BrutalistDC to host Instagram Takeover for SWBID, Oct. 5

BrutalistDC will take over the Instagram feed of the Southwest Business Improvement District (@SWBID) on Thursday, October 5. Expect a walking tour starting from the Waterfront Metro and ending at the U.S. Department of Energy.

We plan on covering a lot of ground, and hope to make it to the following buildings, most of which are on the Brutalist Washington Map:

  • Waterfront Metro
  • Tiber Island Cooperative & Carrollsburg Square Condominium
  • The View at Waterfront
  • Arena Stage at the Mead Center
  • The Banneker Fountain
  • L’Enfant Plaza
  • The Robert C. Weaver Federal Building (HUD)
  • The Forrestal Building (DOE)

Be sure to follow @SWBID and @BrutalistDC on Instragram to join in.

Hirshhorn x IGDC x BrutalistDC for #WorldArchitectureDay Oct. 2

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is once again pulling out all the stops to host a full day of Brutalist programming (and doughnuts!) on World Architecture Day, which falls this year on October 2. Following on the success of last year’s collaboration with WalkWithLocals, BrutalistDC has been invited back for another evening walking tour of the Hirshhorn grounds, starting at 6.15pm.

Here’s the Hirshhorn’s full schedule of #WorldArchitectureDay events:

For kids
10 a.m.: For a special edition of STORYTIME, the museum’s youngest visitors are invited to explore architecture through a read-aloud of Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty and a hands-on building activity.

For all ages
12:30 p.m.: Architecture specialist Amanda Hurley talks Brutalism and color, expanding on her Washington Post Magazine article arguing in favor of preserving brutalist architecture in Washington.

1–1:10 p.m.: Visitors can witness the motorized magic of “The Project for the Preservation of Natural Resources” as the miniature model—complete with working windmills and running water—comes to life in the exhibition “Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: The Utopian Projects.”

2 p.m.: A Gallery Guide-led tour will explore architecture-inspired art on view, including the fantastical world of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov’s models in “The Utopian Projects.”

4 p.m.: Kelsey Keith, editor-in-chief of Curbed, debates the good, bad, beautiful and ugly of Brutalism, and the Hirshhorn’s groundbreaking design in architecture history.

6:15 p.m.: Deane Madsen (@deane_madsen), former design editor of Architect magazine, will lead an IGDC (@igdc) brutalist Instameet tour #atHirshhorn. Founder of the Instagram account @brutalistdc, Madsen will explore the exterior and lush garden at sunset.

From the Hirshhorn:
Known best for the art displayed within its walls, the Hirshhorn will devote the day to spotlighting its sculptural Gordon Bunshaft-designed building, which opened to the public in 1974. Standing out among the classical buildings of the National Mall, the Hirshhorn—affectionately nicknamed the “Brutalist donut”—is one of the most popular examples of the Brutalist architectural style, which erupted from the 1950s through the 1970s.

For the second year in a row, visitors of all ages can drop by the museum to enjoy complimentary donuts, while supplies last, and partake in a wide-ranging schedule of architecture-themed activities led by Washington-based experts. Architecture, photography and art enthusiasts alike will be drawn in by local Instagram community IGDC to join in appreciating the monumental stature of this much-debated architectural style.

More information is available via The Hirshhorn

BrutalistDC Lecture at GWU Museum, Oct. 2

Join BrutalistDC founder Deane Madsen for a public lecture at the George Washington University Museum on Monday, Oct. 2 at noon. As part of the Mondays at the Museum series, this lecture will discuss the rise of Brutalist architecture in Washington, D.C. and its many examples of the architectural style. Whether you like or loathe it (or don’t know what it is), you have likely seen it around the city.

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 2, 12pm-1pm
WHERE: The George Washington University Museum,
701 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052

More information is available via the GWU Museum.

DocomomoDC to host Rediscovering Brutalism tour

DocomomoDC announced today that it will feature Washington, D.C.’s Brutalist architecture in a walking tour to be held on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. The tour, called “Rediscovering Brutalism,” will begin at the AIA National Headquarters (which was designed by The Architects Collaborative) with a lecture by Michael Kubo, followed by a walking/Metro-riding tour to Dupont Circle. Kubo is co-author of both Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston and the Brutalist Boston Map.

​Details for the tour, courtesy of DocomomoDC, are below:
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, 1pm to 5pm, rain or shine
Downtown Washington, D.C.

Lecture followed by Walking + Metro Tour with happy hour.

Registration for the tour is through Eventbrite. Tickets cost $35. Students and members of Docomomo, the DC Preservation League, and APT DC receive a discounted admission of $25. Those in attendance will each receive one keepsake copy of the Brutalist Washington Map.