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Standards and building codes, the same sorts of reasons cars, except for a few visual design points, all have the same basic shape and look. Organizations, as w

Standards and building codes, the same sorts of reasons cars, except for a few visual design points, all have the same basic shape and look. Organizations, as well as home buyers, also look for resaleability and the ability to repurpose spaces — odd, though beautiful buildings are thought to be hard to sell, and specialized spaces are considered long-term detriments. Contemporary architecture is a monument to bureaucrats and middle managers.

Joeri 5y ago
For every practical reason for the flat boxy look I’m sure alternative approaches can be worked out, but people have to want to do it first. As someone who is not a car owner I find it striking how functionally blind most people are to the ugliness of cars. Modern cars are designed to look well alone in a vast empty space, and that is how car ads pitch them. But when you see them racked and stacked bumper to bumper like in cities it is shocking just how unsightly they are and just how much space we yield to cars dramatically reducing the livability of the city. People are so functionally blind they can’t even imagine any other way. Surely, you must have cars. The notion that we have chosen to make our cities ugly and unlivable and we could choose otherwise isn’t even conceivable. When people hear I don’t have a car they always assume I rent or borrow one often. They cannot imagine how a family of four can get things done without a car, and literally the “how” question is the one I get most. Maybe something similar has happened to architecture, where social norms have made it impossible for most to even see a different way. Things are the way they are ostensibly for practical and aesthetic reasons, but none of those practical and aesthetic reasons really stand up under scrutiny because ultimately it is down to fashion.
- GhettoComputers 5y ago
  >Modern cars are designed to look well alone in a vast empty space, and that is how car ads pitch them. >Things are the way they are ostensibly for practical and aesthetic reasons, but none of those practical and aesthetic reasons really stand up under scrutiny because ultimately it is down to fashion. That is wrong, they are all the same looking for aerodynamics since Obama told car manufacturers to make them more fuel efficient. Form follows function, its why they are all generic looking, they are greener, they have a crumple zone for safety, they are not designed round and generic looking for aesthetic reasons. >The Obama Administration today finalized groundbreaking standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/28/obama-administration-finalizes-historic-545-mpg-fuel-efficiency-standard https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/0... The opposite is like Elon Musk asking a costume designer to design a spacesuit, then making engineer fit the function after (not efficient engineering design and in my opinion not very attractive suits either, they look like evil guards in movies). https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-design-spacex-spacesuits-worn-nasa-astronauts-2020-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-design-spacex-spac...
- xyzelement 5y ago
  // They cannot imagine how a family of four can get things done without a car, and literally the “how” question is the one I get most. Everything in life is a trade off. If you want to be car free you can certainly do it. It comes at the cost of being able to take your kid to their grandma on 5 minutes notice or to swing by the store and get a ton of groceries for your party that's coming up. Even if you don't care about those things, there's something you are giving up in every decision. Don't be shocked if others have a different priority. I say this as someone who lived in the city and didn't have a car for many decades and just moved to the suburbs and bought an SUV. I totally get why people prefer this life and I wouldn't want to go back. But others have their free choice and what works for them.
- ativzzz 5y ago
  > People are so functionally blind they can’t even imagine any other way. Surely, you must have cars. At this point, depending where you live, you must have cars. I lived in the big Texas cities, and outside of a few places close to the city centers, it's literally impossible to live without a car. The cities are designed around cars, and unless we tear them up and rebuild them from the ground up, you simply must have a car.

Joeri 5y ago

For every practical reason for the flat boxy look I’m sure alternative approaches can be worked out, but people have to want to do it first. As someone who is not a car owner I find it striking how functionally blind most people are to the ugliness of cars. Modern cars are designed to look well alone in a vast empty space, and that is how car ads pitch them. But when you see them racked and stacked bumper to bumper like in cities it is shocking just how unsightly they are and just how much space we yield to cars dramatically reducing the livability of the city. People are so functionally blind they can’t even imagine any other way. Surely, you must have cars. The notion that we have chosen to make our cities ugly and unlivable and we could choose otherwise isn’t even conceivable. When people hear I don’t have a car they always assume I rent or borrow one often. They cannot imagine how a family of four can get things done without a car, and literally the “how” question is the one I get most. Maybe something similar has happened to architecture, where social norms have made it impossible for most to even see a different way. Things are the way they are ostensibly for practical and aesthetic reasons, but none of those practical and aesthetic reasons really stand up under scrutiny because ultimately it is down to fashion.

GhettoComputers 5y ago
>Modern cars are designed to look well alone in a vast empty space, and that is how car ads pitch them. >Things are the way they are ostensibly for practical and aesthetic reasons, but none of those practical and aesthetic reasons really stand up under scrutiny because ultimately it is down to fashion. That is wrong, they are all the same looking for aerodynamics since Obama told car manufacturers to make them more fuel efficient. Form follows function, its why they are all generic looking, they are greener, they have a crumple zone for safety, they are not designed round and generic looking for aesthetic reasons. >The Obama Administration today finalized groundbreaking standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/28/obama-administration-finalizes-historic-545-mpg-fuel-efficiency-standard https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/0... The opposite is like Elon Musk asking a costume designer to design a spacesuit, then making engineer fit the function after (not efficient engineering design and in my opinion not very attractive suits either, they look like evil guards in movies). https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-design-spacex-spacesuits-worn-nasa-astronauts-2020-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-design-spacex-spac...
xyzelement 5y ago
// They cannot imagine how a family of four can get things done without a car, and literally the “how” question is the one I get most. Everything in life is a trade off. If you want to be car free you can certainly do it. It comes at the cost of being able to take your kid to their grandma on 5 minutes notice or to swing by the store and get a ton of groceries for your party that's coming up. Even if you don't care about those things, there's something you are giving up in every decision. Don't be shocked if others have a different priority. I say this as someone who lived in the city and didn't have a car for many decades and just moved to the suburbs and bought an SUV. I totally get why people prefer this life and I wouldn't want to go back. But others have their free choice and what works for them.
ativzzz 5y ago
> People are so functionally blind they can’t even imagine any other way. Surely, you must have cars. At this point, depending where you live, you must have cars. I lived in the big Texas cities, and outside of a few places close to the city centers, it's literally impossible to live without a car. The cities are designed around cars, and unless we tear them up and rebuild them from the ground up, you simply must have a car.