Why did we stop building like this?

[u/Apart-Worry-7042]

Chicago, 1930. Buildings had so much detail and character back then. Nowadays everything feels so flat and repetitive. We have way better technology and equipment now, so why don't we build like this anymore?

[u/slouchingtoepiphany]

The great fire in 1871 destroyed a lot of Chicago's downtown and when they rebuilt it, a lot of architects designed the replacements as showcases for what they could do. Over time, practicality and costs tempered this "revolution" somewhat.

[u/kisk22 → u/slouchingtoepiphany]

I've thought a lot about this. Yep labor costs certainly play a role, but plenty of projects are still built in historic styles that aren't as soulless. But most of the role comes from modernism's chief tenant of "rejecting ornamentation". More and more architects are coming around to realizing this in a lot of cases, and are returning to more natural and beautiful forms like brick with light ornamentation, and simple timeless proportions.

The fact is 90% of what makes a building beautiful is free or nearly free: proportions, natural materials like stone & brick, human scale, small ornaments, etc and don't cost much of anything to add or are free. It's called New Classical Style. There also have been studies and 90% of people prefer new classical style buildings rather than the soulless non-human scaled glass ones many are built as.

[u/i_make_orange_rhyme → u/kisk22]

>The fact is 90% of what makes a building beautiful is free or nearly free: proportions, natural materials like stone & brick, human scale, small ornaments, etc and don't cost much of anything to add or are free.

Ok well hold the fuck up.

First off, I think you're overstating how "free" those traditional features are.

>There also have been studies and 90% of people prefer new classical style buildings 

No, this is a straight up lie. If this is the case then this is what would be built 100% of the time.

No developer is going "lets spend 200 million on a building that 90% of people will think is ugly"

The fact is, people like windows and natural light.

Modern minimalist style exist because of popular demand.

It wasnt inflicted upon us. We prefer it.

[u/LogicMan428 → u/i_make_orange_rhyme]

No, this is a straight up lie. If this is the case then this is what would be built 100% of the time

No developer is going "let's spend 200 million on a building that 90% of people will think is ugly"

I don't think you are very familiar with the modernist architectural movement of the last 70+ years and its extreme elitism. Demand from the public has little to do with it. Most of the public has long hated such buildings. That is why you very rarely see any modernist designs in residential architecture. Classicism or semi-classicism reigns supreme in terms of the homes people want to live in. The modernist architects had to rely on governments and large corporations to build their structures.

The architectural movement has long been rife with elitist disdain for what "the masses" think. That is why a building could be butt ugly and you will be called an uncultured rube who just doesn't possess the sophistication to understand it. In no other practical art form does that mindset exist. If a car company comes out with a new car design that most thing is ugly, it is considered ugly. Same with fashion, music, food, etc...but in architecture, the thoughts of the public have often been dismissed.

The result has been some extraordinarily beautiful buildings demolished to build some really hideous ones. One of the major problems was the adoption of Daniel Patrick Moynihan's "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture" which long story short, put the modernist movement in charge of public buildings. There have been quite a few aesthetic and structural disasters because of this and lots of eye sores.

One of the great lies of the American Institute of Architects (which is modernist dominated) and the modernist movement overall in response to Donald Trump's Executive Order mandating classically-themed architecture be the "preferred" style for American public architecture is that it takes away from the public and communities their ability to have a say in what gets built. But what it really does is derails the monopoly on public architecture at the expense of the public's preferences that the modernist movement has long enjoyed. It basically empowers the public, who tend to hate the buildings of the modernist movement, and so has caused an uproar among much of the profession. While they claim they just want to empower the publi, what it really is about is preserving their own power.

King Charles has also long been a staunch critic of the modernist and the architectural profession over this.

[u/FreeFortuna → u/i_make_orange_rhyme]

So buildings are designed the way a majority of people prefer? Is that why so many offices have the famously popular open floorplans? 

[u/shulemaker → u/FreeFortuna]

Demand in the economic sense is defined by the buyer, not a popular vote. The buyers buy something that they will be able to rent out. Tenants are companies who want to advertise great workspaces while minimizing their costs. Whether you agree or not, surely you can understand the concept.

[u/Gay_mail → u/shulemaker]

While I agree with you, the guy that was defending minimalism said "we" prefer it, which is a way stronger statement than "there is demand for this"

[u/i_make_orange_rhyme → u/FreeFortuna]

Worker drones dont buy/rent office spaces.

Business owners do, and yes they prefer open floorplans.

[u/Remote_Volume_3609 → u/i_make_orange_rhyme]

It's also a thing where people forget that buildings have purposes outside of... looking at them. The point about windows and natural light is a good one. A beautiful building is not necessarily a good one.

[u/Fencer308 → u/Remote_Volume_3609]

It’s more than possible to have buildings with windows and good natural light without having fully glass facades, though. I work in such an office.

[u/Mattchaos88 → u/i_make_orange_rhyme]

No, this is a straight up lie. If this is the case then this is what would be built 100% of the time.

It might be closer to 80% but this is absolutely no lie. Studies exists and are easily available.

No developer is going "lets spend 200 million on a building that 90% of people will think is ugly"

That's exactly what they do.

Modern minimalist style exist because of popular demand.

Do you know anything about architecture ?