Brutalist Pool Series 1 Massimo Colonna

The architectural concept of ‘Brutalism’ has been making something of a comeback in recent times, as interest in this structural style and the ideology that underpinned it grows. Its dramatic fall from fashionable grace from the early 1980s onwards, however, led it to become the most reviled structural aesthetic in any urban landscape, with few lamenting its demolition and demise.

The word ‘Brutalist’ itself, interestingly, does not derive from its forbidding appearance but rather from the words béton brut, meaning ‘raw concrete’. Its rise in post-war 1950s Europe stemmed from the most unimpeachably high-minded principles of social utopianism, and as such it was the style employed to construct shared institutions such as libraries, government buildings, theatres, schools, and affordable housing projects. It epitomised a forward-looking confidence in the future and, in some ways, was the logical conclusion of the modernist ideal, which sought to eliminate unnecessary adornment and celebrate the materials of construction themselves: concrete, steel, and glass. But the style fell from favour for several reasons: its austere nature; its associations with totalitarianism, crime, social deprivation, and urban decay; and finally because the buildings often simply did not age well, with crumbling structures becoming discoloured and damaged.

In this series, digital artist Massimo Colonna (Italy) revisits the pool motif from his earlier works and pays homage to the principles of this movement, unabashedly celebrating concrete for its aesthetic value. The austerity of the cool grey concrete in these works is tempered by the form of his construction, with smoothed edges, considered proportions, and textured surfaces. The artificial is here perfectly balanced by the presence of water, sky, and greenery, creating something inviting: a space or an ideal we want to exist in, as we learn to appreciate this movement anew and the lofty principles it represents.

See also Brutalist Pool Series 2 and Brutalist Pool Series 3 in the series.