Sydney Brutalism maps three decades of raw concrete ambition across one of the world's most underacknowledged brutalist cities, tracing the architects, buildings, and residents who remade Sydney from the late 1950s onward.
About This Book
When brutalism arrived in Sydney in the late 1950s, it came with genuine conviction — architects working in raw concrete and brick, building by hand, producing structures that were bold, contentious, and unmistakably of their moment. Design writer Heidi Dokulil traces this movement across public buildings, university campuses, and private homes, examining the international currents and local forces that shaped it. The book arrives at a critical time: the threatened demolition of the Sirius building in Millers Point reignited public debate about brutalist architecture in Australia, and many significant structures have already been lost. Sydney Brutalism makes the case for what remains — and documents, through architectural photography from leading practitioners, what the city owes to its brutalist inheritance.
Key Features
- 240 pages of architectural photography and critical history by leading architectural photographers
- Written by design writer Heidi Dokulil
- Notable buildings examined include Sirius, the Sydney Masonic Centre, UTS Tower, and the Sydney Opera House
- Published by NewSouth Books
What You'll Discover
- How Sydney's brutalist movement developed from the late 1950s through international influence and local experimentation with raw concrete and brick
- The human stories behind landmark buildings — the architects who designed them, the builders who constructed them by hand, and the residents who inhabited them
- The ongoing tension between heritage preservation and demolition, centred on contested structures like the Sirius building in Millers Point
- How Sydney's brutalist buildings continue to shape contemporary architectural practice and the designers who cite them as precedent
About the Author
Heidi Dokulil is a design writer whose work focuses on the built environment. In Sydney Brutalism, she brings together architectural history, cultural commentary, and documentation of threatened and demolished buildings to produce a sustained account of this undervalued chapter in Australian architecture.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 240
- Dimensions: 240 x 190 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781742236698
- Publisher: NewSouth Books
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, architectural historians, and heritage advocates with an interest in Australian modernism, brutalist architecture, and the preservation debates shaping Sydney's built fabric.