The New Brutalism By Reyner Banham Jun 2026

Ironically, Hunstanton isn't made of concrete; it’s largely steel and brick. However, it fulfilled Banham’s criteria perfectly because it was "uncompromising." The pipes and electrical conduits were left exposed, and the formal arrangement was symmetrical and clear. It represented a "tough" honesty that Banham felt was missing from post-war British architecture. 4. Architecture as an Ethic, Not a Style

Some notable examples of Brutalist architecture that reflect the principles outlined by Banham include: the new brutalism by reyner banham

To understand Banham’s project, one must first grasp the architectural climate of 1950s Britain. The dominant discourse was still the late Modernism of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), which Banham found increasingly sterile—a “white, machine-for-living” aesthetic divorced from lived reality. The Smithsons, as members of Team X, sought to break from CIAM’s functionalist zoning. Their Hunstanton School, with its exposed steel frame, glass bricks, and visible water tanks, horrified traditionalists. Banham saw in it a return to the radical honesty of early Modernism (Gropius, Mies) but stripped of any compositional elegance. The Smithsons, as members of Team X, sought

Banham argued that New Brutalism was an attempt to return to the "heroic" spirit of early Modernism. He saw it as a reaction against the "picturesque" and "twee" trends of the 1950s. To Banham, Brutalism was about . By showing how a building was made and what it was made of, architects were being honest with the public. It was an architecture of "truth" over "beauty." 5. The Legacy of the Essay Brutalism was about .