor level and monitor rooflights set in ordered rows at roof level. The stark concrete brickwork and smooth formed parapets contrasts with the canted projecting rooflights to create a dramatic and rhythmic composition. Concrete as a material has a subtle and unique presence in this building. Embedded in its surfaces are the traces of its making - composition of mix, size and colour of the aggregate and the sandblasted porous surface of the brickwork. The eastern elevation accommodates the tendrils of climbing ivy grounding the building positively into the landscape.

The James Joyce library is located centrally in the UCD campus at Belfield, south-west of the artificial lake. An international competition for the library was originally considered but due to lack of time J. Hardie Glover of Sir Basil Spence, Glover and Ferguson was selected. These architects were responsible for the design of the University of Edinburgh library, which was at the time the largest university library building in the UK. The building was built in two phases. Phase 1 consists of a three storey block whilst phase 2 to the rear consists of a 6-storey block. The building is brutalist in form and massing. Constructed of smooth formed reinforced concrete, precast columns and floors in-situ, the use of split face limestone to the lower levels provides a distinct visual contrast. The external elevations to the south, east and west reads as a dramatic composition with deep horizontal reveals and precast concrete louvres. Soffits at ground floor level display a deep waffle design into which lighting units are recessed. The James Joyce library illustrates much of the formal language developed by Sir Basil Spence in other works and sets the stage for the rest of the Belfield campus; a balanced mix of precast and in-situ finishes; the decorative and functional concrete louvres and the honest treatment of limestone to the ground floor elevations.

The Berkeley Library Building is a dramatic composition that sits harmoniously amongst the most distinguished eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings in Trinity College. Despite being set-back from the existing building line, it sits harmoniously between Burgh’s Library and the Museum Building on a raised terrace between both buildings. The entrance façade to the library is framed, to the right, by its neo-classical predecessor and on the left, by the Museum Building. The raised forecourt was formed by placing a large underground bookstack linked to the old Library. The building contains expanses of Wicklow granite cladding, in homage to its monumental neighbours, and exposed in-situ concrete formwork are juxtaposed with deeply undercut portals and a variety of dramatic and exciting window forms. In accordance with Le Corbusier’s belief that poured concrete should reflect the material into which it was poured, timber marks can be seen on the exterior surface of the building. No two elevations are alike. The north elevation is reticent and closed. The rear elevation contains a deep entrance porch and the upper floors are solid and cantilevered-out, relieved only by a large first-floor oriel at the eastern end surmounted by a pair of musket-loop-style windows which light the second storey at floor level. In contrast, the western elevation is much more open, with glazed oriels to the ground and first floors and musket-loops to the base of the solid second floor. A bunker-like room with port-hole windows projects at ground-floor level. Harry Allberry, editor of Irish Builder at the time was smitten by the use of Douglas fir shuttering for the library's concrete skin. "So marked is the timber pattern that one expects to see the sap oozing from it!" he marvelled. The Berkeley is a superb building and sensuous in surface texture. It encourages confidence, good taste and judgement in a sensitively historic setting. It is a notable and positive addition to the Trinity landscape.

The sports centre is located at the termination of the pedestrian mall between the Science Building and the Water Tower. The structure of the building consists of a reinforced concrete frame with external elevations clad in precast concrete panels and structural reinforced concrete in-situ. The finish is similar to the adjoining Water Tower, also designed by Wejchert. This consists of deep recessed grooves with boardmarking to the flat parts between the grooves. The boardmarking was achieved by shot blasting selected Oregon Pine. Close liaison was maintained with the precast manufacturer on shuttering to achieve the closest possible match in colour and texture between the precast and in-situ finishes. The building is dynamic in its composition of recessed and projecting planes and blends harmoniously with its water-tower neighbour. Its mass of concrete volumes and angled platforms convey a strong sense of spatial physicality. It is brilliant in its restraint.

Lagan Weir, designed by Ferguson McIlveen and completed in 1994 has transformed the upper reaches of the Lagan. It is a piled structure with 5 weir blocks each supporting a sluice gate. The use of broken rib precast panels to the exterior of the weir blocks was not only an aesthetic choice but a durability one too. The highly textured ridged surface achieved by hammering to expose the aggregate creates a three dimensional effect that reflects light and shadow as the sun moves across its surface. This coupled with the striking form and shape of the overall structure creates an eye catching addition to the Lagan riverside.

Completed in the late 1950's, Phase II of Telephone House, located on May Street, south of City Hall, illustrates how concrete can be read as a tactile material. The construction of the building consists of a combination of cast in-situ and precast concrete panels. The overall massing, defined by tall geometric projecting service bays is interrupted on one recessed bay by a series of projecting precast concrete window modules. The smooth finish to these modules are delightfully expressive and provide a visual contrast to the otherwise rough texture throughout. The rough texture to the service bays are of an irregular lined finish achieved by attaching a silicone rubber formliner to the formwork at construction stage. The close scrutiny of this finish is possible at ground floor level and the occasional reflections of light and shadow upon its skin creates an expressive surface to witness.

St John the Baptist Church is a freestanding Roman Catholic church on a square plan with a projecting angled bell-tower to the entrance. The roof to the main building is hipped with slate construction with a metal cross finial to its centre. The church is constructed of exposed reinforced concrete in a variety of finishes. A textured 'corduroy' concrete finish with additional pebbling is used to add texture to the external faces of the bell-tower. This contrasts beautifully to the smoothness of the quarter and back-sawn board-marked finishes at the entrance. The inventive appearance is the result of liturgical changes brought about following the Second Vatican Council (1963-5), which has allowed architects to move away from traditional church building forms and experiment with more unconventional designs. The construction of the church is of technical interest and in particular the dramatic bell-tower is an interesting feature of some design merit and is a local landmark within Portadown.

The main entrance to the Ulster Museum is at the northern end facing over Botanic Gardens framed by mature tree stands.The material used to most versatile and dramatic effect throughout the building is concrete. It is employed in one principal form and finish; cast in-situ with a smooth finish providing a dramatic building of mass and presence. The classical cornicing details and deep horizontal rustications of the original museum are absorbed into a series of concrete volumes creating a harmonious composition in its obvious asymmetry. The curved entrance canopy is of a smooth concrete finish and reminiscent of Le Corbusier's Secretariat Building at Chandigarh and this element responds positively to the rounded classical columns and collonading of the original building. The use of randomised mullions to the window elements (borrowed from Le Corbusier's ondulatoires at La Tourette) signifies a playful rhythm to the otherwise solid exterior. The joints between adjoining concrete panels are difficult to disguise and as is the case with the extension, they are positively accentuated by making a feature of them. The location and method by which joints are incorporated into the concrete structure is critical to the overall appearance. The precise position of joints are in line with the bottom and upper void openings. The Ulster Museum extension occupies a special and unique place in the canon of modern architecture in Northern Ireland. It is an exciting and optimistic piece of architecture that was conceived in a politically less optimistic era. It is arguably one of the most historic modern buildings in Ireland.

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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Lets Talk!

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