Docomomo DC Featured in DC Fray

DC Fray Magazine, also known as District Fray, recently published a story on Brutalism in Washington, DC, The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy, quoting Docomomo DC president Lucy Moore.

In a teaser on Instagram, DC Fray assistant editor M.K. Koszycki, who authored the piece, poses the question, "Why does Brutalism, a style born out of the modernist movement of the late 20th century, still face so much backlash in 2021?"

The answers are fraught and complicated, especially with Brutalism coming under fire as a target of an executive order from the last administration.

“The executive order essentially mandated neoclassical design,” says Lucy Moore, incoming president of Docomomo DC, which works to ensure the rich legacy of the Modern Movement in the Greater Washington area is preserved for future generations. “Its main goal was not to ban Brutalism, though that was an extra dig. Why should the federal government, which represents an increasingly diverse country, mandate one style? It was an attempt to narrowly define civic architecture, just as the Trump administration narrowly defined ‘citizen.’”

Image © Deane Madsen via BrutalistDC