10 Best Examples of Eco Brutalism across the World

Photo by Danist Soh. Unsplash.

10 Best Examples of Eco Brutalism across the World

Eco Brutalism came in after Brutalist Architecture. They were meant to remedy the unattractiveness of brutalism which was slowly losing popularity. Eco Brutalism was the answer to brutalist architecture that already existed and wanted an upgrade or facelift. These structures could not be possibly destroyed since this would mean contaminating the air and potentially poisoning those who live nearby.

The only option was to recycle the buildings in a way that retained their usefulness while incorporating natural or sustainable elements to make them more in tune with the architectural concepts of a more eco-conscious society. The term eco brutalism refers to the mix of brutalist style and the green we recognize with sustainability. Here are 10 Best Examples of Eco Brutalism across the World.

1. Casa Meztitla

Photo by zarathustra. Unspash.

Location: Mexico

Casa Meztitla beautifully integrates local volcanic stone with exposed concrete. This creates a oneness with its natural surroundings. The roof collects rainwater which is then stored in a cistern beneath the villa. Almost all of the rooms open to the outside. This is achieved by incorporation of sliding and rotating doors.

The building’s key feature is the central courtyard which faces a retaining wall. The narrow pool is set at the  back of the house in a grove of trees. Its concrete walls are contoured and elevated to fit the landscape.

2. The house cast in liquid stone

Location: Khopoli India

SPASM Design Architects intended for this house to be an extension of the basalt outcrop it was built upon. Extensive use of concrete transformed it into a “casting of liquid stone.”

Focusing on basalt did not only inform the design, the stone is a principal material of the home.  It was utilized in the slatted terrace patio, steps and set into the concrete rooftop walls. The horizontal roofline gives the residence an appearance of being gently pressed in the hillside. Views from the rooftop pool extend over the surrounding landscape.

3. The Tiing

Photo by Esaias. Unsplash.

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Tucked away on Bali’s northern coast, The Tiing is a boutique resort inspired by local construction methods and materials. To achieve this vision, interior walls were cast against bamboo, an environmentally friendly interpretation of board framed concrete construction.

Rough concrete surfaces created by the bamboo molds generate a textural contrast with alternating sleek polished concrete. Each room features its own secluded pool, protected by extending walls. To arrive at the resort, a meandering 2.5 hour journey through Bali is required, making the resort an escape for the determined and discerning traveler.

4. Mamnun Residence

Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh

The mathal hat worn by local farmers provided design inspiration for the Mamnun Residence. Responding to the intense year-round sun, the SHATOTTO architecture designed a large projecting roof. This provides a shade and structures the space to benefit from the prevailing winds.

Layered balconies filled with greenery gives a further shield from the heat. On the second floor, a spacious pool is framed by exposed concrete edges. Plants cascade down towards the pool from the above balconies. The extensive use of concrete was also beneficial for the climatic conditions of southern Bangladesh.

5. Jungle House

Location: Guarujá, Brazil

Terraced into the jungle on the coast of Guarujá, southeast of São Paulo, Jungle House is a concrete refuge. The three floors of the house emerged from the architect’s desire to organically conform the house to the site. To achieve harmony with the topography, the house is elevated from the ground. The main floors project from the hillside.

There are two wellness spaces, the first with a pool is located on the terrace offering expansive views, and the second, more private jacuzzi is on the deck facing dense vegetation. Because tropical forest encloses the house, climbing each floor offers a unique experience of that particular layer, ending with the canopy.

6. Art Villa

Photo by Dario Brönnimann. Unsplash.

Location: Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica

Art Villa is the first of three palatial tourist residences constructed in the Costa Rican rainforest overlooking Playa Hermosa. For the project, Czech architectural studio Formafatal was inspired by the local environment and the concrete wonders of Paulo Mendes da Rocha in Brazil.

Mendez da Rocha’s influence resonates in the all-concrete construction that generates a striking juxtaposition with the forest’s shades of green. A grey concrete pool juts off the hillside, from the center of the villa. Floor to ceiling glass opens to beautiful ocean views. The interior is furnished with custom made pieces from Central America and Czechia.

7. The Factory / Ricardo Bofill

Location: Spain

In 1973 Ricardo Bofill found a disused cement factory, an industrial complex, and decided to transform it into the head office of Taller de Arquitectura. Remodeling work lasted two years. The factory, abandoned and partially in ruins, was a huge mess.

The transformation process began with the demolition of part of the old structure to leave hitherto concealed forms visible, as if the concrete had been sculpted. Once the spaces had been defined, cleaned of cement and encompassed by new greenery, the process began of adaptation to the new program.

Eight silos remained, which became offices, a models laboratory, archives, a library, a projections room and a gigantic space known as “The Cathedral”, used for exhibitions, concerts and a whole range of cultural functions linked to the professional activities of the architect.

8. UN Park Apartments

Photo by zarathustra. Unsplash.

Location: Peru

UN Park Apartments is located next to Parque Naciones Unidas(United Nations Park), in the Miraflores area of the Peruvian capital. UN Park Apartments is made from a concrete structure that comprises an earthquake-resistant flat-slab reinforced concrete frame and an inner concrete shell. This allows for open-plan residences inside the nine-storey-high building.

Each floor is separated into two apartments, typically including two ensuite bedrooms. While the building’s entrance is covered in white marble, the homes have a pared-back material palette that teams the exposed concrete structure and woodwork. Architecture firm Barclay & Crousse has used concrete plant plots over spilling with greenery to offer residents privacy and ambience.

9. Towers Road House

Location: Australia

Australian architecture studio Wood Marsh designed Towers Road House as “a sculpture to live within”, with high concrete walls that arc under a disc-shaped zinc roof. Set in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak, the house features galleries for the resident’s art collection and a living room with a sunken conversation pit.

At the back of the property, two curved walls of windows look out over a garden with a 150-year-old plane tree and an oval-shaped swimming pool. The zinc-clad roof overhangs the walls where they dip in, forming shady spots punctured by an oculus over the terrace. Pocket-shaped gardens occupy the other niches formed by the irregular floor plan.

10. Colibri House

Photo by Victor. Unsplash.

Location: Mexico

Formally, Colibrí is configured by three boxes, which connect and accentuate each other through a patio, this allows each volume to be independent but at the same time complementary. The roughness of the apparent concrete is enhanced by the natural and wild landscape of the place.

After six years in the making from the design development until its final construction, Casa Colibrí raises in a site with stunning views towards the south of the city. The topography of the land accentuates the perspectives, and becomes the main condition for the location of each of the volumes that create the project.