I'm not going to criticise these alien-looking vanity projects today.
Rather, before we get to the real problem, I'm going to (sort of) briefly defend them.
However irredeemable their divergence from the architectural principles of Vitruvius (and every design principle of Antiquity & the Middle Ages...), and however far from the charm, usability, & longevity of vernacular architecture...
they aren't the real problem.
Because, at least, they're saying something.
Even if you don't like what they stand for, there is an aspirational quality about these buildings.
There is a concerted effort - even an abstract, anti-human one - to *create* something which is in some (convoluted) way, meaningful.
The same could be said of Brutalism.
Whatever you think of its style or what it represents politically/artistically/culturally, you can't deny that it does have both of those things:
A style, and a message.
The real problem isn't the prize-winning, headline-grabbing, discussion-provoking, abstract, theoretical-architecture edifices.
Rather, it's the plain details of ordinary buildings, the ones that don't win prizes or generate discussion.
There is a negligence toward beauty.
Here are some examples:
1. Ceiling Tiles
They're EVERYWHERE. And they are ugly, easily broken, unnatural, peculiar, claustrophobic.
But they ARE functional: cheap & allow access to electrics.
This will become a theme...
2. Whitewashed Walls & Grey Carpets
Why does every office look like this?
Grey carpets & whitewashed walls. No colour. No design. No attempt to make it a pleasant environment.
Minimalism? Cost-efficiency?
3. Purely Functional Design
This bus shelter gets the job done, sure. You can wait inside to get away from the rain or wind.
But that's all. No flair. Nothing inviting.
No attempt to create even the slightest bit of beauty in the ordinary.
4. Apathetic Choices
Compare these two university lecture halls. Which one would you rather study in?
There is on obvious reason why they look so different.
Only that the second, newer one, required no effort to design & build. A (cheap) tick-box exercise.
5. Painfully Bright Lighting
In the words of Junichiro Tanizaki:
"The progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot... his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pains to eradicate even the minutest shadow."
And this is a problem because it is incredibly hard to fight against.
There is no identifiable cultural movement behind it, no specific architect or school of thought.
It's a deep-set, general, social problem.
Who decided that street-lights should no longer look like this?
But should instead look like this?
Nobody *decided*.
It happened because of a drift towards utility & cost being prioritised over beauty, longevity, or character.
Even bins have been affected!
See, this isn't about those large-scale, multi-million dollar projects.
(Though there ARE issues with them, that's not the crux of it.)
The every day things are what is most concerning.
There is no "vision" or "statement" to take issue with.
It is a silent, creeping creed of apathy.
Worse, it is a silent creed of ugliness.
For example, compare these light-switches.
There is only one Kunsthaus Graz, and a few thousand similar buildings.
But there are hundreds of millions of polystyrene ceiling tiles, grey carpets, whitewashed walls, functional streetlamps, painfully bright LED lights, poorly proportioned windows, and tarmacked streets.
How do we change this?
Anyway, I'm going to listen to Edvard Grieg's Piano Concert in A Minor and sulk...
I'm really enjoying the discussion this thread has provoked - will endeavour to respond to you all!
Meanwhile, if you liked this thread then you may like my free weekly newsletter, Areopagus.
Seven short lessons every Friday (including architecture!)
Here's what happened, hour by hour, as told by somebody who witnessed it...
(The date is actually contested and some think it was 24th October, but more on that later...)
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano on the south-west coast of Italy, overlooking the Bay of Naples.
This was a thriving place in Roman times, surrounded by bustling towns and seaside villas.
The year is 79 AD.
A young man called Pliny the Younger is in the area, at a town called Misenum to the west of Vesuvius, with his mother and his uncle, known as Pliny the Elder.
He was only 18 years old then, but would go on to have a long career in Roman politics.
His legendary life — from general to emperor to exile — has been the subject of countless books, films, and works of art.
So here is Napoleon's story as told in 23 paintings...
1. Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros (1796)
Napoleon's life during the French Revolution was complicated, but by the age of 24 he had become a General.
Here, aged 27, he led the armies of the French Republic to victory in Italy — his star was rising rapidly.
2. The Battle of the Pyramids by François-Louis-Joseph Watteau (1799)
Two years later Napoleon oversaw the invasion of Egypt — as part of an attempt to undermine British trade — and at the Battle of the Pyramids led the French to a crushing victory over the Ottomans and Mamluks.
Bruges is known as the "Venice of the North" because of its many canals and beautiful architecture.
But it's not only a pretty place — Bruges also reshaped global history.
How? It's where the world's first ever stock exchange was set up, over 700 years ago...
Bruges became capital of the County of Flanders — now part of Belgium — in the 11th century.
During the Dark Ages it had developed a trade in weaving, but this wasn't a major city.
So why does Bruges have such a profusion of grand Medieval architecture?
Because everything changed in the year 1134, when a huge storm opened up a tidal inlet — the Zwin — that gave Bruges direct access, via canals, to the North Sea.
Suddenly, Bruges was perfectly placed to become one of the most important commercial centres in northern Europe.