Brutalia - Build Your Own Brutalist Italy

Brutalia - Build Your Own Brutalist Italy - By Zupagrafika

Breaking free from twenty years of fascist rule, post-war Italy became fertile ground for brutalist architecture. Stark new concrete forms reshaped Italian urban landscapes with bold landmarks, from the iconic Torre Velasca in the centre of Milan to the controversial Vele di Scampia housing complex on the periphery of Naples. 

This playful and engaging book guides readers around these examples of Italian brutalist architecture, informing curious explorers about their features, failures, and successes, with a special focus on public housing estates such as “Lavatrici” in Genoa, Nuovo Corviale in Rome, Vele di Scampia in Naples, and Rozzol Melara in Trieste. The first half of Brutalia opens with a foreword by Italian architect and writer Alessandro Benetti; it includes photographs of the featured buildings and details on their histories. The second section contains five pre-cut and pre-folded models to press out and assemble. All you need is glue!

Press-out cardboard models to assemble:
Genoa > 'Le Lavatrici'
Milan > Torre Velasca 
Naples > Vele di Scampia
Rome > Nuovo Corviale
Trieste > Rozzol Melara

About Zupagrafika:

Zupagrafika are David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka, an independent publisher, author and graphic design studio, established in 2012 in Poznań, Poland, celebrating modernist architecture, design and photography in a unique and playful way.

Over the last decade, David and Martyna have created, illustrated and published award-winning books and kits exploring the post-war modernist and brutalist architecture of the former Eastern Bloc and beyond. Their publications have featured contributions by such architects and writers as: Norman Foster, John Grindrod, Barnabas Calder, Christopher Beanland, Konstantin Budarin, Anna Cymer or Florian Heilmeyer. Zupagrafika are the authors and publishers of such titles as: Blok Wschodni (2014), Brutal London (2015), Blokoshka (2016), Paris Brut (2016), Blokowice (2016), The Constructivist (2017), Brutal East (2017), Modern East (2017), Hidden Cities (2018), as well as the books Brutal London (2016, Prestel), Brutal Britain (2018), Eastern Blocks (2019), Panelki (2019), Concrete Siberia (2020), Brutal Poland (2020), Monotowns (2021), Brutal East vol. II (2021), The Tenants (2022), Soviet Playgrounds (2022), Słup (2023), Concrete Hong Kong (2023).