{"id":8043,"date":"2021-01-29T22:43:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T22:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/?p=8043"},"modified":"2023-03-25T14:46:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:46:52","slug":"stephan-schmitz-on-brutalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/29\/stephan-schmitz-on-brutalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephan Schmitz on Brutalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Stephan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So said Charles-\u00c9douard Jeanneret-Gris, otherwise known as Le Corbusier, who indeed was motivated by pure function. A Swiss architect who lived most of his life in France, Jeanneret-Gris is considered the pioneer of Brutalism, as his Modernist designs evolved to become the monolithic, utilitarian structures with untreated surfaces and rough textures that met Eastern Europe\u2019s infrastructural needs after the second World War. Cities needed to be rebuilt, and budgets were small. Jeanneret-Gris, who was already partial to raw concrete for his affordable housing designs, became the crowned leader of b\u00e9ton brut<\/em> \u2014 \u201cof concrete.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the first Brutalist structures were institutional buildings such as schools, churches, libraries, and theaters. Stylistically, the movement was seen as a direct response to the composure of Modernism, and the war \u2014 a new rebel, leaving no internal logic to the imagination \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t long before the rest of the world caught on. Though the movement lost some momentum in the 70\u2019s, the striking geometry and imperfection of concrete has been embraced by contemporary furniture designers, like our very own Stephan Schmitz<\/a>. Though Stephan doesn\u2019t see himself as a leading representative of Brutalism, his work is the quintessence of a contemporary interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brutalist<\/a>
Holtanna No.2650-005 ><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Brutalist<\/a>
Bluff No.0745-006 ><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stephan was initially drawn to the style as a reaction to the violence, destruction, and injustice he observed in the media. At the time, his life was plagued with hardship. He cites the combination of these two factors as the motivation for his work. Prior to his practice, he never followed Brutalism, but as he continued to experiment without drawings or a plan, he developed a passion for it. \u201cImages develop in my mind and come together like a puzzle,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, I mentally create the sequence of how I build it.\u201d Much like Jeanneret-Gris, it\u2019s his intuition that creates order.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brutalist<\/a>
Mills No.2995-004 ><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the recommendation of an acquaintance, Stephan created an Instagram account for his work in 2016, with few expectations. In 2017, he created his first edition of the Mills No.2995-004 coffee table<\/a> and decided to share a photo. Of course, his wildly original design spread quickly. He began to garner attention from Instagram users and design bloggers alike, and as his work continued to circulate Instagram, he generated more clients. After that, his career took off.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see the Brutalist style as timeless and I think it will always endure,\u201d he says. \u201cIt should inspire people to think about the events of our time. Every person can form his or her own idea when looking at it, be it a connection to a war or an attack, perhaps an earthquake or a building site. Behind every image there can be something positive or negative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephan is right: Brutalism endures. Concrete coffee tables<\/a>, among other Brutalist designs, are rife on Wescover. Some Creators will work with you to create a custom piece, while others offer products that are ready to buy. Connect with our Creators to add a Brutalist touch to your home!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brutalist<\/a>
Baxter No.2430-007 <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shop 12 items by Stephan Schmitz on Wescover ><\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTo create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects.\u201d So said Charles-\u00c9douard Jeanneret-Gris, otherwise known as Le Corbusier, who indeed was motivated by pure function. A Swiss architect who lived most of his life in France, Jeanneret-Gris is considered the pioneer of Brutalism, as his Modernist designs evolved to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,1375,1372,1373],"tags":[65,66],"class_list":["post-8043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-categories","category-all-community","category-community","category-creators-sellers","tag-brutalism","tag-concrete"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10972,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8043\/revisions\/10972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wescover.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}