Although the word Brutalism comes from the French word for rough concrete (beton brut), the style also suggests a sense of brutality. Brutalist structures are heavy and unrefined with coarsely molded surfaces, usually exposed concrete. Their highly sculptural shapes tend to be crude and blocky, often colliding with one another.

The deliberate roughness or heaviness of brutalist structures sets them apart from ordinary modernism. Structures can claim inclusion in this style if special care is taken to emphasize the material nature of their structural concrete. Brick, glass, and other materials can also be used in brutalism if they contribute to a block-like effect similar to the strongly articulated concrete forms of early brutalism.

Approximate Dates: 1950 to 1985