Sydney Brutalism

Sydney has some of the world’s best examples of brutalist architecture. Heidi Dokulil explores these brutal beauties.

While modernism is much celebrated, there’s a growing appreciation for the latter years of the movement when Sydney architects and their international peers experimented with raw concrete and brick and brutalism was born. In this first comprehensive book on the subject, design writer Heidi Dokulil explores brutalism in Sydney, its arrival in the late 1960s, its international influences, its architects, builders, residents and 
materials, and the government buildings, social housing, university campus buildings and private homes that changed the face of the city. 

The outcry over the threatened demolition of the Sirius building in Millers Point and the associated Save Our Sirius campaign has generated a new 
interest in these brutal beauties of Australian architecture. Yet many brutalist buildings have been demolished and others are under threat. 

Dokulil reveals the stories behind these bold and experimental buildings, as well as the contemporary buildings – and their architects and owners – that 
brutalism continues to inspire.

About the author

Heidi Dokulil is the co-founder of the Australian Design Unit and Good Habitat. Heidi edits More Space magazine for Space Furniture; and cocurated the exhibition Conversations of Things New. Heidi writes for Artichoke and AAU magazines, and is the author of BKH on Sydney design firm Burley Katon Halliday.

‘A brilliantly researched deep dive into the subject — Sydney Brutalism asks why our concrete monsters matter, while exploring international antecedents and contemporary executions. Powerful photography contributes to this important exploration of a controversial architectural genre.’ — Karen McCartney

Heidi Dokulil
Published December 2023
Paperback
240 pages
150 illustrations
240mm x 185mm
ISBN 9781742236698