3 ms·

I've seen plenty of examples of Brutalism in architecture (in the UK) first hand and to most people it looks like ugly concrete blocks with hole in it.

rbanffy 17d ago
Sometimes being "ugly" is the point. You want to bring out emotions - the building can be grandiose, imposing, surprising, but, if you look closely, it's a carefully crafted work of art that's also highly functional. One great example from the city where I grew up: https://hicarquitectura.com/2024/09/lina-bo-bardi-sesc-pompeia/ https://hicarquitectura.com/2024/09/lina-bo-bardi-sesc-pompe...
- IslandRebel 16d ago
  I don't care for this argument at all. There are functional buildings where I live from the Industrial Revolution that look quite nice. I want things to look nice where I live. I don't want them to be ugly and demoralising. As for the building you showed me. I think it looks awful. It actually looks worse than the architecture in movie Equilibrium. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-reviews/a6236-an-architectural-review-of-the-movie-equilibrium/ https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-revie...
  - rbanffy 16d ago
    > It actually looks worse than the architecture in movie Equilibrium. Taste is extremely subjective. I am an engineer and I've spent a whole career training my tastes (for system design, hardware architecture) to be less subjective and help guide my work towards what's good. Some of that seems to have leaked to building and city planning, because my taste seems to align well with the experts in those fields.
    - IslandRebel 16d ago
      The article is about the schism between the experts and what people generally prefer and recommends that said experts should try to take that into account. People almost always prefer traditional architecture. Is it really subjective when a vast majority of people agree? I suppose technically it is, but at the same time not really. There is obviously something that people prefer about it other than it being old.
      - rbanffy 16d ago
        > schism between the experts and what people generally prefer This is true > and recommends that said experts should try to take that into account They should, but it’s up to the experts to make the decision. You need an informed group to make decisions. > People almost always prefer traditional architecture People usually prefer the familiar. > Is it really subjective when a vast majority of people agree? I suppose technically it is It is, unless the people can show data justifying their choice. Subjective preference is not data and does not offer a justification.
        IslandRebel 15d ago
        > They should, but it’s up to the experts to make the decision. You need an informed group to make decisions. I've seen experts in my own field completely misunderstand what customers have wanted and/or completely missed the point. There are numerous examples where experts have made things worse or got things very wrong, especially in large construction projects. There are many reasons why this happens, sometimes it is personal ego, adherence to ideas that are out of data, their paycheck might be dependant on a certain decision being made. Experts should not get the say in everything. Pretending that people who aren't experts aren't capable of making reasonable decisions and ever is IMO asinine. > Subjective preference is not data and does not offer a justification. The point is that it isn't as subjective as you claim. It isn't simply people prefer the familiar. The article itself explores this. There are whole branch of philosophy behind aesthetics. I find it very frustrating when people believe that aesthetics is simply personal preference.

rbanffy 17d ago

Sometimes being "ugly" is the point. You want to bring out emotions - the building can be grandiose, imposing, surprising, but, if you look closely, it's a carefully crafted work of art that's also highly functional. One great example from the city where I grew up: https://hicarquitectura.com/2024/09/lina-bo-bardi-sesc-pompeia/ https://hicarquitectura.com/2024/09/lina-bo-bardi-sesc-pompe...

IslandRebel 16d ago
I don't care for this argument at all. There are functional buildings where I live from the Industrial Revolution that look quite nice. I want things to look nice where I live. I don't want them to be ugly and demoralising. As for the building you showed me. I think it looks awful. It actually looks worse than the architecture in movie Equilibrium. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-reviews/a6236-an-architectural-review-of-the-movie-equilibrium/ https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-revie...
- rbanffy 16d ago
  > It actually looks worse than the architecture in movie Equilibrium. Taste is extremely subjective. I am an engineer and I've spent a whole career training my tastes (for system design, hardware architecture) to be less subjective and help guide my work towards what's good. Some of that seems to have leaked to building and city planning, because my taste seems to align well with the experts in those fields.
  - IslandRebel 16d ago
    The article is about the schism between the experts and what people generally prefer and recommends that said experts should try to take that into account. People almost always prefer traditional architecture. Is it really subjective when a vast majority of people agree? I suppose technically it is, but at the same time not really. There is obviously something that people prefer about it other than it being old.
    - rbanffy 16d ago
      > schism between the experts and what people generally prefer This is true > and recommends that said experts should try to take that into account They should, but it’s up to the experts to make the decision. You need an informed group to make decisions. > People almost always prefer traditional architecture People usually prefer the familiar. > Is it really subjective when a vast majority of people agree? I suppose technically it is It is, unless the people can show data justifying their choice. Subjective preference is not data and does not offer a justification.
      - IslandRebel 15d ago
        > They should, but it’s up to the experts to make the decision. You need an informed group to make decisions. I've seen experts in my own field completely misunderstand what customers have wanted and/or completely missed the point. There are numerous examples where experts have made things worse or got things very wrong, especially in large construction projects. There are many reasons why this happens, sometimes it is personal ego, adherence to ideas that are out of data, their paycheck might be dependant on a certain decision being made. Experts should not get the say in everything. Pretending that people who aren't experts aren't capable of making reasonable decisions and ever is IMO asinine. > Subjective preference is not data and does not offer a justification. The point is that it isn't as subjective as you claim. It isn't simply people prefer the familiar. The article itself explores this. There are whole branch of philosophy behind aesthetics. I find it very frustrating when people believe that aesthetics is simply personal preference.