{"id":811146,"date":"2026-03-08T00:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/811146\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:36:25","slug":"eight-monumental-buildings-that-offer-modern-takes-on-brutalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/811146\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight monumental buildings that offer modern takes on brutalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this roundup,<\/a> we explore sculptural concrete buildings that evoke the geometries and monumental aspects of brutalism<\/a>, but were designed by contemporary architects.<\/p>\n

The striking buildings in this roundup include a concrete chapel in Missouri, a cube-shaped home in Mexico and an Argentinian home with a cantilevered terrace.<\/p>\n

\"Ludwig<\/a>Photo is by Rory Gardiner<\/p>\n

Casa Alf\u00e9rez, Mexico, by Ludwid Godefroy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This brutalist holiday home<\/a> in a Mexican pine forest was designed by Mexico City-based architect Ludwig Godefroy<\/a>, who drew on “the idea of a cabin in the woods”.<\/p>\n

“I wanted the house to look like a cube that crashed on the floor among the trees,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Casa Alf\u00e9rez \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Angular<\/a>Photo is by Jo\u00e3o Morgado<\/p>\n

Atlantic Pavilion, Portugal, by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Designed by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos, this sports centre<\/a> in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, features angular concrete<\/a> surfaces that funnel daylight into its public foyer.<\/p>\n

Located on a compact site, the building’s design was guided by the principles of brutalism in its use of concrete both inside and out, and features a cantilevered upper storey.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Atlantic Pavilion \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pedro<\/a>Photo is by Edmund Sumner<\/p>\n

Pedro Reyes studio, Mexico, by Pedro Reyes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes designed a bunker<\/a>-like extension as the main workplace for his studio in Coyoac\u00e1n, Mexico City<\/a>. Its brutalist appearance comes from the material used \u2013 prefabricated concrete panels.<\/p>\n

“Definitely, it resembles a work more of infrastructure or engineering than of architecture, which is one of the characteristics of brutalism,” Reyes said.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Pedro Reyes studio \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Photo is by Tommaso Riva<\/p>\n

A Brutalist Tropical Home, Indonesia, by Patisandhika and Dan Mitchell<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The aptly named A Brutalist Tropical Home in Bali<\/a> sits\u00a0in a small valley nestled within rice fields on the south coast of the island.<\/p>\n

Here, architectural studio Patisandhika and designer Dan Mitchell created a house with structural slabs that extend horizontally from its exterior. Inside, it has a double-height living room<\/a> with a multi-level layout that is filled with tropical plants.<\/p>\n

Find out more about A Brutalist Tropical Home \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Chapel<\/a>Photo is by Roman Rojas<\/p>\n

Chapel of the Risen Christ, US, by Design Alliance Architects<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Eight massive curved walls form this concrete chapel in St Louis<\/a>, Missouri, which has stained-glass windows and was designed in reference to the resurrection.<\/p>\n

“The curvature of the walls expands concentrically toward the nave, symbolizing the spreading of the Gospel,” the studio told Dezeen. “Their deliberate fragmentation alludes to the broken body of Christ on the cross, a central tenet of Christian theology.”<\/p>\n

Find out more about Chapel of the Risen Christ \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo is by Luis Abba<\/p>\n

Brutal Honesty, Argentina, by OF Studio<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A mountainside<\/a> in Mendoza, Argentina<\/a>, is home to the Brutal Honesty house, designed to resemble abstract rock formations.<\/p>\n

“In essence, Brutal Honesty is a built extension of the mountain \u2013 a space for living that neither conceals nor embellishes, but exists in open dialogue with its surroundings,” designer OF Studio said.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Brutal Honesty \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Casa<\/a>Photo is by Edmund Sumner<\/p>\n

Casa HMZ, Mexico, by Lucio Muniain<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Created as a “habitable sculpture,” Casa HMZ in San Luis Potos\u00ed has raw board-formed concrete<\/a> walls and draws on the works of Mexican architect Luis Barrag\u00e1n<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The heavy rectangular house, which has recessed windows, sits on a golf course and has wide views of the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Casa HMZ \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NICO<\/a>Photo is by Luis D\u00edaz D\u00edaz<\/p>\n

NICO Loma Alta, Mexico, by Hybrid and Palma<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The only hotel<\/a> on the list, NICO Loma Alta in the bohemian surf town of Sayulita features elements of brutalism and vernacular architecture.<\/p>\n

At its rooftop level, a plunge pool is framed by the concrete beams used throughout the structure, which are contrasted with steel<\/a> and wood to create a tactile design.<\/p>\n

Find out more about NICO Loma Alta \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this roundup, we explore sculptural concrete buildings that evoke the geometries and monumental aspects of brutalism, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,131634,30272,4022,77,13967,126129,126130,16,15],"class_list":["post-811146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-brutalism","tag-concrete","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-roundups","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116190759520739150","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}