#SOSBrutalism

What it is

#SOSBrutalism is a non-commercial online database of Brutalist architecture around the world. It was launched in 2015 by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt and the Wüstenrot Foundation. Ten years on, the site says it lists more than 2,300 buildings, with about 175 on its Red List of buildings threatened with demolition or major alteration.

You can explore the collection on a map, in a gallery filtered by region, building type and heritage status, on a timeline from the 1950s onward, or through hashtag search. Each building has photos and details, many contributed by photographers and supporters of the campaign.

Why we picked it

Brutalism spent decades being dismissed as ugly concrete, and now it is being rediscovered as architecture of bold forms, big ideas and honest materials. The catch is that many of these buildings are torn down before people come around to them. #SOSBrutalism is both a catalog and a campaign: flag a building in danger and more people learn about it.

It is also deeply visual. You can lose an evening in the gallery, finding buildings in Japan, Latin America or Eastern Europe that look like sets from a science fiction film, and learning which ones are already gone.

Where to start

• Open the map and check whether your own city has any entries.
• Filter the gallery by the Red List to see buildings at risk.
• Walk through the timeline to watch the style evolve from the 1950s.
• If you know a building that is missing, the project asks people to tag it #SOSBrutalism.

Who it's for

Architecture and modernism fans, photographers, urban explorers, and travelers who like to plan routes around unusual buildings.

Quick answers

Who runs it? The Deutsches Architekturmuseum and the Wüstenrot Foundation.

How many buildings are listed? More than 2,300, according to the site.

What is the Red List? Buildings threatened with demolition or major changes; about 175 when we checked.