What are some famous buildings with unusual architectural designs?

When were most of the buildings in downton Oslo built and why in such "drab" designs?

• as was watching some of the scenes from Oslo..and the buildings looked very "Drab" ..and not interesting architecture like in London, etc. why , how this is and how compared to eastern europe..as this is where i also have seen this kind of geometrically "boring" architecture. why, when this was chosen and by who? please explain what you can too about the history of Oslo and other Scandinavian cities...why the people seem to be a bit "quiet" in relationship to Europe and WW2 etc? thansk for your answers!

• Answer:

  The Regjeringskvartalet is the collective group of buildings that have been featured on the news most recently. Most of which were designed in what is called "Brutalist" architecture. The tall, high-rise that houses the Prime Minister's office, designed by Erling Viksjø, and completed in 1958, is an example. Its façade was severely damaged in the bombings. These designs emanated mostly from the post-War move to modernist and minimalist architecture. The very word Brutalism comes from the French béton brut meaning "raw concrete". And yes, there are many similar buildings in Eastern Europe with similar designs. However, the key difference is that Brutalist buildings were designed in such a way as to be both efficient and avant-garde, whereas Soviet architecture was mainly used solely for its efficiency, with little if any aim for beauty. Hence, the many bloc-style, gray apartment buildings that mass around the suburbs of most eastern European cities. There are, in fact, many examples of Brutalism in London. More so than Norway. Norwegians have always been a "quiet", and down-to-Earth society, which reflects in their total unpreparedness to the attacks. The thought of something so grave and catastrophic happening simply did not register on the minds of most Norwegians pre-7/22. Further info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regjeringskvartalet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture