Wednesday, 23 November 2011
What's wrong with modernist architecture?
An interview with Nikos Salingaros, a follower of Christopher Alexander, on what went wrong with architecture in the twentieth century. "By contradicting traditional evolved geometries, modernist and contemporary architecture and urban planning go against the natural order of things. When an architect or planner ignores the need for adaptation and imposes his or her will, the result is an absurd form—an act of defiance toward any higher sense of natural order. There is no room for God in totalitarian design." From The Public Discourse, with a link to download the full interview. For wonderful articles on Christian architecture, see the Institute for Sacred Architecture web site.
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I am glad to see Mr. Salingaros receiving attention on this blog. He correctly points out both aesthetic and psychological strikes against the division between "design", "engineering" and normal everyday use of homes and offices.
ReplyDeleteIt is worthwhile to note that that his arguments are not directed just at stylistically-modern architecture, but even with faux-classical architecture that is designed and built in the modern fashion, that is to say, based on appearance or marketing, rather than for real human needs.
These reasons dovetail nicely with the social concern of subsidiarity: that decisions should be made on the appropriate level (and in modern society, generally much lower than they currently are. Thank you for this link!