In this roundup, we explore sculptural concrete buildings that evoke the geometries and monumental aspects of brutalism, but were designed by contemporary architects.
The striking buildings in this roundup include a concrete chapel in Missouri, a cube-shaped home in Mexico and an Argentinian home with a cantilevered terrace.
Photo is by Rory Gardiner
Casa Alférez, Mexico, by Ludwid Godefroy
This brutalist holiday home in a Mexican pine forest was designed by Mexico City-based architect Ludwig Godefroy, who drew on “the idea of a cabin in the woods”.
“I wanted the house to look like a cube that crashed on the floor among the trees,” he explained.
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Photo is by João Morgado
Atlantic Pavilion, Portugal, by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos
Designed by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos, this sports centre in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, features angular concrete surfaces that funnel daylight into its public foyer.
Located on a compact site, the building’s design was guided by the principles of brutalism in its use of concrete both inside and out, and features a cantilevered upper storey.
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Photo is by Edmund Sumner
Pedro Reyes studio, Mexico, by Pedro Reyes
Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes designed a bunker-like extension as the main workplace for his studio in Coyoacán, Mexico City. Its brutalist appearance comes from the material used – prefabricated concrete panels.
“Definitely, it resembles a work more of infrastructure or engineering than of architecture, which is one of the characteristics of brutalism,” Reyes said.
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Photo is by Tommaso Riva
A Brutalist Tropical Home, Indonesia, by Patisandhika and Dan Mitchell
The aptly named A Brutalist Tropical Home in Bali sits in a small valley nestled within rice fields on the south coast of the island.
Here, architectural studio Patisandhika and designer Dan Mitchell created a house with structural slabs that extend horizontally from its exterior. Inside, it has a double-height living room with a multi-level layout that is filled with tropical plants.
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Photo is by Roman Rojas
Chapel of the Risen Christ, US, by Design Alliance Architects
Eight massive curved walls form this concrete chapel in St Louis, Missouri, which has stained-glass windows and was designed in reference to the resurrection.
“The curvature of the walls expands concentrically toward the nave, symbolizing the spreading of the Gospel,” the studio told Dezeen. “Their deliberate fragmentation alludes to the broken body of Christ on the cross, a central tenet of Christian theology.”
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Photo is by Luis Abba
Brutal Honesty, Argentina, by OF Studio
A mountainside in Mendoza, Argentina, is home to the Brutal Honesty house, designed to resemble abstract rock formations.
“In essence, Brutal Honesty is a built extension of the mountain – a space for living that neither conceals nor embellishes, but exists in open dialogue with its surroundings,” designer OF Studio said.
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Photo is by Edmund Sumner
Casa HMZ, Mexico, by Lucio Muniain
Created as a “habitable sculpture,” Casa HMZ in San Luis Potosà has raw board-formed concrete walls and draws on the works of Mexican architect Luis Barragán.
The heavy rectangular house, which has recessed windows, sits on a golf course and has wide views of the surrounding landscape.
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Photo is by Luis DÃaz DÃaz
NICO Loma Alta, Mexico, by Hybrid and Palma
The only hotel on the list, NICO Loma Alta in the bohemian surf town of Sayulita features elements of brutalism and vernacular architecture.
At its rooftop level, a plunge pool is framed by the concrete beams used throughout the structure, which are contrasted with steel and wood to create a tactile design.