Every year, thousands of tourists flock to Cambridge to marvel at the stunning architecture of University and college buildings. So it won’t be surprising to learn that some of these buildings are studied by students and scholars of architecture the world over – but not the famous medieval spires that you might expect.
In fact, from an architectural perspective, some of Cambridge’s most fascinating buildings are to be found in dingy corners of the city. They are considered eye-sores by many people, especially when compared to centuries-old chapels and courts. But they come from a time when post-war architecture peaked in a wave of euphoric gusto, as maverick architects experimented with shape and materials to create their visions of the University of the Future.
In a period from the late 1950s to early 1970s, Cambridge experienced a boom in what is now known as brutalist architecture. Buildings such as the University Centre, Churchill College and the Faculty of History were attempts to mirror the innovation and hope of that era through dramatic, expressive shapes and exposed use of raw material. The term ‘brutalist’ derives from the French word brut, meaning rough or uncut like raw diamond, which some of these buildings resemble through their spikey angularity.
Image: Cripps Building, St John’s College Credit: Henk Snoek / RIBA Library Photographs Collection
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Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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Cambridge in Concrete: the boom years of Brutalism
4 May 2012
A new exhibition at Cambridge University's Department of Architecture aims to expose the forgotten history of the University’s experimental post-war architecture: the ‘other’ Cambridge of raw, angular buildings and the ambition and innovation they embody.