The name "New Brutalism" was a play on "New Empiricism" (a softer, Swedish-inspired style popular at the time). Banham traced the roots of the term to a few sources:
An appreciation for art and materials in their "raw" or "savage" state, influenced by Jean Dubuffet’s Art Brut . 2. Banham’s Three Criteria the new brutalism by reyner banham
The book’s subtitle poses the central question: Is New Brutalism an ethic or an aesthetic? Banham’s answer is dialectical. He argues that it appears as an aesthetic (raw concrete, rough surfaces, repetitive geometries) but originates in an ethic—a moral refusal to prettify. Banham writes: “Brutalism attempts to face up to a mass-production society, and drag a rough poetry out of the confused and powerful forces which are actually at work.” The name "New Brutalism" was a play on
Here is an exploration of how Banham defined the movement and why his analysis remains the definitive text on one of architecture’s most controversial eras. 1. The Origins of the Term Banham’s Three Criteria The book’s subtitle poses the
Banham argued that the "Ethic" of Brutalism consisted of: