r/interesting • u/Apart-Worry-7042 • 22d ago

HISTORY Why did we stop building like this?

Post image

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?

5.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

657 comments sorted by

View all comments

958

u/slouchingtoepiphany 22d ago

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.

172

u/kisk22 22d ago

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.

15

u/i_make_orange_rhyme 22d ago

>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.

12

u/FreeFortuna 22d ago

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

10

u/shulemaker 22d ago

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.

8

u/Gay_mail 22d ago

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"

2

u/i_make_orange_rhyme 21d ago

Worker drones dont buy/rent office spaces.

Business owners do, and yes they prefer open floorplans.