Experts have revealed a connection between architecture and people’s emotions. A BBC report mentioned recent findings by neuroscientist Colin Ellard about how we are most affected by building facades.

In the study, Ellard and the participants walked past a Whole Foods store in Lower Manhattan. According to wristband readings and surveys, the store’s smoked-glass frontage caused a drop in their arousal and mood states.

The report mentioned the Seattle Central Library’s interior architecture, describing it as “one of the most notoriously disorienting buildings.” According to architect and Northumbria University professor Ruth Dalton, the building’s one-way escalators could be a problem. As she told BBC, we have specific expectations regarding navigation. 

“There are very few situations in the real world where you can go from A to B via one route, and you’re forced to take a different route from B back to A,” she explained, noting that it can confuse people.

Architecture critics seem to be uneasy about current trends, but they’ve been vocal about them. Veteran critic Rowan Moore wrote an article for the Guardian expressing his displeasure with the Ilona House in London. 

He had choice words, describing the pinkish, rounded building as “plasticky” while calling out its “quite expensive” concrete surface.

For Moore, it's all because of the "meanness and greed" of property developers who want the most floor area and pay the least. He bluntly stated that "ugly buildings have always been with us."

More says there is "no magic bullet" to fix the aesthetic situation. Still, he believes it would help if all professionals involved had one thing: "a stronger idea of what makes a building good."

We’d like to hear from you, too. Which of these structures were the most/least appealing? If you’re a professional, can you still make improvements on them? Comment below!