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Maoist Apartment blocks and hideous concrete monstrosities win you Architecture Prizes? Wtf is wrong with out society. Complete disdain for actual beauty that c

Maoist Apartment blocks and hideous concrete monstrosities win you Architecture Prizes? Wtf is wrong with out society. Complete disdain for actual beauty that can add to human flourishing...

foofoo55 2y ago
They have their beauty as objects of art, but certainly not as a place that I would enjoy occupying or being around. Brutalist architecture with a Chinese flair.
- donkeybeer 2y ago
  Most of it doesn't look brutalist to me. See this for example: https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Shuijingfang%20Museum_2_2500px.jpg?itok=9qNgfbbB https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... It looks like a normal house just without paint.
  - vonneumannstan 2y ago
    I bet you live in SF and find the Tenderloin 'pleasant' and 'not so bad if you don't go out at night or alone' too.
    - donkeybeer 2y ago
      I looked up Tenderloin and it all looks quite normal traditional architecture? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenderloin,_San_Francisco#/media/File:Tenderloin_Street_Chess,_SF,_CA,_jjron_26.03.2012.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenderloin,_San_Francisco#/med... Whats the problem there?
      - vonneumannstan 2y ago
        Ah yes when I'm surrounded by active drug users and the mentally ill my first thought is to architecture as well.
        donkeybeer 2y ago
        And why do you think that matters to this topic at all? I don't live in SF I don't know about its crime rate. How on earth is the architectural quality in any way shape of form related to crime rates? Why even bring up such a ridiculous unrelated point?
        vonneumannstan 2y ago
        Its about aesthetics and if you can't figure that out then its obvious why you find bleak soviet apartment blocks appealing and concrete bomb shelters.
        donkeybeer 2y ago
        That location in SF then isn't an example of brutalism or soviet aesthetics either if I go by the photos I found on the internet. It was a totally irrelevant example.
    - donkeybeer 2y ago
      I don't live there so I can't comment on level of crime. But architecturally I find no fault here.
nilstycho 2y ago
The Pritzker Prize leans modernist. If you prefer classical architecture, check out the Driehaus Prize [1]. The 2025 laureate is Liam O'Connor. [1] https://driehausprize.nd.edu https://driehausprize.nd.edu
- vonneumannstan 2y ago
  Leans might be an understatement. But thanks, some faith has been restored in humanity.
donkeybeer 2y ago
Whats monstrous about it? These look very nice and livable. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/liu-jiakun#laureate-page-2716 https://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/liu-jiakun#laureate-... The first one looks very homely. Good greenery, good sense of shades, cool gray concrete textures. ( https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Luyeyuan%20Stone%20Sculpture%20Art%20Museum_6_2500px.jpg?itok=BvqURoqP https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... ) This one doesn't look Maoist to me, looks very like a traditional hut. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Hu%20Huishan%20Memorial_3_2500px.jpg?itok=ztwzAecu https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max...
- vonneumannstan 2y ago
  >The first one looks very homely. Good greenery, good sense of shades, cool gray concrete textures. ( https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... ) It looks like poorly poured concrete... >This one doesn't look Maoist to me, looks very like a traditional hut. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... It looks like a bomb shelter... https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-department-sichuan11000px.jpg https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-de... That is objectively one of the bleakest pictures I have ever seen. This is supposed to be International Architecture Award Winning Quality? https://i.insider.com/5d409233100a247279644dd4?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp https://i.insider.com/5d409233100a247279644dd4?width=1000&fo... Who knew that half the buildings in Mirny, Siberia were considered works of art worthy of International Architecture Prizes lol.
  - donkeybeer 2y ago
    Are you from a country where houses are made of wood? Brick and concrete is the common house building material in many parts of the world.
  - donkeybeer 2y ago
    The Siberian buildings look much different from the examples you gave. They look like generic rectangular apartment blocks. Whereas this for example looks not much different from the old European tile roof houses https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-department-sichuan11000px.jpg https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-de...
marssaxman 2y ago
I don't know where you're getting that. I opened the link with a heart full of skepticism, ready to scoff at some hideous, inhumane modern weirdness, but found instead pleasant environments, reasonable choices, and graceful use of practical materials. I doubt I'll ever go to China, but if I did, I can imagine enjoying a visit to some of those places.

Maoist Apartment blocks and hideous concrete monstrosities win you Architecture Prizes? Wtf is wrong with out society. Complete disdain for actual beauty that can add to human flourishing...

foofoo55 2y ago

They have their beauty as objects of art, but certainly not as a place that I would enjoy occupying or being around. Brutalist architecture with a Chinese flair.

donkeybeer 2y ago
Most of it doesn't look brutalist to me. See this for example: https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Shuijingfang%20Museum_2_2500px.jpg?itok=9qNgfbbB https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... It looks like a normal house just without paint.
- vonneumannstan 2y ago
  I bet you live in SF and find the Tenderloin 'pleasant' and 'not so bad if you don't go out at night or alone' too.
  - donkeybeer 2y ago
    I looked up Tenderloin and it all looks quite normal traditional architecture? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenderloin,_San_Francisco#/media/File:Tenderloin_Street_Chess,_SF,_CA,_jjron_26.03.2012.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenderloin,_San_Francisco#/med... Whats the problem there?
    - vonneumannstan 2y ago
      Ah yes when I'm surrounded by active drug users and the mentally ill my first thought is to architecture as well.
      - donkeybeer 2y ago
        And why do you think that matters to this topic at all? I don't live in SF I don't know about its crime rate. How on earth is the architectural quality in any way shape of form related to crime rates? Why even bring up such a ridiculous unrelated point?
        vonneumannstan 2y ago
        Its about aesthetics and if you can't figure that out then its obvious why you find bleak soviet apartment blocks appealing and concrete bomb shelters.
        donkeybeer 2y ago
        That location in SF then isn't an example of brutalism or soviet aesthetics either if I go by the photos I found on the internet. It was a totally irrelevant example.
  - donkeybeer 2y ago
    I don't live there so I can't comment on level of crime. But architecturally I find no fault here.

nilstycho 2y ago

The Pritzker Prize leans modernist. If you prefer classical architecture, check out the Driehaus Prize [1]. The 2025 laureate is Liam O'Connor. [1] https://driehausprize.nd.edu https://driehausprize.nd.edu

vonneumannstan 2y ago
Leans might be an understatement. But thanks, some faith has been restored in humanity.

donkeybeer 2y ago

Whats monstrous about it? These look very nice and livable. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/liu-jiakun#laureate-page-2716 https://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/liu-jiakun#laureate-... The first one looks very homely. Good greenery, good sense of shades, cool gray concrete textures. ( https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Luyeyuan%20Stone%20Sculpture%20Art%20Museum_6_2500px.jpg?itok=BvqURoqP https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... ) This one doesn't look Maoist to me, looks very like a traditional hut. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/works/Hu%20Huishan%20Memorial_3_2500px.jpg?itok=ztwzAecu https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max...

vonneumannstan 2y ago
>The first one looks very homely. Good greenery, good sense of shades, cool gray concrete textures. ( https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... ) It looks like poorly poured concrete... >This one doesn't look Maoist to me, looks very like a traditional hut. https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max https://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/styles/max... It looks like a bomb shelter... https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-department-sichuan11000px.jpg https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-de... That is objectively one of the bleakest pictures I have ever seen. This is supposed to be International Architecture Award Winning Quality? https://i.insider.com/5d409233100a247279644dd4?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp https://i.insider.com/5d409233100a247279644dd4?width=1000&fo... Who knew that half the buildings in Mirny, Siberia were considered works of art worthy of International Architecture Prizes lol.
- donkeybeer 2y ago
  Are you from a country where houses are made of wood? Brick and concrete is the common house building material in many parts of the world.
- donkeybeer 2y ago
  The Siberian buildings look much different from the examples you gave. They look like generic rectangular apartment blocks. Whereas this for example looks not much different from the old European tile roof houses https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-department-sichuan11000px.jpg https://www.theplan.it/images/stories/gallery91318/design-de...

marssaxman 2y ago

I don't know where you're getting that. I opened the link with a heart full of skepticism, ready to scoff at some hideous, inhumane modern weirdness, but found instead pleasant environments, reasonable choices, and graceful use of practical materials. I doubt I'll ever go to China, but if I did, I can imagine enjoying a visit to some of those places.