(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
The British architects Alison and Peter Smithson coined the term “brutalism” in 1953, from the French béton brut, or “raw concrete”, a phrase used by Le Corbusier to describe the poured board-marked concrete with which he constructed many of his post-World War II buildings. The term gained wide currency when the British architectural critic Reyner Banham used it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?
The headquarters of the FBI at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue is probably the most impressive example of brutalist architecture in Washington DC, and every aspect of it expresses the brute force of government in the Twenty-first Century, except for a vast expanse of netting which completely swaddles the top two floors.
“Why is all that netting up there?” I asked a cop on guard at the exit of the parking ramp, and he said…
“To keep the building from falling on your head.”
“And who would I ask if I wanted a serious answer to that question?”
“That is a serious answer,” said the cop. “The building is crumbling, and chunks of concrete were falling on the sidewalk.”
“Thank you, officer, and I’m sorry for doubting you,” I replied, and maybe I could have eventually figured it out for myself, but now I have a source.
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from the Bank of America.
The UN Building is falling apart as well – it’s a bit of a disgrace.
We are at the beginning or maybe beginning of middle of crumbling ideals, laws so why not structure.
Unfortunately, we do not have people looking for work to make any repairs to building – or perhaps the money was allocated and is now sitting in Switzerland or wherever.
P.S. You’re making a lot of trouble walking around DC – better watch your step.
Surreal!
http://www.naturalnews.com/032…