What also plays a role: the buildings are doing well on photos. Especially when the sun is low and shadows make the building extra dramatic. “The buildings are also doing very well on Instagram,” says Meurs
That turns out. Accounts dedicated to brutalism often have hundreds of thousands of followers. And that is not the case: The Brutista film epic of just four hours, recently won three more Oscars. And Meurs’ book Brutal Is almost sold out. Why revaluation?
Wibautstraat
In Amsterdam there are examples of brutalism throughout the city: in Buitenveldert (the old cantonal court and the Thomas Church), Bos and Lommer (the Sint-Josephkerk) and on the Overtoom (Autopon). But most buildings stand between the Meester Visserplein and the Amstelstation, on Weesper and Wibautstraat.
“It’s the only motorway that runs through the city,” says Meurs. “In the context of city formation, a view on how cities should develop, those streets took shape after the war.” Accessibility and orderliness were central to that vision. “Along those streets you will find many buildings from the 50s and 60s and a number of them are brutalist buildings.”