Brutalist vs. Classical Architecture: Why They Exist & The Future
"Different cultures equals different architecture".
I’ve walked around in cities, villages and small towns across different continents over the years. Each and every one had buildings that were not only built for residents/work space, but also as monuments and landmarks that honored local culture, history and tradition. You could see how that beauty was carved with care and love by each hit using the chisel and hammer. Each one of these buildings could fill you up with spiritual energy lasting for an entire lifetime. If I was a local resident, I would’ve felt a sense of pride over the fact that your city and its caretakers could produce such beauty. And why wouldn’t you? Would you rather have lived in a megacity filled with brutalist concrete blocking out the sky?
I remember watching old footage and documentaries of former Soviet republics, how people were drinking themselves to death because there simply were no jobs, the economy was non-existent and the all-around atmosphere of the cities within these newly-declared republics was hellish, to say the least. And the architecture? Well, have a look here for yourself:
You could argue that the reason this branch of architecture came about is because the Soviets favored simplicity and functionality along with a proclivity to use low-cost material. Even their power plants (see Chernobyl) were equipped with cheaper materials, in order to save up on money. Imagine living under a government who’d rather risk a nuclear catastrophe than spending money on proper material? Then how could you expect a society like that to build a classical monument in the same spirit as, say, St Peter’s Basilica?
There is a reason why these societies have their own kind of architecture. Their buildings, monuments, roads, the way their people even talk and go about their daily life is a reflection of their cultures. This is the reason why you see more brutalist architecture in a former Soviet republic, than you see in the middle of Rome. Different cultures equals different architecture. One might favor simplicity and functionality over beauty, but that would also tell you a great amount about what kind of society you’re living in if you’re excluding beauty. Because, as much as we try to pile on the communists for their depressing, gray brutalist creations, modern western architecture isn’t far off. We’ve excluded beauty, not to the extent the communist did, but still doing so nonetheless, for the sake of simplicity and holding down the costs. We’ve reached a point where beauty isn’t needed in architecture. And the inhabitants of the western world couldn’t care less, which is a dangerous sign for a society that’s supposedly the caretakers of classical architecture. What does this say about the future? Are we willing to throw away beauty for the sake of holding down costs and settle for mediocre buildings that invoke no sense of pride and warmth? What does that say about our willingness to preserve one’s culture and history?
These are all questions that the Western world and its caretakers are going to have to answer sooner or later, no matter how much they want to procrastinate and sweep it under the carpet. The mere fact that they haven’t answered it tells us that they have no desire and no energy to keep it alive. And I can partly understand them, because preserving it all requires a great deal of strength, resilience, and a love for your own cultural heritage. These traits simply don’t exist in most of these caretakers. They might have some strength and some resilience, but you need substantially more than that in order to even do a half decent job.
So where does that leave us? Are we going to let everything be handed to average caretakers who have other interests and want nothing to do with preserving their own culture and history? If so, what then would happen to that society?
Simple, really: A downfall. And you’re looking right into it as of now. It won’t be a dramatic steep, it won’t be swift. No, instead it will happen bit by bit, step by step. Then one day in the not too distant future, you’re going to look up, see all the damage that has been done, see that all the once beautiful crafted monuments and buildings have all been either been replaced, or even brought down, to make room for monstrous concrete nightmares. And then you’ll ask yourself:
“How could this happen?”
But it’s not too late, yet. Act accordingly and you might influence a lot more than you think.
Yours truly,
Son of Ashur.