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To your point: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/10/why-you-hate-contemporary-architecture https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/10/why-you-hate-contempo...

psunavy03 3y ago
I don't really hate contemporary architecture, because postmodern architecture at least has some variety and style to it. Modernism (especially but not limited to Brutalism) is just soulless, totalitarian, oppressive, and depressing. It's also ironic for the author to claim that a style which peaked 100-130 years after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution is somehow the fault of global capitalism, as if global capitalism hadn't been a thing for 100+ years by the 1950s. And of course even though the author is claiming that the left has flaws in their approach to architecture, they still have to make the obligatory supplication about the right's alleged "ulterior motives." For all the severe flaws in Modernist architecture, this article seems a bit of a hash, honestly. The author seems trapped inside their own ideological bubble. Edit: > It should be obvious to anyone that skyscrapers should be abolished. After all, they embody nearly every bad tendency in contemporary architecture: they are not part of nature, they are monolithic, they are boring, they have no intricacy, and they have no democracy. Besides, there is plenty of space left on earth to spread out horizontally; the only reasons to spread vertically are phallic and Freudian. Oh, good effing grief.
- netcan 3y ago
  > the only reasons to spread vertically are phallic and Freudian. Lol. I agree. OTOH... An over the top, ideological take on art is kind of traditional in architecture. I could easily imagine a reincarnated Ayn Rand argueing for skyscrapers for these exact reasons. Phalic inspiration representing the taming of nature and challenge to God. In 2024, a slapfight between Andy Warhol and a local dress designer about the colour orange... That was the kind of conflict avante garde artists had to have so the rest of us could benefit from a stream of new artistic ideas. A sacrifice. These days... everyone gets dragged in. I kind of like brutalism, personally. It took some bad turns, but I'm hoping for a comeback. Maybe we should do paint this time though.
  - psunavy03 3y ago
    Skyscrapers are phallic because of the engineering constraints of stacking floors upon one another. Airplanes and missiles are phallic because of the engineering constraints of rocketry and aerodynamics. Guns are phallic because of the engineering constraints of using gunpowder to propel a small metal bullet. For crying out loud, form follows function and sometimes a cigar is just a freaking cigar.
    - netcan 3y ago
      Yes, but also.... Phalic symbolism is a source of inspiration for all. Also, it's a cosmic balance for all the triangle engineering of ancient times.
entropie 3y ago
Everybody seems to hate it. From a pure optical perspective I find the Pualinum in Leipzig a masterpiece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinum_%28University_of_Leipzig%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinum_%28University_of_Leip... But I heard it gets really hot inside, which sucks if you have to study there. In my opinion, functionality should always be prioritized higher than aesthetics.

psunavy03 3y ago

I don't really hate contemporary architecture, because postmodern architecture at least has some variety and style to it. Modernism (especially but not limited to Brutalism) is just soulless, totalitarian, oppressive, and depressing. It's also ironic for the author to claim that a style which peaked 100-130 years after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution is somehow the fault of global capitalism, as if global capitalism hadn't been a thing for 100+ years by the 1950s. And of course even though the author is claiming that the left has flaws in their approach to architecture, they still have to make the obligatory supplication about the right's alleged "ulterior motives." For all the severe flaws in Modernist architecture, this article seems a bit of a hash, honestly. The author seems trapped inside their own ideological bubble. Edit: > It should be obvious to anyone that skyscrapers should be abolished. After all, they embody nearly every bad tendency in contemporary architecture: they are not part of nature, they are monolithic, they are boring, they have no intricacy, and they have no democracy. Besides, there is plenty of space left on earth to spread out horizontally; the only reasons to spread vertically are phallic and Freudian. Oh, good effing grief.

netcan 3y ago
> the only reasons to spread vertically are phallic and Freudian. Lol. I agree. OTOH... An over the top, ideological take on art is kind of traditional in architecture. I could easily imagine a reincarnated Ayn Rand argueing for skyscrapers for these exact reasons. Phalic inspiration representing the taming of nature and challenge to God. In 2024, a slapfight between Andy Warhol and a local dress designer about the colour orange... That was the kind of conflict avante garde artists had to have so the rest of us could benefit from a stream of new artistic ideas. A sacrifice. These days... everyone gets dragged in. I kind of like brutalism, personally. It took some bad turns, but I'm hoping for a comeback. Maybe we should do paint this time though.
- psunavy03 3y ago
  Skyscrapers are phallic because of the engineering constraints of stacking floors upon one another. Airplanes and missiles are phallic because of the engineering constraints of rocketry and aerodynamics. Guns are phallic because of the engineering constraints of using gunpowder to propel a small metal bullet. For crying out loud, form follows function and sometimes a cigar is just a freaking cigar.
  - netcan 3y ago
    Yes, but also.... Phalic symbolism is a source of inspiration for all. Also, it's a cosmic balance for all the triangle engineering of ancient times.

entropie 3y ago

Everybody seems to hate it. From a pure optical perspective I find the Pualinum in Leipzig a masterpiece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinum_%28University_of_Leipzig%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinum_%28University_of_Leip... But I heard it gets really hot inside, which sucks if you have to study there. In my opinion, functionality should always be prioritized higher than aesthetics.