Derived from European modernist origins, Brutalist architecture developed in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, as the region, like Toth, recovered from the trauma of World War II. His unadorned masterpiece, like many such Brutalist structures, is defined by the use of exposed concrete and crafted with structural needs rather than decorative elements in mind. In the years after World War II, when building materials like wood and metal were scarce, concrete was abundant, cheap, and durable. Creative architects tapped into this economical style to imagine structures that were enormous, expressive, and impressive, but they also were imbued with a social spirit of equality, intended to represent democratic values through their material honesty.
“What [Brutalism] represented, at least for László [Toth], and possibly for other refugees who came here and started designing in that style, is a sort of letting go of any architectural references to the past and moving toward the future,” says The Brutalist’s production designer Judy Becker, who made all the modern architecture—and furniture—in the film, drawing on the work of diverse talents like Ando, Breuer, Louis Kahn, and James Turrell. “Because, as Brady [Corbet] has pointed out, fascist architecture really was an homage to historical architecture.”
