(Photo credit: JP Scholl)
An audience of architecture and preservation aficionados gathered in the austerely beautiful Glasgow Lecture Hall at the University of Miami on Saturday, Jan. 19, to get a Brute awakening. They were not disappointed.
It was a day of reckoning in the public discussion and evaluation of a building style that came into being on the heels of World War II and fell out of favor in the era of Post-Modernism. It was commonly referred to as “Brutalism,” and recent critics have been brutal in their condemnation of it — until now when a major resurgence of interest in the style has brought it back into favor.
“Beauty & The Brute,” as the public event was billed, brought together a stellar group of panelists who gave their unique professional views on the importance of maintaining and preserving outstanding examples of Brutalist architecture, both globally and — in the case of the Coral Gables Public Safety Building designed in the Brutalist style and scheduled for likely demolition — locally.
“Beauty & The Brute” brought the preservation issue home with an informed and lively presentation of the significance of our built environment. It also opened what the event’s sponsor — the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables — hopes will be a renewed commitment to the city’s architectural heritage.
The panel brought different perspectives and expertise on the subject to the presentation. The event was co-chaired by HPACG members Karelia Martinez Carbonell, Bruce Fitzgerald, and Jane Maranos.
The Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables is a 501c3 non-profit founded in 1991. The association promotes the understanding of the importance of historic resources and their preservation. For more information and/or to support the mission of HPACG, visit www.historiccoralgables.org.
