A Coat Of Paint, And Brutalism Disappears

After decades as a drab, new-brutalist monstrosity, London’s Brunswick Centre has morphed into an appealing place to be. “The building has always had its admirers, but for decades this corner of Bloomsbury has been one of the most miserable places in London – a rain-streaked, litter-strewn concrete bunker of empty shop units, whose ambitious, space-age design only accentuated its sense of failure.” The reason for the Brunswick’s belated success? Someone finally honored the architect’s original, very non-brutalist desire that the building be painted.