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Why Brutalism? | Architecture Talk with Anthony Abbate

Broward County Main Library's 40th Anniversary

Main Library was designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer and opened in 1984. 40 years later, architect and professor Anthony Abbate discusses the landmark building's historical significances.

Program

• 6:30-7pm Reception (Auditorium Lobby)
• 7-8pm Talk (Auditorium)

This program is made possibly by Friends of the Fort Lauderdale Libraries. 

By the time Broward County officials secured the bond-based funding for a library in Fort Lauderdale in 1978, Brutalism was waning as the preferred architectural style for civic buildings. Marcel Breuer and Associates, winners of the design competition, softened the typically rough concrete facades associated with Brutalism by cladding the concrete with a revetment of native keystone. Crisp brise-soleil shading elements punctuate the expanses of stone that define three of the facades and help lend scale to the building’s mass.

Brutalism is a natural partner to local materials in South Florida, a leading producer of concrete in the United States. Breuer also incorporated the Sunshine State’s other material of choice, glass. The north facade consists of terraced glass curtain walls, which fill the interior with indirect light and introduce a blend of indoor and outdoor spaces to the library.

(Bobbi Walker, "Broward County Library", [Fort Lauderdale, Florida], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/FL-01-011-0022.)

This program is a Broward County Libraries 50th Anniversary event. Broward County Main Library programs are made possible by Friends of the Fort Lauderdale Libraries.

Biography: 

Anthony Abbate, AIA, NCARB is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He received a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from The Catholic University of America.

Abbate is a Professor at the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University.  He joined the faculty in 1996, served as director of the Broward Community Design Collaborative from 2006 to 2011. He was the US Chair of the international Subtropical Cities Conferences in 2011 and 2013.  He served as Associate Provost for FAU’s Broward Campuses from 2011 to 2020, and as Director of the School from 2017-2019.

He teaches Materials and Methods of Construction, Architectural Design, Subtropical Architecture, and Architectural Detail Generation.

His research examines historical and contemporary sustainable design and construction practices in the hot-humid climate zones of the tropics and subtropics at two scales: the macro/urban and the micro/detail. In connection with this line of inquiry, and in the context of the built environment of the contemporary city, the deeper unresolved tensions between globalization and regionalism are explored as they relate to local sense of place, climate adaptation, and sustainability.

He has traveled extensively, participating at conferences and lecturing at universities in Australia, Mexico, Mozambique, and Colombia. He has contributed to various proceedings of the International Network for Tropical Architecture, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. He was featured in Smart City with Carol Coletta on National Public Radio and on Australia Talks Back with Paul Barclay on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National and served on the editorial board of the Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical in San Jose, Costa Rica.

A registered architect and practicing professional in Florida and New York, he is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), accredited by the US Green Building Council in Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design, and has received over 25 awards for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects for architectural and urban design. He has consulted on projects in Florida, New York, the Caribbean and Colombia. He authored the Broward County County-wide Community Design Guidebook in 2005, a comprehensive design guideline for place-based design in the areas of transportation, urban design, architecture, landscape, and environmental graphics.

He currently serves an appointment to the Broward County Historic Preservation Board and has served appointments as chair of the Broward County Cultural Council and Design Arts Committee.  He served on the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Beach Redevelopment Advisory Board and Board of Adjustment in addition to the city's first Sustainability Advisory Board, and he chaired the city's first Sustainability/Green Committee. He served on the board of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, where he served on the Economic Resilience, Racial Equity, and Downtown Councils.  Abbate also served as Vice-Chair for State of Florida Department of Education Building Construction Advisory Committee and is a past-president of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale.

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