Power Challenge of the Week

This week’s challenge: say some nice things about Brutalist architecture without it coming out sounding sarcastic. Here are some attempts.

• “That one looks pretty inviting.”
• “That actually makes a dramatic end to the green-roof part of campus.”
• “I can see how the concrete fountain the plaza originally had would have balanced the composition.”
• “Hey, that’s right, this side does look like a child’s harmonica.”
• “It’s the way the entrance looms over people that makes gives the building character.”
• “I would not have guessed this was built in 1975.”
• “The patio area certainly doesn’t need plants.”
• “It’s not until a winter storm that you appreciate those concrete pillars on the southern side.”
• “It’s very effective in the way it overpowers the people walking around it.”