Brutalist is a particular style, I think what was really meant was &quot;prefabricated&quot; — the buildings could be assembled on-site from parts (wall sections etc) manufactured elsewhere.<p>A huge number of houses had been destroyed in WW2, so rebuilding them quickly and cheaply was a priority.  It wasn&#x27;t just socialist governments, the UK built loads of these too — though as prosperity increased, they became much less common.