The Brutalist Architecture of Paris
From Postwar Utopia To Modern Dystopia
(This is an evolving project)

What comes to mind when you hear the name, “Paris” ?

You may think of 19th-century Haussmann architecture, complete with façades and courtyards, carriage entrances and guard stones.

But between the pièrre de taille buildings and monuments seen on postcards—sprawling from the city centre out into the suburbs—are past visions of the future; 20th-century sci-fi architectural fantasies of tomorrow, brought to life...
with poured concrete.

In a time when steel wasn’t readily available and energy-saving construction technology was in its infancy, brutalist architecture (and its predecessor postmodernism) was hailed as a marvel of its time, only to gradually wither out of the public eye into urban decay with a sense of authoritarianism.

Today these suburban utopias-turned-dystopias serve as offices, public living quarters, and backdrops for Hollywood films—while for others, wrecking balls become more threatening by the day.