Brutalism in Constanța
Arriving to Constanța, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Romania, we can expect many varied things: e.g. beautiful old town as well as spacious beaches, naturally mounded along the warm azure Black Sea.
However, that, what I saw leaving the main train station, was beyond my expectations. White soft-curved corners of this brutal beauty were lifting above the erratically shaped treetops. They resembled the hulks of the enormous cargo ships, that were moored in the nearby industrial port. Only the roar of the car's engines in the distance remind where I was.
By no means, the etymology of the word "brutalism" doesn't derive from the English word "brutal", that means "barbarous". This term was used first time by the British architecture critic Reyner Banham in the article written for the BBC. Using it, author was inspired rather by the french word "beton brut" that means "exposed concrete". And this is the clue to understand the idea of the style. As opposed to the modern realizations, in this instance the construction of the is showed off on the building's exterior as an elevation. For me it is a pure description of the authenticity.
Thank you!
