Brutalism Is a Thing

I’m in DC for the M-Enabling Summit, my first time it for it, and I’m pretty excited. For one, I’m really hoping to meet folks and find ways to get myself out there more. I enjoy my job but the company isn’t super into being public about… anything.

But, secondly, I love the brutalist architecture in Washington DC. I had actually forgotten until I walk to find food and went on a fun side jaunt taking some photos if buying concrete slabs.

Square building with blocky color panels sticking out.

I named tis blog after the architectural style for a reason. Brutalism is as unashamed as it is brash about what it is. I’ll not get into the history - you can look that up - but the short of it is that Brutalism was about representing adn respecting the materials used in your design. traditionally, it was concrete which was cheap, robust, and plentiful at the time so a lot of institutions and governments built buildings on trend.

Concrete slabs underlit to look dramatic and art-y

Which suits accessibility well. The mostly accessible software is software built true to materials. For my job, that’s HTML and CSS. HTML standards, well supported and clearly defined, provide the best opportunity for accessible interactions from all the tools available. It’s less work, cheaper, and uses strong, durable materials that can last.

A concrete overpass in front of the Thales building. Hilton hotel building is a giant block o’ brick

It’s maybe a little cheesy but I do sincerely believe it. I like concrete principles…..