Brutalist Architecure - Brutally Cool

I love it when I find it, and anymore, it seems to be around less and less. I think the thought first hit me when I read an article about my alma mater's Meyer Library being demolished this year. Built in 1966, this thick, hulking beastie I think qualifies as brutalist, though I can't find much evidence online besides a reference to the general nickname around campus for the Meyer Library, "UgLi" (which they say is just short for Undergrad Library... or is it?)...

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/october/meyer-library-future-10-14-14.html

In any case, travellers on California's Highway 74 between Palm Desert and the highlands above of Anza or Idyllwild over the last decade plus may have noticed another heavy presence decidedly positioned on the outskirts of the small subdivision called Pinyon Crest. From the highway it looks something like a Spartan helmet, an intimidating but intriguing figure on the horizon, and is locally referred to as "the ark."

Primarily constructed of exposed poured concrete, 60240 Juniper, Mountain Center, CA, the brainchild of designer Charlie Martin, was sadly never completed by his creator. For reasons unknown, the project lay in an abandoned state for several years, collecting code violations and citations with Riverside County, until this month, as new owners will love and breathe new life into this unique treasure. 

For fun, search #brutalist on craigslist, check out the wiki link here, think fondly of the Marina City cameo in Steve McQueen flicks and I am pretty sure the Blues Brothers movie at some point... and celebrate brutalism! We may just not have it in such abundance from here on out, but it certainly is a prize to this writer's eye, wherever it is. 

Listed & Sold by Angela M. Acosta, March 2015.

SEE ALSO: http://www.dailyicon.net/tag/tadao-ando/ FOR TOM FORD GOODNESS IN BRUTALISM

AND http://curbed.com/archives/2015/02/05/steve-martin-montecito-home-for-sale.php FOR STEVE MARTIN'S MONTECITO HOME :)