Creators

Preview

image preview

Source Collection

Alan Karchmer collection, Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries

Identifier

25_21.C

Description

New Wing of Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Overton Park, Memphis, Tennessee. Built in 1973. Architects: Walk Jones and Francis Mah. Photographer: Alan Karchmer. © Alan Karchmer.

This wing is constructed of a modular. precast concrete system. All parts were made at a concrete plant and delivered to the site for erection. The roughness of this style is tempered by carefully balanced proportions and almost delicate massing. Look about this space, here, and notice how the ceiling-floor sections rest on deep beams spanning between massive columns. Notice also the sensitive relationship between the old Beaux Arts building and the new wing.

Brutalist buildings have a look of weight and massiveness that sets them apart from other rectangular, flat-roofed structures. Windows are treated as holes or voids, not as continuations of the skin. Concrete is the favorite material, nearly always left exposed.

Date Created

2021

Date

undated

Keywords

Architecture--Tennessee--Memphis.

Share

COinS