Concrete poetry

Last month, Jonathan Meades's documentary Bunkers, Brutalism, Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry aired on the BBC. A few days earlier, his A-Z of brutalism was featured on The Guardian.

Here are a few of his favorite examples of the architecture that was once maligned but is now enjoying renewed attention.

From theguardian.com

Habitat 67, Montreal, by Moshe Safdie
Photograph: UIG via Getty Images
theguardian.com

Tricorn Centre, Portsmouth
Photograph: View Pictures/Rex
theguardian.com

Sainte Bernadette church, Nevers
Photograph: arte dia/VIEW
theguardian.com

Jonathan Meades in front of Skopje post office, Macedonia
Photograph: Francis Hanly/BBC
theguardian.com

In the store: Eames, Saarinen and more

The store has so many new and beautiful things that it's hard to know where to start. Wherever you look, there's another iconic shape to amaze and delight...designs by Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Eero Saarinen, Alvar Aalto and Paul McCobb abound. Here's a look.

1957 Eames RAR

Large brutalist wall sculpture

C. Jere' brass lamp

Carrara marble tulip tables by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

Coffee table by Alvar Aalto

Drop-leaf desk by George Nelson for Herman Miller

Slate top La Fonda table by Charles and Ray Eames

Winchendon coffee table by Paul McCobb

Red marble tulip table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

Long teak credenza attributed to Rosengren Hansen

Paul Evans and Brutalism

The term “Brutalism” was coined by architects Alison and Peter Smithson in 1953 and made popular by British architectural critic Reyner Banham when he used it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?. It sprang from a French term used by Le Corbusier to describe the raw concrete (“béton brut”) with which he worked and which was to become the material most frequently used in stark, blocky Brutalist architecture from the 1950s through the 1970s.

That same blocky starkness, often with a patchwork appearance, is exempliefied in Brutalist furnishings, whether they are made of wood or metal. Paul Evans (1931-1987) is probably the best known designer of Brutalist furniture, creating roughly sculpted pieces out of wood and metal. While some of his pieces are highly decorated, it tends to be rather raw and harsh in appearance, not at all sleek or sinuous like much mid-century design.

Although Brutalism has had severe critics, it is enjoying somewhat of a comeback among young loft-dwellers who appreciate its industrial aesthetic and understand its honest, intellectual approach to function over form.

Faceted credenza
a212.com

Argente low cabinets
1stdibs.com

Bronze sculpted chairs
1stdibs.com

Metal sculpted credenza
tikiroom.com

Sofa
redmodernfurniture.com

Cocktail table
1stdibs.com