More Than Just Concrete

The era of modern architecture, the rapid development and widespread spread of modernism has given rise to a considerable number of new styles and concrete mold manufacturer. All of them, developing in parallel and sequentially, are similar, like members of a large family. One of the most memorable neo-styles was brutalism, a symbol of massive concrete structures and bold forms.

Brutalism (neobrutalism) has its roots in post-war England, which did not care about the support and promotion of the prevailing refined styles. The twentieth century brought with it the industrial revolution, and with it new architectural forms, ideas and materials. The term “brutalism” comes from the phrase “untreated concrete”. This concept was first used by the French architect Le Corbusier to describe the technology for processing the exterior surfaces of a building. The architect himself, one of the pioneers of European modernism, was not the founder or ideological leader of the style. However, his projects were very successful among the British brutalists.

Rough concrete

The term "brutalism" comes from the French "béton brut" - "untreated concrete", which was once used by Le Corbusier to describe a new type of building decoration. The meaning of the definition implied not only the absence of an additional front finish, but also the preservation of the imprints of the formwork (temporary auxiliary structures), creating a special texture. This technique was an aggressive response to the refined modernism of previous periods and heralded the beginning of a new time not only in architecture, but also in other areas of life.

Plasticity of forms

Architect Friedrich Tamms in many ways anticipated the emergence of brutalism when he began to use reinforced concrete. This technology made it possible to create three-dimensional forms of various configurations and made possible the rich plasticity of buildings - another argument of brutalism in opposition to the straightforward modernism of previous years.

Heaviness

Brutalism was largely a reaction to the feeling of insecurity and devastation after World War II. The desire to embody reliability and inaccessibility was reflected in the overall heaviness of buildings and the massiveness of their individual elements. Functionalism and repetition of elements

Brutalism has become a popular style for office buildings. Their architecture was largely dictated by the requirements of planning - this is how combinations of repeating elements with individual enlarged individual forms appeared.

Reaches cosmic scale

In addition, they found that a mixture containing 50% of the Martian soil with particles no larger than 1 mm in diameter would avoid the problems that they encountered when trying to set up concrete production on the Moon: Mars has a more rarefied atmosphere, while the moon vacuum would reverse sulfur as a part of concrete in gas, and freshly constructed houses - in handfuls of earth.

There is no need to worry about the disposal of future Martian buildings: re-heating of sulfur to 240 degrees Celsius will lead to its melting, and Martian concrete will be ready for reuse. After all, it is assumed that the colony will rapidly develop and grow. And it is possible that in 20 years, the Guardian correspondent will publish a list of the best concrete houses on Mars instead of the 10 best concrete buildings on Earth.