Which magazine first published the term 'Brutalism' in 1953?

The magazine that first published the term “New Brutalism” in 1953 was Architectural Design.

The first published use appeared in the November 1953 issue, where Alison Smithson used “New Brutalism” to describe a design for an unbuilt house in London’s Soho. The Smithsons’ approach emphasized exposed structure, honest materials, and leaving surfaces unfinished wherever practical.

The wording matters because the earliest published phrase was “New Brutalism,” not simply the shorter modern label “Brutalism.” The term later became much more widely known through architectural critic Reyner Banham, whose 1955 essay The New Brutalism helped define the movement’s ethical and visual ideas.

Brutalism is also often mistakenly explained as merely meaning buildings made of concrete. Concrete became strongly associated with the style through Le Corbusier’s béton brut, or “raw concrete,” but Brutalist architecture can also feature brick, steel, glass, and other visibly expressed materials.