The Breuer Window: Take a Closer Look at Brutalist Architecture

Location: Bromery Center for the Arts South Plaza, next to Lobby entrance, 151 Presidents Dr, Amherst

Date & Time: 13 October 2023, 2PM – 9PM

An art installation that presents a 3/4 scale reconstruction of the Lincoln Campus Center hotel window façade panel, allowing the public to experience the beauty and formal grandeur of a Marcel Breuer’s architecture.  This event occurs during Family Weekend at UMass Amherst and is organized in collaboration with the following:  UMass Fine Arts Center Art Walk (3pm – 6pm); the Joy of Art After Party with Laudable productions (6pm – 9pm); and the UMass Student Life Pond Fire (6pm – 9pm). Installation designed and constructed by by Colleen Tully ‘G24. 

Campus Tour: UMass Amherst's Remarkable Brutalist Heritage

Date & Time: Friday, October 13, 2023 from 2:00pm-3:00pm

Location: Meet at the Lincoln Campus Center Information Desk, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst, MA

Join us for Docomomo US Tour Day!

After World War II, the University of Massachusetts Amherst embarked upon one of the most ambitious academic building programs in the United States. Following a 1963 master plan by renowned landscape architect, Hideo Sasaki, UMass Amherst employed some of the most distinguished architects of the time, among them Marcel Breuer, Kevin Roche, and Edward Durell Stone. The tour will investigate their distinctive Brutalist buildings and how they are now being reimagined after serving generations of students well.

The walking tour will meet in the lobby of the Lincoln Campus Center (Marcel Breuer, 1970) and will traverse the campus grounds, viewing buildings such as the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts (Kevin Roche, 1973) and its newly renovated Arts Bridge, Herter Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1968), Whitmore Hall (Campbell & Aldrich, 1967), Tobin Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1972), and the iconic W.E.B. DuBois Library (Edward Durell Stone, 1972).

This tour will be led by Timothy M. Rohan, Chair and Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst with assistance from Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Senior Campus Planner.

UMassBRUT Unveil Modernist Virtual Tour at AHA Night in New Bedford at CVPA Star Store Campus. 

Public launch will celebrate new virtual tour of Paul Rudolph’s iconic brutalist campus Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 6:30pm 

Illuminating Brutalism: A Projection Art and Music Experience

Saturday, October 29th, 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm (Rain Date: October 30th) at UMass Amherst Bromery Center for the Arts South Plaza, 151 Presidents Dr, Amherst

In conjunction with University of Massachusetts Amherst’s 2022 Homecoming Weekend, UMassBRUT is partnering with the Bromery Center for the Arts on a large public event centered on projecting artwork onto the building's south façade. The event will comprise of an animated light show projected onto the large scale south façade of the Bromery Center. We anticipate large crowds from both the UMass and Amherst community gathering in the southern plaza in front of the Arts Bridge to enjoy the projection art and musical accompaniment.

The show will be designed by noted artist and UMass Dartmouth Professor, Mark Millstein, and UMass Amherst Graduate Architecture student, Lincoln Nemetz-Carlson. Mark Millstein is overseeing both the development of the artwork and the projection itself. Millstein is an experienced artist who developed a special animation and video projection onto the buildings of UMass Dartmouth for our UMassBRUT Symposium in 2021.

The overall goal of the projection mapping event is to raise awareness of and appreciation for the Brutalist buildings on the University of Massachusetts campuses. The artwork is designed to emphasize the bold forms and dramatic shadows of the Bromery Center for the Arts complex and to highlight its powerful, expressive architecture. The project is part of a multi-year campaign by UMassBRUT, a UMass Amherst and UMass Dartmouth collaborative advocacy group dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and reimagining our Brutalist architecture.

The event will take place on Saturday, October 29th from 7:00–8:00 PM (or, in case of inclement weather, at the same time the following day). Food and drinks will be available for purchase. It is free and open to the public and no advance registration is required. Although plenty of space will be available for standing (or dancing!), limited seating will be provided. We encourage participants to bring their own chairs or blankets; please dress warmly for the weather. Parking on President’s Drive will be reduced, and accessible parking will be limited to spaces across from Herter hall and in the north portion of Haigis Mall. Buses will be rerouted to a stop along Mass Avenue for the duration of the event. Visitor parking is available at the Campus Center Parking Garage; the rate is $1.75/hr. and it is open 24/7.

Docomomo US Tour Day

Modernist Architecture Campus Tour: UMass Amherst

Saturday, October 29th, 2022, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Meet at the Lincoln Campus Center Information Desk, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst, MA

In the generation following the Second World War, the University of Massachusetts Amherst engaged in one of the most ambitious academic building programs in the United States. Following a 1963 master plan by renowned landscape architect, Hideo Sasaki, UMass Amherst employed some of the most distinguished architects of the time such as Marcel Breuer, Kevin Roche, and Edward Durrell Stone, who remade the campus in a distinct Brutalist style.

The walking tour will start in the lobby of the Lincoln Campus Center (Marcel Breuer, 1970) and will walk on the campus grounds, viewing buildings such as Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts (Kevin Roche, 1973), Herter Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1968), Whitmore Hall (Campbell & Aldrich, 1967), Tobin Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1972), and the iconic W.E.B. DuBois Library (Edward Durell Stone, 1972).

This tour will be led by Timothy M. Rohan, Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Free and open to the public, no advance registration required

Visitor parking is available at the Campus Center Parking Garage; the rate is $1.75/hr. and it is open 24/7.

Paul Rudolph & First Church Boston

Hosted by First Church Boston

Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2pm - First Church Boston 66 Marlborough St Boston, MA

On March 29, 1968, First Church Boston (Ware & Van Brunt, 1868) burned to the ground. In the ensuing months, the congregation choose Paul Rudolph to rebuild their church in part because his was the only proposal to include what remained of the existing gothic façade in the design. This panel discussion, held on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the building, will consider the design now and then and how it fits into the larger legacy of Rudolph’s work.

§   Kelvin Dickinson, President, Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture

§   Alice Friedman, Grace Slack McNeil Professor of American Art at Wellesley College

§   Eric Höweler, Co-founder, Höweler + Yoon Architecture LLP; Associate Professor in Architecture, Harvard

University Graduate School of Design

§   Timothy Rohan, Associate professor, Art and Architectural History, University of Massachusetts Amherst; author of

The Architecture of Paul Rudolph

§   Justin Beal, Moderator, Artist and author of Sandfuture

§   The panel will include a special contribution from Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell.

Symposium Brutalism + the Public University: Past, Present, and Future

Friday, October 22 at UMass Dartmouth - Saturday, October 23, 2021 at UMass Amherst

A two-day symposium will take place across two UMass campuses in celebration of our Brutalist heritage and sponsored by UMass Brut. The topics will include architectural history, urbanism and design, public art, and concrete restoration technologies and sustainability. Our goal: to bring together scholars and practitioners to discuss the significance of our Brutalist campus architecture and thus elicit a public discussion about the importance of its preservation. Registration required.

"Standing in Silhouette: The Southwest Dormitories at UMass" Exhibition

September 1 - December 8 UMass Amherst Fall Semester, Greenbaum Gallery at Elm House (entrance on Hicks Way) at 145 Commonwealth Avenue, UMass Amherst

Student exhibition open Fall 2021 in conjunction with the "Brutalism and the Public University: Past, Present and Future" Symposium. Free and open to the public. Opening reception at the Greenbaum Gallery, November 6, 2021, 11 am.

"Brutalism in Color" Exhibit

UMass Amherst, October 20 - 31, 2021, Randolph W Bromery Center for the Arts lobby, 151 Presidents Drive, UMass Amherst

Opening on October 15 - 31, 2021 in conjunction with the "Brutalism and the Public University: Past, Present and Future" Symposium. Free and open to the public.

“Brutalism in Color” presents the renowned Brutalist architecture of UMass Amherst and UMass Dartmouth in new and colorful ways. Featuring brightly colored archival photography, original artwork by Lincoln Nemetz-Carlson, PhD, and representations of recent renovations to Brutalist interiors, the exhibition will focus on different ways architects, designers, and caretakers have employed color in and around our Brutalist structures. The exhibit highlights the use of textiles, water, paint, and art not only to connect Brutalism to its original vibrant context of the 1960s and 1970s, but also to portray these architectural masterpieces in an entirely new light.

UMass Amherst Campus Walking Tour: "Southwest Residential Area, Whitmore, Herter, Tobin, Lincoln Campus Center"

Saturday, October 23, 2021, 4:00pm – 5:30pm. Start at the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts Plaza at 151 Presidents Drive, Amherst

Free and Open to the Public; RSVP by filling out this form: https://form.jotform.com/umassbrut/umass-brut-walking-tour

Tour Guides:

•       Lincoln Nemetz Carlson, PhD, Graduate Researcher, Campus Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst

•       P. Alexander Stoicheff, Graduate Researcher, Campus Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Visitor Parking Options (visit Where to Park - Transportation Services - UMass Amherst):

Park at the Campus Center Parking Garage (cost is $1.75/hour), at a metered parking space on Presidents Drive or the adjacent visitors lot (cost is $1.50/hour). Meters are enforced from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tour Description:

The UMass Amherst campus was established under the Morrill Land Grant in 1863. Today it is the flagship of the five-campus University of Massachusetts system, serving a community of over 36,000 in approximately 13.4 million square feet of buildings. Its most significant enrollment growth occurred after World War II with over 10 million square feet of space built within 20 years with a change in scale from rural to a more urban campus consisting of dense neighborhoods and towers, based on the 1963 master plan by Hideo Sasaki. Making UMass a veritable showcase of Brutalism at its zenith, UMass Amherst commissioned the landmark Fine Arts Center (1974) by Kevin Roche (recently renamed the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts) and Lincoln Campus Center by Marcel Breuer (1970) as well other key structures by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Edward Durrell Stone and Hugh Stubbins. The tour will start at the Fine Arts Center (Kevin Roche, 1973), and walk on the campus grounds, viewing Herter Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1968), Whitmore Hall (Campbell & Aldrich, 1967), Southwest Residential Complex (Hugh Stubbins & Assoc., 1965-68), Tobin Hall (Coletti Borthers, 1972), Dubois Library (Edward Durell Stone, 1972), Lincoln Campus Center (Marcel Brewer, 1970), and Lederle Graduate Research Center (Campbell, Aldrich & Nulty, 1971-1973)

UMass Dartmouth

Creative Economy Grant for Virtual Tour Paul Rudolph's Brutalist Campus 2019-2020

Docomomo US Tour Day 2020

Tour for Society of Architectural Historians 72nd Annual International Conference 2019

A Visionary Campus Exhibition, 2018 (Art History Capstone)

Tour for New England Architectural Historians, 2017

Tour for Providence Preservation Society, 2017

UMass Amherst

Brut Bites (April 1-May 3, 2021) The Amherst History Society partnered with the Public History Department of UMass, to introduce a series of lectures on the evolution of architectural design on the UMass campus.

April 12 : UMass Then/Now (click title to see video)

Speakers: Ron Michaud and Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham

Description: The UMass campus has always been a place of dynamic change. By pairing archival photographs with contemporary images, retired faculty member Ron Michaud and Senior Campus Planner Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham will invite participants to reflect on how the campus has changed over time. What’s been lost? What’s been gained?

April 19: The History and Cultures of the Southwest Residential Area (click title to see video)

Speaker: Timothy M. Rohan

Description: Completed in 1968, the towers of the Southwest Residential Complex have made a big impact on our local landscape. What is the history of this large complex, which can house up to 5500 students? What does it tell us about modern architecture, the campus, the community, and the region in the 1960s and after? How did its diverse communities create their own unique cultures within this “big city”-like environment?

April 26: Unbuilt UMass: A History of Campus Master Plans (click title to see video)

Speaker: Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham

Description: The UMass campus is familiar to many, but was it always going to look the way it does today? How has the campus been envisioned over time? What forces and priorities shaped the plans that we recognize today, and what other plans were never realized? Peek inside the history of campus master plans with Senior Campus Planner Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham to explore the evolving vision for the UMass Amherst campus, from its beginning to the present.

May 3: The History of the Randolph W. Bromery Fine Arts Center (click title to see video)

Speakers: L. Carl Fiocchi and Margaret Vickery

Description: Since its founding in 1975, The Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts (formerly Fine Arts Center) has been a central force in the cultural, social and academic life of the Town of Amherst, the University, the Five College campuses, and the Pioneer Valley. This uncompromisingly modern concrete building consists of several distinctly different units which are combined to form a powerful architectural sculpture. It was conceived as a gateway to the campus at the south end of the pond and its monumental arcade serves as a pedestrian link between the east and west campus on what was formerly Ellis drive. The complex contributes to both positive and negative perception of Brutalist concrete buildings and its history is marred with celebrations as well as expressions of discontent. The presenters will discuss the history of its development and address the myths and perceptions related to its aesthetic and environmental appeal (and lack thereof). The audience will be invited to share memories of its impact on life in Amherst and the surrounding community.

Docomomo US Tour Day 2018

Recap: UMass Amherst + Brutalism - Origins, Evolution, and Future - Engaging Public Dialogue: Event Recap

October 20th 2018, 50+ students, faculty and staff, among industry professionals and the general public gathered on the UMass Amherst campus to learn and discuss the university’s brutalist architectural history.