As Domus has observed, Brutalist architecture has delivered an important but sometimes controversial legacy to the contemporary world. Emerging in the post-World War II period from England as an architectural current openly contesting the principles and stylistic features then dominant in the Modern Movement, and then spreading all over the world, Brutalism displays recurring elements, despite contextual variables: the bare and “antigracious” lexicon of massive and rigorous volumes, the straightforward functionalism expressed through the clear and efficient planivolumetric layout and the strictly exposed structure, the enthusiastic use of raw reinforced concrete as the preferred material both for its structural and economic qualities and for its figurative valances.
Brutalist architecture at risk: 10 projects that could disappear
From Italy to the United States, from Tunisia to Japan, we tell the story of brutalist works in a state of decay and abandonment that languish awaiting a new life (or demolition).
Photo Fondo Paolo Monti from Wikipedia
Photo Bumbiti from Wikimedia Commons
Photo Ajay Suresh from Wikimedia Commons
Photo Francalb89 from Wikimedia Commons
Photo Naqib Hossain from wikimedia commons
Photo Jerzystrzelecki from wikimedia commons
Photo S23725 from Wikipedia
Photo fotographicrome from AdobeStock
Photo Célin from Wikipedia
Photo Etienne Baudon from Flickr
View Article details
- Chiara Testoni
- 25 March 2025
In spite of the supporters who see in this proudly anti-intellectual architecture, speaking to the masses whose needs it interprets, above all in civic and community buildings, a ‘’rough‘’ (as Smithsons defined it) but powerful poetics, detractors see it as an emblem of the dysfunctions of the modern city, due to the sometimes indifferent and not always resolved relationship with the environmental context and the material degradation that has often undermined the durability of the works. From Italy to the United States, from Tunisia to Japan, Domus has selected 10 Brutalist architectures “at risk” of survival which today, victims of decay, of the changing winds of the market, of a lack of programmatic vision on the part of public bodies and investors, languish in limbo waiting to see if they are to rise to new life or succumb to the blows of the bulldozer.
Opening image: Hilario Candela, Miami Marine Stadium, Miami, US. Photo Felix Mizioznikov from Adobe Stock
The complex, considered a masterpiece of Brutalist architecture at an international level and today in a state of decay, is composed of four main buildings oriented along an east-west axis and immersed in a park, which house the different functional areas: offices and management, a boarding school for students, the teachers' building and a school. The plan-volume layout is characterised by a rigorous modular scansion, emphasised by the exposed concrete structure with constant pitch. Particularly innovative is the choice made by the architect, in agreement with the Institute's educators, to abolish the traditional dormitories in favour of duplex accommodation.
The historic Brutalist complex of the Miami Marine Stadium was originally built for speedboat races as well as for cultural performances and events. It was operated until its closure in 1992 after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, then remaining unused for thirty years. Several unsuccessful restoration projects followed overtime. Due to the high financial commitment to restore the structure, the City of Miami is considering whether to proceed with restoration or demolition.
Located on Philadelphia's historic Race Street, Roundhouse is a distinctive curvilinear volume designed for the Philadelphia Police Administration and one of the first buildings in the United States to use precast concrete technology. Used as police headquarters from its completion until the institution's recent relocation to a new location, it has been awaiting a change of function for years.
The design of the cattle market is inspired by the concept of the tent that historically characterised village festivals, fairs and the circus. The plan, based on a modular 10x10m square grid, is rotated 45° with respect to the street axis allowing the formation of uncovered spaces pertaining to the buildings, in a continuity between exterior and interior. The punctiform structure supports the latecement roof that progressively rises from a minimum height of 2.80 metres to a maximum of 13.30 metres. Evaluations are currently underway on how to preserve and restore the building, which has been abandoned and dilapidated for years.
The monumental Boston Government Service Center office complex, consisting of a series of interconnected buildings and a public plaza, was never completed as originally planned and over the years has been subjected to delays and inefficiencies in maintenance and the de-qualification of public areas converted to parking. The government has embarked on a process of redevelopment, prefiguring an expansion of the complex with new residential and science laboratory buildings. The project is now undergoing regulatory review and the state is aiming to start work in 2025.
The exposed concrete and steel structure complex with its inverted pyramid silhouette is a disruptive presence on the Tunis skyline. The hotel was privatised in the 1990s but fell into disrepair and finally closed in 2000. Purchased in 2011 by a real estate development company that proposed its demolition, it was saved from the bulldozers by the strong opposition of who recognized the building as one of the few examples of brutalist architecture in North Africa and a symbol of Tunisia's modernisation. In 2019, a petition was launched to save the building, but it is still in very poor condition today.
The building, one of the few remaining designed by Tange in Tokyo, has seven floors and two basements and houses the ambassador's offices and residence. Inspired by the Arabian courtyard motif, the project features patios, small green areas and hanging gardens. Although plans for its demolition have been discarded, it seems that a process of renovation of the building, scarred by the passage of time, has not yet been undertaken.
Reducing the so-called Casa Albero to a simple summer residence would be reductive, because the work designed by a family of architects (father, mother and son) for themselves is not just a beach house but an example of experimentation on a new architectural language in the field of housing. The work was conceived “in progress” to be continuously transformed, while maintaining a constant dialogue with nature. The complex consists of three buildings of different types: the house, with a repeatable modular structure made of raw concrete, glass and red steel; the ball, a 5-metre diameter sphere conceived as an external appendage to the house; the three cubes, cubic spatial modules interspersed with semi-modules containing the services, bedroom, living room and kitchen, in less than 40 square metres. Now uninhabited and awaiting restoration, it occasionally comes alive thanks to guided tours.
The building was conceived as a manifesto of a post-independentist enthusiasm for the capital being transformed into a modern, cosmopolitan city. Set in the Plateau, the area of Abidjan presumed to become an Ivorian Manhattan, it was conceived as a multifunctional building on a western model, with a shopping centre, offices, a panoramic restaurant, a nightclub and a supermarket. The reference to the local building tradition lives on in the overall sloping outline, in response to heavy rainfall, and in the sunshades that protect against the equatorial climate. The building has remained largely unoccupied since the 1980s and has fallen into disrepair due to high maintenance costs, ownership disputes and security problems. A proposal for renovation has been explored by architect Francis Sossah's “Pyramide des arts modernes et de l'histoire d'Abidjan (PAMH'A)” project aiming to transform the building into a multifunctional cultural space. Demolition is therefore not currently on the agenda, but the future of the Pyramid is still uncertain.
The gigantic complex of Les Damiers du Dauphiné, spread over 23 storeys and 77 metres high with 224 flats, is part of the Damiers compartment, comprising 640 dwellings in four buildings (Damiers d'Anjou, Damiers de Bretagne, Damiers de Champagne and Damiers de Dauphiné). The stepped layout and pyramid shape favour natural lighting down to the lower levels reserved for local shops. The façades are decorated with precast concrete panels featuring hollows and reliefs. In 2011, the complex was vacated and sold for demolition and replacement with a mixed-use complex, but the developer failed to finalise the deal due to lack of resources. Since then, the complex is mostly uninhabited and still at risk of demolition.