Brutal DC, a design exhibition curated by Angela Person, an associate professor of Architecture, and professional photographer Ty Cole, opened on Oct. 14 at the Southern Utah Museum of Art. The exhibition is comprised of archival documents, recent re-imaginings and fine art photography that consider the historical underpinnings, current state and future possibilities of key Brutalist buildings in Washington, DC. Since opening, Brutal DC has been featured in The Architect’s Newspaper, Archinect, DesignBoom, domus, and more.
A display from the Brutal DC exhibition, courtesy of Ty Cole.
Brutal DC is the largest-ever survey of Brutalist architecture in Washington, DC. The exhibition introduces visitors to the history of Brutalism by examining seven existing buildings. Brutalism is an architectural style that offered a less expensive, relatively speedy means of constructing large public works, specifically in the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, the federal government incentivized mid-century urban renewal efforts that displaced over 1,500 businesses and 23,000 residents in Southwest DC alone. These urban renewal efforts disproportionately impacted African American and immigrant families in the region.
A display from the Brutal DC exhibition, courtesy of Ty Cole.
In the exhibit, archival documents, architectural drawings and construction photographs illustrate how these Brutalist structures first emerged during the Cold War. Exemplary buildings include Marcel Breuer’s Weaver Building and Harry Weese’s DC Metro designs. Despite the multi-million dollar budgets and post-war optimism that supported these buildings’ construction, their occupants and the public at large have often voiced pronounced aversion to many of these structures.
Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, Marcel Breuer & Associates and Nolen-Swinburne & Associates Architects. Weaver Building, Under Construction, c. 1967-1968, archival photograph, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
To highlight the current state of Brutalism, the exhibit features contemporary, fine art photographs of these iconic buildings and Metro stations. In his photographs, Cole documents the beautiful qualities of these buildings that often goes unnoticed.
Reimaginings created by leading Architecture firms Brooks+Scarpa, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gensler and BLDUS, as well as students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Architecture, illustrate potential futures for five of the buildings. As many of these Brutalist buildings were built 40–60 years ago, the time has come for building owners to decide whether to invest and update them, or raze them and start over.
Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, Ty Cole (United States, b. 1979). Courtesy of the artist
According to Person, “Brutal DC is the product of more than two years of teamwork, bringing together folks from across the U.S. and beyond to explore the past, present and future of these polarizing buildings.” She continued, “I’m especially proud of OU alumni Ashley Darden and Makayla Zimmer, who provided essential research support for the exhibition during their time as graduate students. I hope Brutal DC inspires new conversations about what it means to adapt, re-use and preserve Brutalist buildings in the nation’s capital.”
Brooks + Scarpa, Reimagining the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, 2023, unbuilt project. Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa; Project contributors include Lawrence Scarpa, Ryan Clement, Iliya Muzychuk, Kiki Guo, Zongli Li, Ahmad Chehab, Matthew Hunt, Calder Scarpa, Karen Lopez, and Joseph Kim.
Brutal DC is a curatorial partnership between Person, an architectural geographer, and Cole, an architectural photographer. Person is an award-winning scholar and associate professor in the Division of Architecture. Her research and teaching at Gibbs College engage architectural history and behavioral and emotional outcomes of the built environment. Cole is a talented visual artist based in Los Angeles and New York. His work has been published in Dwell, Architectural Digest, Metropolis, Smithsonian Magazine and more.
It was produced in consultation with Becky Bloom, assistant director of curatorial affairs at SUMA, and Deane Madsen, a DC-based architectural writer and Brutalism preservation advocate. The graphic identity was created by London based graphic designer Richard Hooker. This exhibition was co-organized by SUMA and the National Building Museum and was made possible with funding from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, MHTN Architects and the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture.
Brutal DC will be on view at SUMA until March 2, 2024. View the exhibition Press Kit.
Featured Image: Brutal DC installation at the Southern Utah Museum of Art, image courtesy of Ty Cole. Image has been cropped for this article.
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