Undergraduate Course: Brutalisms (HIAR10191)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is a survey of Brutalism as a concept in architecture, art, and popular culture from c. 1955 to the present day. It is global, and interdisciplinary, and has a particular focus on the contemporary reassessment of Brutalism in art and film. The title 'Brutalisms' recognises different, and sometimes competing versions of the tendency. |
| Course description |
This course is a survey of Brutalism as a concept in architecture, art and theory from c. 1955 to the present day. Organised in three broad themes, It starts with the work of the Independent Group in London in the 1950s, including the groundbreaking exhibition Parallel of Life and Art, and the contemporary architecture of Peter and Alison Smithson. Reyner Banham's 1955 essay 'The New Brutalism' is central to this part of the course, as are certain post-war buildings by Le Corbusier. The second part of the course explores the version of Brutalism that flourished in Brazil, particularly in São Paulo in the 1960s. The key figures are Vilanova Artigas, and Lina Bo Bardi, both of whom built monumental public buildings in the city. Left-aligned, and populist, this version of Brutalism had a marked reappraisal in the mid 2000s, along interest in other global variants of the tendency in India (for eg. Chandigarh) and the United States. The final part of the course explores the long afterlife of Brutalism, its reimagining as style, and its cultural representations in art, the novel and film J. G. Ballard's book High Rise and its cinematic adaptation are key here, as is the exhibition as art of fragments of the Smithsons' demolished Robin Hood Gardens. Brutalism continues to be an object of fascination in architecture, art, and popular culture. It is also an object of continuing controversy as key Brutalist buildings come to the end of their design lives, and as (more recently) concrete has come under scrutiny for its environmental impact. This timely course explores the fascination with Brutalism, and its complex politics, in a period when many of its expressions are under threat. Students taking the course gain not only an understanding of a key moment in postwar architectural history, but also a framework to understand the cultural politics of some of the most contested parts of the contemporary built environment.
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a solid foundation knowledge of the diverse visual and material cultures comprising Brutalism
- Put skills of visual analysis into practice, showing the ability to make visual comparisons between different Brutalist artefacts, and between Brutalist and other contemporaneous artefacts
- Offer sophisticated Interpretations of Brutalist artefacts using visual, material, and textual evidence
- Show critical awareness of the way Brutalism has been understood over time in different critical and professional contexts
- Confidently identify, conceptualise and express novel problems raised by the material
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Reading List
R. Banham, 'The New Brutalism', Architectural Review (December 1955)
M. Crinson and C. Zimmerman (eds.) Neo-Avant Garde and Postmodern (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010)
A. Forty, Concrete and Culture: A Material History (London: Reaktion Books, 2012
A. Kitnick and H. Foster (eds.), 'The New Brutalism', special issue of October, 136 (Spring 2011)
A. Massey, The Independent Group (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Visual and critical analysis; Clear thinking and the development of an argument; Independent research; Presentation and communication skills; Organisation and planning. |
| Keywords | Brutalism,Architecture,Urbanism,Modernism,Concrete,Brazil,London,Le Corbusier,Reyner Banham |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Cole Collins
Tel:
Email: Cole.Collins@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Nathan Ross-Hammond
Tel: (0131 6)51 5880
Email: nrossha@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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