For a long time I had a theory for why I felt older buildings were nice to look at. My theory went like this: People feel at ease in stable environments. If a building has stood in place for hundreds of years, it could communicate a sense of stability, in turn fostering a sense that this place is hospitable to human activity.

It’s an interesting theory, but I no longer believe that’s what’s going on. It just doesn’t strike me as a plausible explanation anymore. It would mean any sort of very old structure would look nice, and I don’t feel that way. For instance, The Leuven Town Hall is many hundreds of years old and I think it’s probably among the ugliest buildings—nay—objects on the entire planet.

But many old buildings are beautiful. What is it about the design of old buildings that makes them look nice? Especially residential buildings. Modern residential buildings don’t look as nice. Some of the very latest residential buildings constructed in my city look pretty bad. What can explain the unpleasant look of modern buildings? Is it the design, or something else? If my pet theory from above were true, all you’d need is something that communicates that it is indeed an old building, and then the actual design wouldn’t matter all that much. You’d be dealing with something that goes beyond design.

It seems I’m not alone in my opinion of modern architecture. Cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht have their retained their historical centers and people seem to really enjoy the look of these cities. Rotterdam and Eindhoven lost many historical buildings in WWII. Rotterdam especially looks very… modern, and does not seem to be regarded as a good looking city, which matches my own view.

Built for the Future

I wonder how modern architects would respond to the question of this post. I suspect many would immediately question the premise. I can imagine them lashing out: “They’re not always ugly. And besides, you’re being nostalgic!” Perhaps I would be accused of being stuck in the past, being a creature of habit, and so on. Maybe some would agree that a few modern buildings are ugly, but surely not all of them. And what could explain the difference in beauty between these modern buildings but design?

But ultimately I do think that, generally, old buildings are beautiful, and, generally, new buildings are not.

I do like the idea of a modern building. Old buildings are poorly insulated, and typically don’t come with 21st century niceties. New buildings seem better suited to life in this day and age. I’m not one to wish for days gone by; I want to like modern buildings, but I’m finding it too hard.

Built for Profit?

There are other possible answers that, while interesting, quickly fail to be satisfactory upon further thought. One such answer is that it all comes down to how quickly and cheaply buildings can be erected these days. It comes down to money. But that barely makes sense to me, because it would suggest that older buildings were built without an eye for profit. That can’t possibly be true. People didn’t become greedy only in recent times. Greed has always been present in human history.

It’s unfortunate that this problem has occurred at all. If you dislike a painting, you can simply avert your gaze. But if you dislike modern architecture, where do you go?

Well, trying to look at the bright side, functionally at least, modern buildings don’t seem so bad. They’re energy efficient, and… well, that’s about it. Large windows too, I guess, for letting in more light. Although I never felt the windows of old buildings were too small.

At last, after theorizing for a long time and having entertained and rejected numerous possibilities, I think I may actually have an answer that can hold up. But before I can be more certain, I’ll have to arrange for a small experiment.