Brutalism is considered one of the least visually appealing architectural styles due to its blocky, cold concrete shapes. Because of that, it is also one of the most contentious. While architects love concrete due to its flexibility, members of the public tend to be repulsed by the dull box shapes, describing Brutalist buildings as eyesores and even atrocities. British architects Alison and Peter Smithson coined the term "Brutalism" in 1953, inspired by the French béton brut, which literally means, "raw concrete." From the 1950s to the 1970s, the architectural style flourished with angular, concrete buildings—often with an egg-crate appearance—found all over the world (and most recently in Minecraft).
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