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@Barbican_City_of_London

Villa Gontero, Cumiana, Turin. Architect Carlo Gra

Villa Gontero, Cumiana, Turin. Architect Carlo Graffi. One of the many highlights from the new book:

BRUTALIST ITALY BY ROBERTO CONTE AND STEFANO PEREGO

Limited edition - loved!

Limited edition - loved!

La Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno, Argentina’s largest public library.

Located in the exclusive neighbourhood of Recoleta, it is built on the site of the demolished Quinta Unzué, the palace which had been the residence of Juan and Eva Péron, with cult status amongst fans of Eva who would leave candles and message in her memory.

Set on fire and bombed during the 1955 coup that ousted Péron, it stubbornly remained more or less in tact. Ultimately the leaders of the coup wanted it gone and gave the order to demolish it in 1958.

Four years later a competition was announced to build a new home for the national library on the vacant site. The winning team comprised Clorindo Testa with Francisco Bullrich and Alicia Cazzaniga.

If there is one word to describe the development of the building - it’s slow. The foundation stone was laid a decade later in Autumn 1971, but political instability dogged the project. It was completed in 1992. Distinctly brutalist, its design was cutting edge in 1962, but thirty years later it had lost its wow factor. Now we are full circle and brutalist architecture is appreciated and understood.

Photo with thanks to @omanuelsa

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