D.C. is known for its many concrete, blocky buildings that can only be described with one word: ‘blah.’ Whether you love it or hate it, there is no denying that Brutalism is engrained in D.C.’s architectural history. Here’s why.
If you ask Washingtonians about the city’s infamous brutalist architecture, it seems that everyone has a strong opinion — and it’s safe to say there are a lot more negative feelings than good.
Many D.C. natives, like Candy Thomson, who lived in Washington for over three decades, aren’t too fond of the concrete, blocky buildings that so many government agencies occupy.
This disdain reigns especially true for the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover Building in Penn Quarter, which was named the ugliest building in the United States by Buildworld’s annual Ugliest Buildings in the World list this past January.
The brutalist style even gets evoked in conversations about moving the FBI headquarters to Maryland or Virginia.
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“I lived and worked in the DC area for 31 years and dropped an F-bomb every time I walked or drive by that ugly hunk of concrete,” Thomson (@CandyThomson1) shared on her Twitter.
On the other end of the spectrum, Twitter user Claire @isolinearchip_, believes that the design of the FBI building is better than some of the more recent, modern office buildings being built in the area.
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“So much new build downtown has zero character," Claire tweeted.
At least the FBI building, she says, sends a message: "You're going to remember me."
No matter what Washingtonians think about the architectural style, one thing is clear: it brings strong feelings — and language — out of many. And whether we love it or hate it, it became prominent in Washington for a reason.
Why Brutalist Buildings Are So Common in D.C.
The National Capital Planning Commission says the reason that brutalism became so popular, especially in D.C., was the low cost of concrete, a factor that especially appealed to federal, state and local governments during the 1960s.
The number of federal employees was growing rapidly, requiring more office space. President John F. Kennedy responded to this need by creating the Ad Hoc Committee of Federal Office Space, which released a report in 1962 with guiding principles for federal architecture.
The report asked federal planners to build office spaces that “reflect the dignity, enterprise, vigor and stability of the American National Government” and “embody the finest contemporary American Architectural thought.”
The popularity of brutalism coincided with the growing need for federal buildings.
Matthew J. Bell, professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Maryland, said the architecture style’s use of concrete as both a durable and economical material seemed to fit well with the report’s design requests.
“One of the reasons architects liked concrete is you can make many forms out of it. If you can build the formwork and bend the steel, you can make just about any shape that you want,” Bell said.
With that, brutalist buildings like the FBI building, the U.S. Department of Energy building, D.C. metro stations, and so many more brutalist structures began to pop up across the city throughout the 1960s — and remain standing today.
If you are interested in seeing brutalism up close and personal and forming your own opinion on it, check out Brutalist DC, a local organization dedicated to celebrating the style. Their Brutalist Washington Map shows 40 examples of brutalist architecture and locations, dates and the architects responsible for the buildings.
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