Home Architecture Talk - Why is contemporary secular architecture so ugly?

Why is contemporary secular architecture so ugly?

I visited Rome on holiday recently and took the time to visit some religious sites and monuments, both the ancient Roman ones and more recent ones, at the Vatican. I also visited spectacular Durham Cathedral a couple of months ago too. I've seen the same beauty in the religious sites of other religions too - many mosques in Turkey, the Alhambra in Spain, etc. I'm an atheist, but it bothers me that contemporary secular buildings are so ugly - all about the function with no thought to the form. As religion seems to be fading away in the West, are beautiful places built for contemplation a thing of the past?

Public Comments

Because we have to pay for the labor since slavery was abolished.
IMO, those beautiful religious structures you talk about are a waste of material + time/energy. We don't need those grand buildings sitting around taking up space. We need more funding for buildings for like academic research, more medical research facilities, better equipment for laboratory animals...etc etc
Time & money are the gods of today....and it's easier to rip down the modern buildings time and time again...because they're ugly...
What you're seeing was nit-picked. If they had some stupid little huts somewhere in the forest those would be destroyed, but the beauty of those monuments were preserved specifically because they are beautiful. In this modern age we still have aesthetically pleasing buildings. And probably just as many as they had back then, if not more. Just look at the Eiffel Tower, or the Sydney Opera House.
I don't know about buildings built for contemplation specifically, but there are some stunning examples of modern architecture that combine form and function. I'm trying to find a picture now of the one that popped into my head when I read this that is actually shaped like a musical instrument. I'll come back with a link if i find one. Edit; Its the Piano shaped building (Huainan, China) its a favourite of mine due to the use of glass.
"Are beautiful places built for contemplation a thing of the past?" No! My church is building meetinghouses and temples around the world and they are extremely beautiful! Take a look at some of the architecture: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/photographs/ My favorite is the San Diego, CA temple.
I think they won't look that ugly if build in a adequate landscape surrounding it I think the contrast of historic buildings and all its details just crash with the simple, more functional modern architecture Now, you have to consider the amount of money for its maintenance, which are paid (at government, and even privately own structures), the rent or price would skyrocket Now, energy in EU is four times and more more expensive then in USA and that logically reflects on ALL prices Few examples of great looking buildings http://architecturekaku.blogspot.com/2011/05/20-of-absolutely-stunning-architecture.html
Come to New England! We've kept our style, more or less. It's not majestic or anything, but it isn't garish blocky plasticky rectangles like it is in so many places. Except the brick cube buildings. I hate those.
1. Is secular architecture ALWAYS ugly? 2. Because the church has more money to spend than institutions like education departments. Is that fair?
What's really bothering you is the lack of a definite style, I think. This is because there are so many influences nowadays. National styles look a bit quaint, it probably feels wearing an old harris tweed jacket to design in the old styles - passe. Now there is just such a huge variety of stylistic and architectural possibilities. Also they have such a range of materials and know-how about how to use them. So many possibilies that the mind is paradoxically stalled. When there were definite styles, people worked within those styles much of the time, and so that constraint was a useful comfort frame allowing them to launch out into creativity. Now, so much is possible. So the average architect flounders, with a small number of creative geniuses are at work, able to swim in the brave new world. There are funky buildings, but a lot of it isn't very aesthetically pleasing, its more "muscular secularity and commercialism". This is funky is it not, saw this yesterday reading an article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MIT_Campus.jpg