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Nearly Three-Quarters Of Americans Are Sick Of Modern Architecture
The Federalist ^ | October 17, 2020 | Evita Duffy

Posted on 10/17/2020 11:25:29 AM PDT by Kaslin

Since the overwhelming majority of Americans have proven time and time again that they prefer traditional architecture, why do government agencies force ugly buildings on the American people?


A new study finds 72 percent of Americans prefer traditional architecture for U.S. courthouses and federal office buildings, including majorities across political, racial, sex, and socioeconomic categories. The survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of National Civic Art Society and polled more than 2,000 U.S. adults.

These findings come in light of the possibility of a Trump administration executive order, appropriately named Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again, that would require that new office buildings in Washington, D.C. be classical in design. Among other things, the order would revise the 1962 “Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture,” which forced modernism to be the official government building style. In response to the leak of the potential order, a bill entitled the “Democracy in Design Act” was proposed by House Democrats to overturn it.

However, based on the study, it appears Trump’s potential executive order would be happily received by a majority of Americans, with traditional architecture the clear winner for all demographic groups, including sex, age, geographic region, household income, education, race/ethnicity, and political party affiliations.

The study showed participants seven pairs of images depicting U.S. courthouses and federal office buildings. Each pair presented one building in a traditional style and one building in a modern style. For each pair, the survey question was: “Which of these two buildings would you prefer for a U.S. courthouse or federal office building?”

The selected images were edited to ensure fair comparisons. Factors such as sky color, angle of photo, light conditions, distance from building, weather conditions, and the like were all controlled either perfectly (e.g., sky color) or as perfect as possible via “careful photo selection and editing.”

Below is an example of one of the survey’s image pairings:

The resounding preference for traditional design was soundly bipartisan, being favored by 73 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Democrats, and 73 percent of independents.

Preference for traditional architecture is shared across generations, being the top choice of 77 percent of those aged 65 or older, and 68 percent of those aged 18-34.

Both men and women prefer traditional architecture, but women are more likely than men to want U.S. courthouses and federal office buildings to be traditional, at 77 percent versus 67 percent, respectively.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: aia; architecture; brutaliststyle
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To: Albion Wilde
Jack Kemp had one of the best lines about the “Brutalist” architecture of the HUD building. “10 floors of basement.”

I had surveyed that building awhile back

I have seen better basements.

141 posted on 10/17/2020 6:03:52 PM PDT by Boiler Plate ("Why be difficult, when with just a little more work, you can be impossible" Mom)
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To: left that other site

“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”


142 posted on 10/17/2020 6:51:05 PM PDT by ExGeeEye (For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.)
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To: sphinx; MinuteGal

“Novelty for the sake of novelty is a cancer. It affects all the visual arts. It afflicts music. And it has infected the humanities and social sciences in academia, where it is boosted by the publish or perish syndrome. In mature fields, it is difficult to impossible to find a truly new insight, and one eventually reaches limits on how many years one can spend researching in a desperate attempt to find a new source worthy of being explored. The goal should be to develop erudition and a profound appreciation for a classical canon, and to become a worthy teacher and guide. Instead, we see graduate students and young academics flocking to garbage studies to do something new and, they think, transgressive.”

Bears repeating, so I just did. Excellent summation of exactly what the problem is with new art, architecture, new anything. I truly believe, in music in particular, that there is a period, actually for most arts: music, literature, film, fashion, architecture, etc. that seem to produce what is called a cultural golden age. Like the golden age of music; rock, classical, folk, jazz, etc. that is considered the apex of that particular genre.

This is a generality and art is in the eyes of the beholder, but we reference back to these golden ages, and then attempt to outdo them, to come up with something even more unique than what went before. It leads sometimes to great innovation, sometimes to disastrous results.

However, constantly seeking change for change’s sake, make for some lousy art in the wrong hands. The problem lies in those that would elevate the truly ugly, horrendous, ridiculous end products of bad artists and have these so-called progressive “experts” try to head fake us all into accepting that this (based on common sense and shared values) obviously bad art is somehow marvelous; that it should be admired by all in order to be considered as in with the in-crowd.

Also, as is common with many who are always trying to push boundaries, they will push too far and veer off into obscene and vulgar paths and call it art. This phenomena shows up often in film, art, music (lyrics), and literature, in particular. And the more degenerate a society becomes, the harder it is to remove such horrors from public venues. You’re stuck with it.

I don’t reject all that is new or feel that we are left with nothing to do in life but re-interpret the past. There is much new product out there that is incredibly creative; not everything is a variation on the past. But there is a seemingly innate ability in most humans to be able to weed out the wheat from the chaff. To understand what seems beautiful to the eyes/senses, and what does not, based on a culture’s shared values.

What I resent is when the arbiters of what is art intentionally try to jam down our throats that which is totally bogus art, a fraud on the senses, a pushing for the obviously ugly and/or grotesque in an attempt to make us say that it is really beautiful when we know better.

(Although there are those amongst us, poor souls, that just have bad taste or no taste at all, and they must be considered as the exception to the rule.)

However, those that should or do know better and intentionally try to palm off bad art on the general populace by promoting eyesores that we end up having to put up with, I believe should be summarily executed, metaphorically speaking, for the travesties that they foist upon our sensitivities.

Fie on them; may they be sentenced to living on an island surrounded by everything ugly, to rot there until they too are a decaying part of the sensory pollution they promoted. The problem is, they will probably think they are living in Nirvana, but at least they will be removed from society, to influence it no more.


143 posted on 10/17/2020 8:32:20 PM PDT by flaglady47 (Donald Trump, President for Life (heh, heh))
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To: T Ruth

It was ugly when it was considered “modern”.

It’s still ugly a half century later.


144 posted on 10/17/2020 8:59:26 PM PDT by left that other site (If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9))
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To: dragnet2

I’d love to see it!


145 posted on 10/17/2020 9:00:44 PM PDT by left that other site (If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9))
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To: ExGeeEye

That sounds like dialogue from a comedy movie! :-)


146 posted on 10/17/2020 9:01:32 PM PDT by left that other site (If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9))
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To: Albion Wilde

Seems like the colleges were obsessed with this architectural style. Just about every SUNY campus has buildings that look like that.


147 posted on 10/17/2020 9:37:20 PM PDT by Impala64ssa (Virtue signalling is no virtue)
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To: left that other site

148 posted on 10/18/2020 12:05:32 AM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: dragnet2

Nice. A thing of beauty. You have treated it well.


149 posted on 10/18/2020 12:15:21 AM PDT by flaglady47 (Donald Trump, President for Life (heh, heh))
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To: left that other site

150 posted on 10/18/2020 2:14:21 AM PDT by ExGeeEye (For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.)
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To: dragnet2

Oooo...love the Springer Front End! :-)


151 posted on 10/18/2020 7:15:21 AM PDT by left that other site (If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9))
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To: a fool in paradise
They ain't wrong.

152 posted on 10/18/2020 8:56:11 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: ScholarWarrior
Yep. Its not even good for rollerblading.

LOL! Or wait, did someone try that? Was it considered postmodern "art"?

153 posted on 10/19/2020 3:55:32 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." --Donald Trump)
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To: sphinx
What a multi-faceted appreciation of a film, a filmmaker and an actress. It's made me want to see Columbus, having been involved in design for so many years. Thanks for taking the time, sphinx!
154 posted on 10/19/2020 4:14:45 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." --Donald Trump)
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To: Boiler Plate

I just looked it up. Horrendous! Poor Dr. Carson.

https://us-browse.startpage.com/av/anon-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn10.picryl.com%2Fphoto%2F2016%2F06%2F05%2Ffrom-historical-photo-display-in-hud-headquarters-hallway-robert-c-weaver-federal-81364c-1600.jpg&sp=1603150186Ta31dbedff803d5a9392286a8a3fc223ab655ba524d0b985db9057a4286a9ee5d


155 posted on 10/19/2020 4:30:20 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." --Donald Trump)
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To: mewzilla

Agreed. I can’t hear the damn television when my wife’s in the kitchen.


156 posted on 10/19/2020 4:37:56 PM PDT by JZelle
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To: Albion Wilde

When I first heard the term “Brutalist Architecture” I thought it was a joke or a slander. I think “Sovietesque” is a better description.


157 posted on 10/20/2020 5:16:44 AM PDT by Boiler Plate ("Why be difficult, when with just a little more work, you can be impossible" Mom)
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To: Boiler Plate

Write to all the schools of architecture around the world and voice your complaint and suggestion! :-)


158 posted on 10/20/2020 5:18:44 AM PDT by Albion Wilde ("When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." --Donald Trump)
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To: Albion Wilde

Ha! If were only so simple. To be honest, I am not really crazy about much of what is designed now.


159 posted on 10/20/2020 8:09:24 AM PDT by Boiler Plate ("Why be difficult, when with just a little more work, you can be impossible" Mom)
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