Firstly, Edinburgh Castle was built in the 12th Century and change over the period of a thousand years. I suspect what is considered good architecture has chang

Firstly, Edinburgh Castle was built in the 12th Century and change over the period of a thousand years. I suspect what is considered good architecture has changed over that time, and at no point influenced the design. Secondly, Edinburgh Castle is a Castle. It's not designed to be attractive, it's designed to have strong defences against an attacking army. Your criticism is like complaining that the McMansion can't be used to put down the Jacobite Rising. Thirdly, Edinburgh Castle is built on a volcanic plug, making it quite difficult to build a traditional building. What is considered good architecture for a family home is not going to be considered good architecture for a tower block. That doesn't mean it's not right, it means it's complicated. It's also fair to say that good architects often break commonly used rules of thumb - as with many things it's the difference between Jazz and Noise. Noise is where someone plays musical notes with no knowledge of how they relate to each other. Jazz is where someone plays the same notes, but knows exactly how they relate to each other.