The First Brutalist

As early as 1871, in a debate on concrete at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, Sir Arthur Blomfield advocated off-the-form surfaces without the need for plastering. He stated that construction joints and formwork marks should be used to give colour and texture to the concrete surface. His ideas were advanced for the time and went unheeded for the next 60 years.

Thornton, Geoffrey G.
Cast in Concrete :
Concrete Construction in
New Zealand 1850-1939.
Auckland: Reed, 1996. p10