THE BOOK THAT TELLS THE STORY OF THE HAPPY UNION OF BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE
Published by Hoxton Mini Press, Olivia Broome's Brutalist Plants plunges us into a fantastic universe where the brutality of concrete blends perfectly with the softness of chlorophyll.

Disliked by some, or adored by others, Brutalist architecture leaves few indifferent. Among its admirers is Olivia Broome, who launched the Instagram account "Brutalist Plants" in 2018. The account was born from "an interest in preserving images that [she] couldn't find compiled elsewhere," explains Broome, who was born in Switzerland and now lives in London. She recounts her passion for these "sharp gray angles meeting green leaves, this contrast [that] fascinated [her]. Dystopian buildings opposed to nature, with so little visible human presence." In addition to satisfying Olivia Broome's aesthetic needs, this account has given rise to a genuine community, made up of horticulturists, but also architects, urban explorers, and other creatives, not to mention followers and photographers. The photographers, the author specifies, gave their "permission, which allowed [her] to republish their photographs over the years." Collaborative in nature, the book is also, for its creator, a way "to honor these controversial 'monstrosities' before they are reduced to ruins or, even worse, abandoned to the mercy of creeping vines through the cracks in the concrete."

While the brutalist craze on Instagram had accustomed us to aggressive, uninviting, even frightening buildings, Broome's work proves that there is a brutalism that embodies the very opposite. Once adorned and enhanced with greenery, these buildings seem to find their place, and we see the havens of peace they were originally conceived. Among these astonishing places is, of course, the Barbican Estate, a quintessential example of this architectural movement. Another surprising site compiled in the book is Les Étoiles d'Ivry by architects Jean Renaudie and Renée Gailhoustet. A true alternative to concrete verticals, it presents a radial silhouette. A silhouette here enhanced, again and again, by vegetation. Also in France, and more specifically in La Vallée, Lower Normandy, we find a sculpture by Karsten Födinger. Intriguing, it consists of a concrete slab that appears to have been fitted onto four perfectly aligned pine trees. The former Yugoslavia is also represented, notably with the Haludovo Palace by Boris Magaš in Croatia, which will delight urban explorers, or with the Monument to the Revolution by Dušan Džamonja in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

While the book doesn't shy away from the traditional scenes of abandonment, where stone and human life—which seems to have vanished—give way to vegetation (one might even question the fascination such scenes evoke), Brutalist Plants has the merit of opening new perspectives on brutalism. Far from being an architect's whim, its dramatic and monumental aesthetic harmonizes perfectly with the plant world, thus becoming much more inviting. It's yet another opportunity to highlight the fortunate and necessary connection between stone and greenery.

BRUTALIST PLANTS BY OLIVIA BROOME – HOXTON MINI PRESS, APRIL 2024
HOXTONMINIPRESS.COM