The Netherlands
In the early 1960s, a brutalist observatory rose from the ground on an expansive polder in Utrecht. From March 1964 onwards, students and astronomers could climb the so-called Star Tower to gaze at the sky.
Gelderland
One of the 138 Dutch air watchtowers was built in the 1950s right between the rivers Maas and Waal.
Berlin
Blue ventilation pipes protrude like cannon barrels from the former Research Facility for Experimental Medicine in Berlin, an example of concrete-dominated brutalism.
Liège
On the eve of the reconversion of the ruins of the Hasard coal mine in Cheratte near Liège, the imposing concrete headframe was demolished.
Hainaut
The millions of euros of public money pumped into the renovation of the Binche coal preparation plant since 2008 are still not making any difference a decade later.
Nordrhein-Westfalen
This 240-meter-long and 12-meter-high massive block of concrete once formed the storehouse with ores and coal for the Schalker Verein steel factory.
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On the occasion of International Art Nouveau Day, celebrated each year on June 10, a look at how this ornate architectural movement found its way into the most unlikely of places like coal mines, power stations, and railway yards and the long, sometimes heartbreaking battles to save what remains.
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