Grenoble University Campus

I visited the Grenoble University Campus for the first time in a while last weekend and spent some time enjoying the Brutalist architecture. As someone who also studied at a university built during the much-maligned architectural wildnerness of the 50s and 60s, and who subsequently went on to work at London’s monolithic South Bank Centre, there is a special place in my heart for these visions in concrete. I think the style has long passed its nadir in terms of fashion and popularity, and we have begun to accept such buildings as part of our urban and cultural landscape. We no longer immediately associate such concrete idealism with the failed high rise housing estates. Walking around campus on a sunny May Sunday, it was easy to appreciate the original vision: the blend of functional concrete and broad lawns. Frankly the abundance of greenery and uncrowded assembly of buildings was refreshing after the more tightly-knit pressures of the city centre. Here are some pictures – let me know what you think.

Opposite the student union

Related Posts:

• French classes at the CUEF?
• 5 things I learnt teaching English in Grenoble
• English Talk Radio – March 28
• What do YOU love about Grenoble?
• The French University Experience: A North American Perspective