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I love brutalism as a whole, but I think the Soviet-style architecture is an infinitely better example of it. Of the educational institutions, I much prefer [Moscow State University](https://cdn.britannica.com/86/124386-004-5284668C/Moscow-State-University.jpg) - it looks similarly practical, but also reaches for the skies and has a nice symmetry to it.
Its a stalinist style building. Stalin wanted big grand buildings to flaunt at the west. OP is thinking more along the lines of khrushchyvkas which came after Khrushchev dissolved the main soviet architecture school and were for more mass buildings with less waste.
It might be the weather that turns many people to hate European and soviet brutalism, as most of the time these buildings stand in cold gloomy and wet weather, so it just compunds the miserable look some of the more worn down buildings have.
P.S. MSU isn't built in the brutalist style but belongs to the Stalinist style or socialist classicism.
No they aren't. They're cheap to maintain, low cost, and when they have extra insulation added to them, they become quite desirable places to live as evidenced by the rents in the renovated buildings.
I mean honestly they're better than more recent architecture that prefers plywood over any sort of hard material and will have to be torn down in 30-50 years. Meanwhile all the commieblocks are still standing even despite deferred maintenance.
Yeah the history is god awful but that's about like saying universal healthcare is bad because the USSR had it.
I can't agree with you. Modern construction will easily outlast those blocks, if it's built properly.
Commie blocks are not easy or cheap to maintain, they were built with 50 year lifespan in mind, many are wayyy past that date. You can try to polish a turd, but it will still be a turd.
Have any empirical evidence for that claim or are you just talking out of your ass? How exactly is plywood sturdier than concrete?
Them being far past their lifespans is just more evidence it was good construction that lasts. Pretty hard to fuck up concrete after all
"They haven't collapsed, therefore they're awesome" is not how construction standards work.
Have you seen one up close? They were built by drunk guys who didn't give a fuck, they weren't going to be the ones living in them.
All walls are crooked, floors are crooked, pipes are uninsulated, windows are all different sizes, some walls have leftover bits of wood instead of brick, wiring is sketchy as fuck, there's obviously no fire suppression systems, no wall insulation, no sound insulation between apartments or floors.
They're just as bad as shitty new construction, but the layout is worse and not fit for modern requirements.
“They were built by drunk guys who didn't give a fuck, they weren't going to be the ones living in them.”
You just described 90% of the trades, comrade
+1 on the history. Taking a design ethos meant to celebrate the social collective and deploying it in a system where the idea of the social collective is used to oppress and colonize through dictatorial and genocidal means kinda colours the architecture.
It had a political system imposed on it by France which distributed government positions and seats in Parliament by religious sect, based on their proportion of the total population.
A generation or so later, the proportions had changed, and certain Christian groups who had been privileged by the system fiercely resisted any reform toward representative democracy.
It slid into a decades-long civil war, during which both Syria and Israel invaded. It ended with the system more or less still intact and the parliament controlled by various sectarian militia groups. Nothing was resolved, and corrupt militia leaders basically looted the country. The economy collapsed and then in 2021, some improperly-stored ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s harbour, killing hundreds of people, levelling Lebanon’s main port and destroying a lot of the city centre.
Obviously this is an extremely cliff notes version of a very complex history, but hopefully it gives you the basics. It’s a tragic case of how a prosperous and progressive society can be completely hollowed out by foreign interference and corruption. And now with everything kicking off again in the Middle East, it looks like it might be end up trapped in the centre of a major war yet again.
Ah yeah I see thank you very much, I often saw some of their architecture online and its beautiful, really sad to see that it’s wasted on such an unlucky country
Oh yeah it’s absolutely gorgeous! A lot of Beirut’s historic neighbourhoods were damaged in the blast, but there was a massive volunteer effort to preserve and restore as much as possible. They’re justly very proud of it, so I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily wasted!
It's not wasted at all. Lebanese are still just people trying to live their lives and obviously need housing and school buildings, so they persevere. Why would think any of this is a waste just because the government sucks?
The Lebanese Civil War is... very complicated. Don't reduce it to "Palestinians bad. They brought Lebanon to Civil war." There were a whole lot of factors and factions and fractions, and the PLO were definitely one, but... it's dizzying the mess of the players that make up that Civil war.
Not mentioning other factors other than “France bad because colonisation” is crazy, Iran and Shiite groups also played a big role in destabilizing the country as well, if not a bigger role.
Not mentioning Israel bombing their city centers and massacring their civilians for decades and at one point attempting to annex the country is much more crazy. Perhaps because acknowledging that would show why Lebanon is justifiably not friendly to the west or Israel and why the militias exist.
What you say here is, mostly, true, but funny that no one has mentioned the country that has always desired to annex Lebanon even more than Israel, and violently occupied even more of Lebanon for nearly as long: Syria.
Lebanon expelled two foreign military occupations, one in 2000 (Israel) and the other in 2005 (Syria). And while some see Hezbollah positively for their role in the former, many also consider Hezbollah to be Syrian collaborators.
Lebanon as whole is not so friendly to the West but most Lebanese are hardly any more sympathetic to the West's enemies, and despite the widespread animosity and fear toward Israel and Israeli aggression, Lebanon's population is very strongly divided in opinion on other Western countries such as France, the US, and the UK.
In the Bekaa at least you will find every imaginable perspective on Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, the US, France, and Russia, positive negative and a mix of the two, but really the only abjectly despised country across every sectarian divide today is Israel.
Israel occupied Lebanon from 1982 to 2005. So by your own admission Israel has done the most damage. It hasn't even technically stopped as Israel still launches missiles deliberately targeted at Lebanese civilians into Lebanon. You lied knowing that you were lying.
The Lebanon subreddit, even though reddit is overwhelmingly skews towards rich western kids, is very clear about who's the bigger threat.
Firstly, you never gave a single example of a lie I said, because I didn't lie about anything I said, so you're just an arrogant prick talking out of your ass and you know that, so go fuck yourself.
Secondly, where the fuck did I ever claim Israel isn't still attacking Lebanon? I was discussing the legacies of the foreign occupations and the lingering public sentiments, not the current conflict.
Thirdly, my perspectives have nothing to do with the Lebanese subreddit and much more to do with the perspectives of my own Lebanese family members, some of whom still live in the Bekaa Valley.
Fourthly, your abject conflation of occupation of Lebanon with aggression towards Lebanon and the destruction created muddles your entire attempt to make a point, and you should improve your literacy before you try to come at me as pathetically as this again.
Thank you, go fuck yourself.
I just can't imagine going to a place like this for studies every day and not feeling physically trapped in an equivalent of a giant tomb.
To me, universities/colleges have always been the synonym of brighter future, hopes, achieving one's dreams... And then you go to Beirut and metaphorically bury yourself in what looks like a pile of concrete - an ironic parallel to burying your own life in a dead-end job, unsurmountable debt or a similar no-escape situation.
Yeah I'm from Central Europe and most universities are either in historic buildings or in buildings from second half of 20th century... Doesn't really seems like a "future".
[https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes](https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes)
this explains the design pretty well
for people who dont know, this style is common, or at least not exclusive to this building in beirut. The oppenings (windows) in various sizes and arranged somewhat chaoticly are supposed to represent bullet holes and the state of a building after war has its way with it. And i think thats awesome and goes beyond the aeestheticly pleasing :)
Its also just another form of Digital architecture.
Its like a post post modern style. I call it digital architecture. Because of software and new technology they are able to to do this very quickly now, without it costing tons more.
> private Roman Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Government of France during the time when Lebanon was under Ottoman rule. It is widely recognized as one of the leading and most prestigious academic institutions in Lebanon and Middle East.
Nice!!! Never knew about this
It actually was
From: [https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes](https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes)
"The south-east facade looks like it has been riddled with bullet holes. It is an intentional gesture, very close to aestheticising the horrors of war, but visually compelling nonetheless."
This looks like something out of Dune.
I….kinda like it, tbh.
It looks like a university that could double as bunker in a pinch.
Like if I were to imagine a modern day castle, built for a modern war with rockets and bombs and stuff, this is kind of how I think it would look.
The day is at an end, and the dusk undulates over the city, but its light fails to illuminate the university's still, mute hallways - or the dull eyes of its students. Like an inutile critter lost without a master, the sunrays of knowledge prove too feeble to reach inside.
Some compare Saint Joseph's to a large, rugged block of cheese - but the surface of this cheese has been covered by the generational mold of the Lebanese architects long before it manifested into a blueprint.
The narrow, irregularly placed windows evoke an image of bullet wounds on the concrete surface, and their hard edges with strict, set lines indicate the fourth stage of death, the rigor mortis, the stiffening, the finality of war and human catastrophe that leaves no place for humanitarian aspirations. Brought to his knees, John Locke weeps as he sees this place.
Saint Joseph, the University - a proud name for an edifice of hopelesness, where the most diligent students of the Mazarin Bible, that venerated incunabula, cannot find a trace of sainthood. A young wanderer has barely turned a corner, and already he approaches the end of the short, uneventful road, without ever seeing a chance to produce a single bright memory, his own imprint on the world at large.
Such is Beirut. Loneliness. Death.
**Do not comment to gatekeep that something "isn't urban" or "isn't hell"**. Our rules are very expansive in content we welcome, so do not assume just based off your false impression of the phrase "UrbanHell" UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed. Gatekeeping comments may be removed. Want to shitpost about shitty posts? Go to /r/urbanhellcirclejerk. Still have questions?: Read our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/wiki/index). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UrbanHell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is probably the most beautiful example of brutalism.
This is a contemporary building from 2004
I love brutalism as a whole, but I think the Soviet-style architecture is an infinitely better example of it. Of the educational institutions, I much prefer [Moscow State University](https://cdn.britannica.com/86/124386-004-5284668C/Moscow-State-University.jpg) - it looks similarly practical, but also reaches for the skies and has a nice symmetry to it.
That isn’t brutalist. Brutalist building wouldn’t have those fixtures on it.
Yeah im completely unqualified to speak on this but that feels more like socialist realism
Agreed. Not saying he can’t like it, but it’s not brutalist.
Yeah it clearly isn't brutalist, its [Socialist Classicism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture).
Lmao. This is literally “if you look up blank in the dictionary there’s a picture of you”
Its a stalinist style building. Stalin wanted big grand buildings to flaunt at the west. OP is thinking more along the lines of khrushchyvkas which came after Khrushchev dissolved the main soviet architecture school and were for more mass buildings with less waste.
It might be the weather that turns many people to hate European and soviet brutalism, as most of the time these buildings stand in cold gloomy and wet weather, so it just compunds the miserable look some of the more worn down buildings have. P.S. MSU isn't built in the brutalist style but belongs to the Stalinist style or socialist classicism.
Europeans hate soviet brutalism because the quality of those buildings is shit. Also, the history behind all of them.
No they aren't. They're cheap to maintain, low cost, and when they have extra insulation added to them, they become quite desirable places to live as evidenced by the rents in the renovated buildings. I mean honestly they're better than more recent architecture that prefers plywood over any sort of hard material and will have to be torn down in 30-50 years. Meanwhile all the commieblocks are still standing even despite deferred maintenance. Yeah the history is god awful but that's about like saying universal healthcare is bad because the USSR had it.
I can't agree with you. Modern construction will easily outlast those blocks, if it's built properly. Commie blocks are not easy or cheap to maintain, they were built with 50 year lifespan in mind, many are wayyy past that date. You can try to polish a turd, but it will still be a turd.
Have any empirical evidence for that claim or are you just talking out of your ass? How exactly is plywood sturdier than concrete? Them being far past their lifespans is just more evidence it was good construction that lasts. Pretty hard to fuck up concrete after all
"They haven't collapsed, therefore they're awesome" is not how construction standards work. Have you seen one up close? They were built by drunk guys who didn't give a fuck, they weren't going to be the ones living in them. All walls are crooked, floors are crooked, pipes are uninsulated, windows are all different sizes, some walls have leftover bits of wood instead of brick, wiring is sketchy as fuck, there's obviously no fire suppression systems, no wall insulation, no sound insulation between apartments or floors. They're just as bad as shitty new construction, but the layout is worse and not fit for modern requirements.
“They were built by drunk guys who didn't give a fuck, they weren't going to be the ones living in them.” You just described 90% of the trades, comrade
+1 on the history. Taking a design ethos meant to celebrate the social collective and deploying it in a system where the idea of the social collective is used to oppress and colonize through dictatorial and genocidal means kinda colours the architecture.
lol that is not brutalist at all....
This is the most down votes I've ever seen, lol.
Ngl that’s cool
Damn If it wasn't in Lebanon of all places, I would be packing my bags for a semester abroad right now.
Literally spending my next semester in lebanon lol
May I ask you from which country you are? :)
I'm an undergrad in the US, but originally a Hungarian citizen
I am unenviously jealous of you... Maybe give a little peek here if you want to 😊
What’s so particularly wrong with Lebanon ?
Terrible economy, bad political situation, dodgy neighbours. Amazing food though.
Amazing place, not a good time to visit
The economic and political situation here is not the best
israel bombing them every week
Bombing hezbollah
It had a political system imposed on it by France which distributed government positions and seats in Parliament by religious sect, based on their proportion of the total population. A generation or so later, the proportions had changed, and certain Christian groups who had been privileged by the system fiercely resisted any reform toward representative democracy. It slid into a decades-long civil war, during which both Syria and Israel invaded. It ended with the system more or less still intact and the parliament controlled by various sectarian militia groups. Nothing was resolved, and corrupt militia leaders basically looted the country. The economy collapsed and then in 2021, some improperly-stored ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s harbour, killing hundreds of people, levelling Lebanon’s main port and destroying a lot of the city centre. Obviously this is an extremely cliff notes version of a very complex history, but hopefully it gives you the basics. It’s a tragic case of how a prosperous and progressive society can be completely hollowed out by foreign interference and corruption. And now with everything kicking off again in the Middle East, it looks like it might be end up trapped in the centre of a major war yet again.
Ah yeah I see thank you very much, I often saw some of their architecture online and its beautiful, really sad to see that it’s wasted on such an unlucky country
Oh yeah it’s absolutely gorgeous! A lot of Beirut’s historic neighbourhoods were damaged in the blast, but there was a massive volunteer effort to preserve and restore as much as possible. They’re justly very proud of it, so I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily wasted!
It's not wasted at all. Lebanese are still just people trying to live their lives and obviously need housing and school buildings, so they persevere. Why would think any of this is a waste just because the government sucks?
Ahh yeah you’re right, I forgot a country is more than a government for a bit, thanks !
Interesting that you left out the PLO and Iran-backed Hezbollah completely despite them having a huge role in the war and current situation of things
The Lebanese Civil War is... very complicated. Don't reduce it to "Palestinians bad. They brought Lebanon to Civil war." There were a whole lot of factors and factions and fractions, and the PLO were definitely one, but... it's dizzying the mess of the players that make up that Civil war.
Not mentioning other factors other than “France bad because colonisation” is crazy, Iran and Shiite groups also played a big role in destabilizing the country as well, if not a bigger role.
Not mentioning Israel bombing their city centers and massacring their civilians for decades and at one point attempting to annex the country is much more crazy. Perhaps because acknowledging that would show why Lebanon is justifiably not friendly to the west or Israel and why the militias exist.
What you say here is, mostly, true, but funny that no one has mentioned the country that has always desired to annex Lebanon even more than Israel, and violently occupied even more of Lebanon for nearly as long: Syria. Lebanon expelled two foreign military occupations, one in 2000 (Israel) and the other in 2005 (Syria). And while some see Hezbollah positively for their role in the former, many also consider Hezbollah to be Syrian collaborators. Lebanon as whole is not so friendly to the West but most Lebanese are hardly any more sympathetic to the West's enemies, and despite the widespread animosity and fear toward Israel and Israeli aggression, Lebanon's population is very strongly divided in opinion on other Western countries such as France, the US, and the UK. In the Bekaa at least you will find every imaginable perspective on Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, the US, France, and Russia, positive negative and a mix of the two, but really the only abjectly despised country across every sectarian divide today is Israel.
Israel occupied Lebanon from 1982 to 2005. So by your own admission Israel has done the most damage. It hasn't even technically stopped as Israel still launches missiles deliberately targeted at Lebanese civilians into Lebanon. You lied knowing that you were lying. The Lebanon subreddit, even though reddit is overwhelmingly skews towards rich western kids, is very clear about who's the bigger threat.
Firstly, you never gave a single example of a lie I said, because I didn't lie about anything I said, so you're just an arrogant prick talking out of your ass and you know that, so go fuck yourself. Secondly, where the fuck did I ever claim Israel isn't still attacking Lebanon? I was discussing the legacies of the foreign occupations and the lingering public sentiments, not the current conflict. Thirdly, my perspectives have nothing to do with the Lebanese subreddit and much more to do with the perspectives of my own Lebanese family members, some of whom still live in the Bekaa Valley. Fourthly, your abject conflation of occupation of Lebanon with aggression towards Lebanon and the destruction created muddles your entire attempt to make a point, and you should improve your literacy before you try to come at me as pathetically as this again. Thank you, go fuck yourself.
You got something against Leban- oh yeah no it's terrible there.
Yeah I actually like it
Modern Brutalism. It's cool.
This the opposite of Ugliness
I just can't imagine going to a place like this for studies every day and not feeling physically trapped in an equivalent of a giant tomb. To me, universities/colleges have always been the synonym of brighter future, hopes, achieving one's dreams... And then you go to Beirut and metaphorically bury yourself in what looks like a pile of concrete - an ironic parallel to burying your own life in a dead-end job, unsurmountable debt or a similar no-escape situation.
…are you serious
OP might faint if you showed them Simon Fraser University
To be fair SFU has (had? The statistic I read was a few years ago) the highest suicide rate of Canadian Universities.
It's a foggy mountaintop that gets almost no sun during the school year. The concrete is probably just a contributing factor.
huh? not waterloo? a few years back if you search for “suicide university” on google maps, waterloo shows up.
Is that a bad thing? I thought they encouraged that kinda thing up there.
Yeah I'm from Central Europe and most universities are either in historic buildings or in buildings from second half of 20th century... Doesn't really seems like a "future".
Let me tell you, a lot of universities feel like this. Don’t be disheartened.
No offense, but that sounds more like your own personal mental issues rather than a problem with the building or its design.
[https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes](https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes) this explains the design pretty well
You’re absolutely right. This thing is UGLY.
for people who dont know, this style is common, or at least not exclusive to this building in beirut. The oppenings (windows) in various sizes and arranged somewhat chaoticly are supposed to represent bullet holes and the state of a building after war has its way with it. And i think thats awesome and goes beyond the aeestheticly pleasing :)
Building riddled with bullet holes was exactly what I thought when looking at the post's thumbnail. Love the look as well.
Looked at it and thought oddly spaced and sized windows were placed defensively. To prevent an external explosion from causing too much death inside.
Brilliant!
Its also just another form of Digital architecture. Its like a post post modern style. I call it digital architecture. Because of software and new technology they are able to to do this very quickly now, without it costing tons more.
Wait, I thought the universities with bullet holes were supposed to be in America.
I promise you we have uglier universities but this one ain’t it
Reminds me of AUC in Cairo.
OP is mad for calling this ugly
Brutalism done right. I love it.
That looks so beautiful
r/brutalism
Looks like a crazy dream about liminal spaces
Honestly this is beautiful
> private Roman Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Government of France during the time when Lebanon was under Ottoman rule. It is widely recognized as one of the leading and most prestigious academic institutions in Lebanon and Middle East. Nice!!! Never knew about this
This is beautiful
Cool and also literally cool which I guess was a deliberate design principle
I love this. The design of the building picks up on the vibe from the flack damage of getting the shit bombed out of them.
Looks amazing! Why posted here!! Is OP visually impaired or smth?
Maybe not conventionally beautiful, but it's kinda cool and has a concept. If only other modern buildings followed something similar.
Windows could be a little bigger but otherwise it’s beautiful imo
It’s a beautiful architecture and clear reminiscent of the aftermath of the civil war where buildings were filled with bullet holes.
Makes me think of cheese 🧀
Ya 5ayye it's beautiful
This looks awesome lmao
Nah, this is brutalism, it's supposed to look like that.
This is beautiful
Was it designed to resemble the bullet holes in Beirut’s buildings from the civil war ?
It actually was From: [https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes](https://www.architectural-review.com/today/st-josephs-university-beirut-lebanon-youssef-tohme-109-architectes) "The south-east facade looks like it has been riddled with bullet holes. It is an intentional gesture, very close to aestheticising the horrors of war, but visually compelling nonetheless."
Wow ! Thanks ! Thats really interesting!
This looks like something out of Dune. I….kinda like it, tbh. It looks like a university that could double as bunker in a pinch. Like if I were to imagine a modern day castle, built for a modern war with rockets and bombs and stuff, this is kind of how I think it would look.
Nah OP that looks cool as hell.
Nah. Op is wrong. This is cool.
That is one awesome-looking building.
Mmm.. cheese.
Looks like engineered cheese
What’s the deal with St Joe U, they’re everywhere
Beautiful
OP you’re just wrong, this is beautiful architecture
I fucking love that
I know a lot of folks dunk on Brutalism, but this is quite good
Thought I was on r/ArchitecturePorn
This is fucking beautiful
state penitentiary
Based design IMO
Missile proof ?
Looks as if it’s been designed with bomb and bullet holes already in its walls for when the next war starts.
Buildings 🤮🤮
Is this the brutalism sub? This is nice.
The day is at an end, and the dusk undulates over the city, but its light fails to illuminate the university's still, mute hallways - or the dull eyes of its students. Like an inutile critter lost without a master, the sunrays of knowledge prove too feeble to reach inside. Some compare Saint Joseph's to a large, rugged block of cheese - but the surface of this cheese has been covered by the generational mold of the Lebanese architects long before it manifested into a blueprint. The narrow, irregularly placed windows evoke an image of bullet wounds on the concrete surface, and their hard edges with strict, set lines indicate the fourth stage of death, the rigor mortis, the stiffening, the finality of war and human catastrophe that leaves no place for humanitarian aspirations. Brought to his knees, John Locke weeps as he sees this place. Saint Joseph, the University - a proud name for an edifice of hopelesness, where the most diligent students of the Mazarin Bible, that venerated incunabula, cannot find a trace of sainthood. A young wanderer has barely turned a corner, and already he approaches the end of the short, uneventful road, without ever seeing a chance to produce a single bright memory, his own imprint on the world at large. Such is Beirut. Loneliness. Death.
Generational mold? No! Look how light and bright that beige exterior is! There is hardly a stain on it!
Yawn.