Brutalist Architecture, Eg Habitat 67

These types of structures are cheap and fast to build and that has much to do with their existence. CIP and Pre-cast post-tensioned and pre-tensioned frames with limited fitout budgets and other cost savings such as virtually no spray on fireproofing and poured and done elevator shafts/stairwells etc. make them the weapon of choice for government contracts that take heat from taxpayers when traditional architecture is seen as waste.

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That explains why they came ... what explains why they went?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Part of their demise has to do with cost effective architectural solutions that have become accepted and more prevalent such as sophisticated curtainwall systems and material advances that allow traditional architectural styles to be built using precast concrete and other schedule (read cost) friendly means and methods. Non- Governmental structures built on private campuses such as Harvard that do not have the same financial constraints tend to be either more traditional with high end finishes or if modernistic incorporate elements that would be seen as excessive if paid for by the public. Also, there was a lot of pushback from historical societies and municipal review boards against these brutish buildings and requirements for permitting were tightened and sufficiently codified to so as to make their design and construction untenable.

Quick true story. I was once involved in a new building project at UMass and as the exterior took shape and the curtain wall went on I was walking up to it with the architect who is a well known name in the field from Boston and I asked him what he thought about it. His fee was in the seven figures for the architectural design and engineering and he stopped, turned, looked at me and said "it looks like a toolbox without the handle" and laughed. The University and media thought it was the best thing since the Chrysler Building. You never know whom the joke is on.