The Conversation - Brutalist architecture in the spotlight

“The Brutalist,” which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, tells the fictional story of a Brutalist architect named László Tóth who survives the Holocaust and immigrates to the United States. Once settled, he’s commissioned to construct a community center for a wealthy patron.

Tóth embarks upon a near-maniacal effort to create an architectural representation of his own shattered, traumatized inner world using massive scale, starkly unadorned concrete surfaces and a labyrinthine interior.

West Virginia University’s Michael Allen studies the political meanings of architectural styles. In Tóth’s quest, he sees the broader story of Brutalism, which sought to create a world of new possibilities out of the carnage and destruction of two world wars.

Brutalist architects weren’t always successful – nor were their creations always popular – but their goal was a noble one: to build structures that celebrated and memorialized everyday people.

Our coverage of this year’s Oscar-nominated films also includes articles on the real behind-the-scenes Vatican drama that’s depicted in “Conclave,” the fall of “Emilia Pérez” from awards-season darling to black sheep, Bob Dylan’s creative risk-taking as well as his puzzling spiritual and religious identity, and the blackballing of an Oscar-nominated documentary about the occupied West Bank.

This week we also liked articles that explained how airplanes get deiced, why the Supreme Court is hearing a religious charter school case, and what’s different about this flu season.

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