How did city get a ‘Brutal’ library?
Some things, like black tuxedos, never go out of style. Some things, like light-brown tuxedos with chocolate-colored piping, do.
I have a friend who got married in the latter four decades ago. For the past 35 years, he’s cringed every time he looks at his wedding pictures.
To paraphrase this week’s Ask Orlando question — Why is there a 290,000-square foot light brown tuxedo with chocolate piping sitting across from Lake Eola?
The actual question — “What is the history behind the design of the Orlando Library? It seems incongruent with the rest of downtown Orlando. The label of brutalism comes to mind.”
The questioner nailed it (and gets extra points for being the first Ask Orlando participant to use the word “incongruent”). The Orlando Public Library is indeed a product of Brutalism architecture.
The designs were all the rage in the 1960s and 70s. Of course, so were Nehru jackets, shag carpeting, go-go boots and disco balls.
The name nicely sums up the style — Brutal.
Unless you are third-world dictator, that’s not a word most people want to be associated with. But the buildings embrace the B word. They are big, oppressive, geometric paeans to the beauty of exposed concrete.
This particular building is also a paean to incongruency. Orlando’s architectural style is a warm mix of Mediterranean, modern, Spanish Colonial and Postmodern