Concrete Marmite

Love it. Hate it. This is my brutopia…

My love of concrete and soviet style architecture comes from my unerring enthusiasm for dystopian literature. From my first read of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, I imagined a world I thought I could only visualise through text. Sterile, uncompromising and otherworldly, yet familiar. The prophecy-making political satire of Orwell’s 1984 and the unwavering wit and vernacular stamina of Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, or the webbed and pulsating landscapes of J.D Ballard; these wordsmiths are implicitly responsible for my visual adoration of brutalism.

Some buildings are gone now; a few are simply foundations before the facade was added (my byhandle “Caretaker Brutalism”), with an intermediary Brut in place of their outer skin.

Brutalist cityscapes are fictional phantasmagoria made real. Like a stamp collector with an album, I’m bagging these stark geometric structures with a hope to one day form a noteworthy collection.

Modern concrete building with large geometric blocks and a no parking sign in front. The sky is partly cloudy.
Black and white photo of a modern residential or office building with numerous windows. A set of stairs and a person are visible in the center, with a small water puddle reflecting the building and stairs in the foreground.
A man with a backpack holding a long object while walking on a cobblestone street under an overpass with large concrete beams overhead.
A person standing on an outdoor staircase near a metro station entrance with a yellow 'M' sign. The scene reflects in a large puddle on the ground, creating a mirrored effect. A bird is flying above the person.
Black and white cityscape with modern multi-story apartment buildings in the background and a geometric terrace garden in the foreground, including staircases and small trees.
Black and white photo of a modern multi-story office building with glass windows, reflected in a body of water in the foreground, with birds flying in the sky.
A man walking through the darkened path between tall, black memorial walls at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.
Black and white photo of a city street scene with people walking, a bicycle, and a pigeons, with buildings and a storefront named 'Soundland' visible.
Person walking on sidewalk carrying a large pink reflective panel, with a modern building and palm trees in the background.
Black and white photo of a multi-level parking garage with concrete structure and a building with a rounded glass facade in the background. There are warning signs and a traffic cone in the foreground.
Empty parking garage with wet floor and puddles, concrete ceiling and pillars, and parked cars outside the open side.
Black and white photo of a modern building with a narrow view looking up between two parallel structures with a gap of sky in the center.
Birds flying over a flooded street with reflections of buildings on the water, black and white photo.
Black and white photo of a narrow city alleyway viewed from a shadowed archway, with a person walking in the distance.
A person walking with a suitcase in a dark corridor leading to a brighter outside area.
A tall building with multiple rounded balconies stacked vertically, resembling a cone-shaped structure, viewed from below.
A cityscape with modern and older buildings, features a complex architectural structure with stairs and walkways, trees, and residential high-rises in the background, in black and white.
Black and white photo of a modern, multi-story apartment building with irregular windows and balconies, surrounded by trees and urban street scene.
View of a modern Brutalist apartment complex with multiple levels and terraces covered in greenery, concrete stairs, and cars parked below. Some graffiti with red lettering reads 'VIVE LA GREVE!'
A black and white photo of modern office buildings reflecting on a puddle of water at an intersection with traffic lights, a person riding a bike, and a fountain statue in the background.
Two red chairs with metal leg frames against a concrete wall in an indoor space.
A large, multi-story concrete building with several floors, featuring rectangular windows and some plants growing on balconies and walls. The building appears weathered, with visible cracks and vines climbing along the exterior. The photo is taken fr
City building with stairs leading up, a sign that says 'Interdit aux piétons' and the words 'Noisy Résidence' on top of the building.
Nighttime cityscape with modern multi-story building, a person walking, and reflections in a body of water.
A street sign for Boulevard Arta Pablo Picasso pointing to addresses 4-5-7 with an arrow. In the background, there are tall modern residential buildings with stacked, rounded balconies and windows, along with some trees and a partly cloudy sky.
A black and white photo taken from below looking up at a cityscape framed by a netted canopy. Tall buildings and an overcast sky are visible.
Modern multi-story building with a unique, staggered design and plants on terraces, alongside a street with cars and a tree, in black and white.
Reflection of a multi-story building with staircases and a blue railing, seen through a window with black framing during daytime, with cloudy sky overhead.
Multiple levels of a concrete parking garage with curved ramps and metal barriers at the top and bottom of the image.
A man with gray hair sitting on a stone ledge on a city sidewalk, overlooking a one-way street with parked cars and a parking meter, next to a building with a blue and yellow sign that reads 'LCL'.
Black and white photo of a modern multi-story concrete building with large windows and exposed concrete panels, with some ivy growing on its exterior, viewed from a low angle.
A modern building with a glass facade and vertical concrete stripes, with a 'no parking' sign and street elements in the foreground.
Low-angle view of a modern multi-story building at night with illuminated windows and a cloudy sky in the background
A modern building with large beige concrete blocks and a no-parking sign in the foreground, with a person standing in the lower right corner.
Black and white photo of a modern architectural building with a pathway in between. There are several spherical objects surrounding a small circular reflection pool in the foreground.
A black and white photo of a modern multi-story building with a glass spiral staircase on the right side, and a man walking in the foreground.
A person sitting on the ledge of a stairwell landing, reading a book or using a device, with repetitive archways of the staircase visible in black and white.
Multiple empty concrete parking garages with curved levels, seen from below, in black and white.
Black and white photo looking through a square-framed opening in a concrete wall, showing a tunnel with a ladder or stairs leading downward and descending into darkness.
Black and white photo of modern buildings with concrete walls and angular shapes, featuring a large suspended rectangular block in the center, casting shadows on the ground and adjacent structures, with a glimpse of city buildings in the background.
City scene viewed from a dark underpass showing people walking outside in sunlight, with a sign warning of a slippery stairway when wet.
Black and white photo of a modern concrete building with angular rooftops, surrounded by a small playground with a basketball hoop and hopscotch court, with high-rise buildings in the background.
Black and white photo of a modern concrete building with a person walking past. In the foreground, there is a white cylindrical object with the letters 'SI' on it, possibly a sign or marker. The building features sharp angles and geometric design ele
Black and white photo taken from below of a large concrete structure with a wide, straight escalator passing through it. People are seen walking and standing around in the background, which appears to be a shopping mall or similar commercial area.
A black and white photograph of a modern architectural structure with a tunnel-like walkway. The underside features repeating geometric patterns created by angled beams. Two people are walking away from the camera towards a bright opening at the end
Apartment buildings with distinctive rounded balconies and a street sign in the foreground.
A person walking down a narrow outdoor stairway between large rock formations with large concrete bridges overhead, overlooking a landscape with water and trees in the distance.
Black and white photo of a modern building's interior showing multiple open floors with concrete beams and railings, looking up towards the ceiling.
Black and white photo of an urban shopping area with stairs leading down to a street, showing pedestrians and storefronts.
A modern architectural building made of concrete with multiple open balconies, and the logo UTEC on the side, situated by a street with cars, motorcycles, and scooters passing by.
Low-angle black and white photo of a modern building with a geometric honeycomb-like facade and a person looking out from one of the windows.
Black and white photo of two tall, abandoned concrete buildings with broken windows and exposed structure, with tree branches and the sun in the sky.
A person walking on a sidewalk in front of a graffiti-covered fence with a large building in the background.
Black and white photo of an urban scene viewed from a staircase, with two people walking outside near shops and buildings.
A silhouette of a man in a cap sitting on an electric scooter with a shopping basket, with a modern multi-story building with glass windows and a circular staircase in the background.
Black and white photo of a city street with people walking and sitting, buildings with large windows, and a partly cloudy sky.
Reflection of people walking outside, visible through glass windows with horizontal blinds, in black and white.