Brutalist architecture is exactly what it sounds like. Characterized by utilitarian, monolithic concrete forms, this 20th-century movement remains as divisive as ever. Some people love Brutalist buildings for both their historic importance and their bold, graphic qualities, while others find them cold, imposing, and just plain ugly. It also doesn’t help that they were often associated with totalitarianism (rightfully or not).

Even if you don’t mind their dramatic shapes and extensive use of rather unforgiving materials, it’s hard to deny that Brutalist structures don’t exactly age well. The concrete used to create many of them started to crumble within decades, and today, they’re commonly stained, gray behemoths surrounded by buildings in clashing styles. Many of them have already been demolished, or are at least in danger of being lost. But could more of them be salvaged with simple makeovers, even in places where they’re despised" German architecture firm J. Mayer H. answers this question with “Casa Morgana,” a reimagining of a former Brutalist building in the north of Germany. The blocky home previously had a severe, gloomy feel that was out of step with its lush surroundings. Joining it with that greenery was the first and most important element of its transformation.

The firm hired landscape architect Tita Giese to pull some of that vitality into the structure itself with new gardens full of bamboo, palm trees, an...