Why Do People Hate Modern Architecture?

Hi everyone I've made a Discord for further discussions: discord.gg/4DWvahY94U. I'm also more likely to respond there as YouTube comments aren't always the most ideal places for conversation. Thank you!

The golden rule of architecture: "People have to live with your creations"

Humans: Have been decorating things since the dawn of time Modernists: Yeah nah that can't be right

Architect "I want people to talk about my buildings" People "It's crap" Architect "Success"

How modern buildings are designed: 1. Open Blender 2. Don't delete the default cube 3. Done

Modern architecture was invented to make video games more realistic

"Making people feel good by looking at it" and "having a nice atmosphere inside" are also functions.

Or more importantly: why does modern architecture hate people so much?

1071: spend a full century building an epic, intricately designed art work that will stand for a millennia. 1971: "Make me a big grey rectangle! AND DO IT QUICKLY GOD DAMNIT!

I don't hate modern architecture. I hate the way modern city planners ruin historic cities with it. This is a big problem in Europe in my opinion.

A small village lost in France or in Italy is much more beautiful than the majority of modern big cities

"In a world of steel and glass we bury our past"

In Germany, what many people like and really prefer is architecture from 1871 till 1914. These are very solid buildings with decorated facades, which are nowadays professionally modernised. There one has high ceilings (3m+), large windows and one finds artistic details everywhere. The modern buildings, people normally live in nowadays are primarily driven by economic needs, not by artistic wishes.

Why modern architects hate people?

The word, “Dystopian” always comes to mind when I see “modern” or “modernist”anything. “Destined for Destruction”.

I hope we look back on our horrid office towers with disgust: nothing but stress factories designed to dehumanize the working class.

I'm a digital artist, and for a few years was dating a city planner. We used to argue over this constantly with him being a massive fan of stripped down modernism (you have people like him to thank if you've had any new construction approved with a Modern design) and me arguing that what they were building were effectively blank, lifeless pages, something that many people find intimidating rather than enjoyable.

I grew up in Ukraine in a city where all you see is pure concrete socialist blocks, it is not just ugly, I think it's disgusting. As a child I used to play a lot of video games and watch cartoons and TV series/shows, I've learned that there were so many different cultures and styles in architecture, I fell in love with all those different things I could see like those really cool Asian roofs, European castles, domes, and the stained glass in cathedrals, etc. It was not just beautiful, it was gorgeous! Then I would always have to go out in my own city and see all those gray surroundings, concrete, asphalt, metal and glass, I'd be just sad, there was no reason to go anywhere really, there was much more point in staying home and playing video games, where artists actually take time to create details that would, in turn, create an atmosphere of another world of something greater, this is how the historical cities feel, it feels natural yet unearthly, that's the whole point. Nowadays I am a software engineer and live in Budapest, which is of the most beautiful cities on the planet (despite some of its issues), and still, when I leave the city center, I can see all those modern soulless houses made out of glass and concrete, simple shapes and really boring white color, it feels degrading and depressing. Makes me want to change my profession to an urban planner (after some studying) and get some architect friends to create a new company and shape a new (but kind of old) view on how the cities should look like. Sure, maybe Modernism had its purpose in history so that we can conclude it was a mistake and never do it again. :D

I think Modern architecture is great…for prisons.

So much of this crosses over with modernism in music. There are some very similar themes: artist idealism doing away with things that people perceive as humane or emotionally important. There are some big differences too: I can't think of a direct correlation to 'form must always follow function' for example. I'd love to put the histories of both side by side to try and tease all this out.