How Brutalism Inspired Concrete Kitchens
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Concrete has a long, interesting and, at times, controversial history that stretches back over 3,000 years. It has numerous applications from road surfaces to concrete kitchens and is a fundamental material of Brutalism – a provocative architectural movement. In this blog post, we uncover how Brutalism inspired the use of concrete in kitchens.
Originally coined in the early 1950s, Brutalism soon became the architecture of choice for high-rise housing, because it promised an economical replacement for the houses that were destroyed during the second world war. There are numerous tower blocks which are now Grade II listed buildings, including Trellick Tower, designed by Ernő Goldfinger and home to Goldfinger Factory.
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By the mid-1980s, the Brutalist movement had all but disappeared and was replaced predominantly by postmodern architecture. Its aim was to oust rigid doctrines, uniformity, lack of ornamentation and not remembering the past, all of which Brutalism was guilty of.
This ethos mirrors industrial interior design, which sprang into popularity due to the repurposing of vacant industrial buildings. Exposed brickwork and concrete re-emerged as fundamental materials that were made popular by Brutalism.
Concrete Kitchens
Polished floors, textured walls and worktops made from concrete started to appear in kitchens across the country. Undoubtedly, concrete makes a bold statement and its use in kitchens reflects this – robust matt grey slabs perfectly complement the bleak aesthetic of industrial interior design. Concrete is heavy, difficult to install and expensive so alternatives, such as realistic concrete effect worktops, are highly-affordable. When paired with concrete effect kitchen splashbacks and upstands enhances the industrial design style.
New build Brutalist houses, such as Pedro Reyes’ home in Mexico City, are compassionately restoring the movement for the contemporary era and by doing so they are expanding this mid-century architecture into kitchen design too. In this kitchen, concrete has been used liberally but in this does not have to be the case. Even by using a concrete laminate worktop you can introduce the industrial effect into your kitchen. Being grey, it can be matched with several different colours, including yellow, red and orange. These warm colours help lift the coldness of the concrete and make a kitchen feel more homely.
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