Brutalist architecture in the United States emerged in the 1960s, the era of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, when progressive designers wanted to create buildings that fit their vision of a strong and benevolent public sector. ... Over the years, many Americans have come to associate brutalism with failed public housing projects and Soviet architecture. The fact that its signature material, concrete, was used for hundreds of forgettable knockoffs, not to mention storm drains and highway overpasses, didn’t help its reputation.

“There’s a tendency to condemn the entire period based on its worst examples,” argues Michael Kubo, an architect and architectural historian who co-wrote a book about the style. “People point to all of the second- or third-rate, relatively cheaply built buildings in concrete ... as a way of condemning the best buildings.” 

As brutalist buildings have started to suffer the aches and pains of middle age, many are being torn down. Preserving them just as they are can be expensive and impractical. ... “Brutalist” has become such a pejorative term, Kubo argues, that the better name for this style is “Heroic.” It captures the best and worst qualities of the architecture of this period: its honesty and idealism, as well as its hubris. He is convinced that it will win us over eventually. We just have to be patient.