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“The Problem With Modern Architecture”: This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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When you think of the most beautiful architecture in the world, your mind might immediately go to Baroque buildings in Rome, the Taj Mahal or the Palace of Versailles. The ornate designs and extravagant attention to details are breathtaking. While it would certainly be a challenge to create masterpieces like those buildings today, modern architects seem to have thrown in the towel altogether.

Last week, the Twitter account The Cultural Tutor went on a rant detailing the problems with modern architecture. From a lack of beauty to a focus purely on cost-efficiency, they broke down precisely why modern structures leave much to be desired. Below, you can read The Cultural Tutor’s full thread, as well as some of the replies it has received, and decide for yourself what you think of today’s architecture. Then if you’re looking for another Bored Panda piece featuring architecture fails, we’ve got the perfect list for you right here.

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Last week, The Cultural Tutor detailed on Twitter everything that is wrong with modern architecture

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

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They noted that their critiques are not about unique, contemporary buildings because at least those make bold choices

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

Their real problem is with the complete lack of beauty in many modern spaces

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

They went on to mention that these structures have become so ugly because cost-efficiency is now the most important factor for city planners

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

So when did architecture become so sterile? Did we all just wake up one day and suddenly every office and school was filled with white ceiling tiles and painfully bright fluorescent lights? Some of the replies to The Cultural Tutor’s Twitter rant mention that people nowadays simply don’t appreciate beauty as much as we used to, but I think we’ve just gotten used to being surrounded by ugly structures. I think if we were presented with the choice to replace all trash cans and street lamps with more aesthetically pleasing options, most of us would jump at the opportunity. Especially in places like our office buildings, where many of us spend forty hours a week, it would be nice to see some beautiful art or a bold light fixture, rather than a sea of fluorescent lights and beige walls.

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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In fact, a prettier office can even boost productivity and improve our wellbeing. Having access to natural light and being able to see artwork on the walls at work makes us more comfortable, less stressed and in turn, more efficient. Even having some plants displayed in an office space can go a long way, as one Harvard University paper found that employees working in “green” offices had double the cognitive performance of others working in more traditional spaces. So if you’re working in a soul-sucking beige cubicle, try throwing in some fresh flowers, artwork or succulents to liven the place up a bit.

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

Image credits: culturaltutor

Just because white ceiling tiles and grey carpets have become the norm does not mean we have to accept them forever. The Cultural Tutor pointed out some ugly features of modern cities, like bins and street lamps, that most of us don’t even notice as they’ve faded into the background of what we see every day, but now I can’t help but feel disappointed that our city planners and designers have given us the bare minimum. We’d love to hear your thoughts on modern architecture in the comments down below, and if you know of any examples of particularly pleasant modern spaces, feel free to share them with your fellow pandas.

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Twitter users have responded with shared disappointment in modern architecture and their own theories as to how we got to this point

"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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"The Problem With Modern Architecture": This Twitter Account Shares Why Architecture Today Is No Good

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Adelaide Ross

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?

Michal Pifko 2 years ago

Not only are some of these examples cherry-picked and subjective. Some of them are plain dumb. The wooden lecture hall might look pretty, but whoever is sitting on the sides wouldn't be able to see anything on the blackboard or any projected presentation. The old lamps look nice, but are super inefficient, not only because of the light source used, but also because the pretty shape isn't very good at light distribution. And there are many nice looking modern streetlamps, but the author chose the ugliest concrete abomination he could find. It's not even a fair comparison because the pretty lights are mostly used for illuminating areas meant for pedestrians, meanwhile the ugly modern one (which seems to be 30+ years old anyway) is intended to be used to illuminate roads and so needs to be easier and cheaper to manufacture in bulk. I have an old book of streetlights and I can tell you, lamps like this have always been ugly and minimalistic.

50points

NopedOut 2 years ago

Street lights for the road are also about safety for the drivers. And those street lights, at least in my area, have lasted for decades. I've never seen any of them be replaced as long as I've lived here. Ugly they may be, but poorly made? No.

20points

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Evan Singleton 2 years ago

Exactly. How about compare an old corvette to a new corvette? Nope, cause that won't fit nicely into this stupid narrative. Perhaps the utilitarian/boxy designs of the 70s and 80s haven't aged all that well from a modern aesthetic view, but they were beautiful in their time when the school of thought was to reject fancy. Simple and functional was beautiful. It wasn't purely lazy.

7points

Seabeast 2 years ago

I love the new LED streetlights in my city. They look so sleek and streamlined. That they provide better light using less electricity is just a bonus.

3points

Bunzilla 2 years ago

The light switches; sure, the old one looks prettier, but I prefer the general design of the large, flat switches we have now. They're easier to use. If your hands are full, you can easily switch the light on/off with your elbow/shoulder/nose/whatever. Though I do agree that I wish things had nicer designs. There's nothing wrong with the design of modern streetlamps, per say, but it'd be great if they were a little prettier. As an example, they could make them look like huge snowdrop flowers or something. I do feel like we could inject more aesthetics into things while taking advantage of modern design. The minimalistic look gets tiresome.

1point

Miguel Almeida 1 year ago

"The wooden lecture hall might look pretty, but whoever is sitting on the sides wouldn't be able to see anything on the blackboard or any projected presentation." I've been to several """modern""" looking ones that have the exact same problem - given this fact, wouldn't it be preferable to have a lecture hall designed w/ slightest of good taste...? "but are super inefficient, (...) chose the ugliest concrete abomination he could find. " you do know that you can mantain that classic look/style and make it so that the light is better distributted, right...? You literally apply the same logic when building the ""modern""" ugly ones, and change the style, material, color, etc... and these lamps are usually used in pedestrian areas, not highways... Plus, can you give an example of a """modern""" street lamp made w/ a decent design ? Oh, and without "cherry-picking" of course...

0points

rumade 2 years ago

The penultimate tweet here mentioning Christianity is so weird. This person has obviously never travelled. Go to India or Japan or Morocco or Mali and see the beautiful traditional buildings that have nothing to do with Jesus.

38points

Kel_how 2 years ago

Cathedrals, temples, churches, mosques, and other religious buildings are generally very elaborate and beautiful. You're right that it isn't purely Christian. But I don't know that I agree that that's what's been lost. In fact, I look at modern churches in America and they look more like concert venues than beautiful sanctuaries.

21points

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APL 2 years ago

India and Japan are particularly good examples because they are countries that are not religiously homogeneous, so the claim that it is lack of shared cultural value that is the problem is evidently hogwash. Indeed, there are some very pretty mosques and some bloody ugly churches here in Britain.

6points

NopedOut 2 years ago

In the West, though, it IS about Christianity. In Muslim countries, their mosques were and are important. In Hindu countries and Buddhists countries, their temples were important. The loss of our religious beliefs certainly affected our architecture in the West. But if you go to Japan, they also largely build for the sake of convenience nowadays. Their temples are tourist attractions and closer to museums, since the majority of Japanese people are not religious. In religious countries like India and Egypt, you still see tons of slums because mosques and temples are more important than people. So it's a double-edged sword.

3points

NopedOut 2 years ago

Good thread. But I have mixed feelings on bashing cheapness. If you could travel back in time, the differences between the haves and have nots was more stark than it is today. Cheaper materials allow more people to be housed in a functional home, rather than be stuck in shanty town tents. We still have homelessness, yes, but not nearly as much as we used to. More people live with running water and electricity today than in the past. We only have that because of cost efficiency. The beauty of the Gilded Age had a message of its own- objects were more important than people. No wonder communism started to sprout. More effort was put into a bus garage than safe homes for the bus drivers. There's an argument to be made for ugly, cheap architecture- no object is as beautiful as the people that make/use it. So while I see what this author is saying, I'd take housing a family any day over wrought iron curlicues.

20points

mind yours 2 years ago

the problem with this argument is that income disparity is worse now than it's ever been, and mass-producing something that isn't just a minimalist blank slate isn't dramatically more expensive - the point is to keep people bored in boxes and striving for the "luxuries" they don't have access to not to mention that things that are mass-produced cheaply like the things you're suggesting aren't magically just cheaper, they're produced by exploiting labour. i would rather house a family than have beautiful things, but that's not what the problem is: the people who hoard wealth and try and convince the rest of us that beauty is necessarily a luxury to earn are the problem.

2points

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Michal Pifko 2 years ago

Not only are some of these examples cherry-picked and subjective. Some of them are plain dumb. The wooden lecture hall might look pretty, but whoever is sitting on the sides wouldn't be able to see anything on the blackboard or any projected presentation. The old lamps look nice, but are super inefficient, not only because of the light source used, but also because the pretty shape isn't very good at light distribution. And there are many nice looking modern streetlamps, but the author chose the ugliest concrete abomination he could find. It's not even a fair comparison because the pretty lights are mostly used for illuminating areas meant for pedestrians, meanwhile the ugly modern one (which seems to be 30+ years old anyway) is intended to be used to illuminate roads and so needs to be easier and cheaper to manufacture in bulk. I have an old book of streetlights and I can tell you, lamps like this have always been ugly and minimalistic.

50points

NopedOut 2 years ago

Street lights for the road are also about safety for the drivers. And those street lights, at least in my area, have lasted for decades. I've never seen any of them be replaced as long as I've lived here. Ugly they may be, but poorly made? No.

20points

Load More Replies...

Evan Singleton 2 years ago

Exactly. How about compare an old corvette to a new corvette? Nope, cause that won't fit nicely into this stupid narrative. Perhaps the utilitarian/boxy designs of the 70s and 80s haven't aged all that well from a modern aesthetic view, but they were beautiful in their time when the school of thought was to reject fancy. Simple and functional was beautiful. It wasn't purely lazy.

7points

Seabeast 2 years ago

I love the new LED streetlights in my city. They look so sleek and streamlined. That they provide better light using less electricity is just a bonus.

3points

Bunzilla 2 years ago

The light switches; sure, the old one looks prettier, but I prefer the general design of the large, flat switches we have now. They're easier to use. If your hands are full, you can easily switch the light on/off with your elbow/shoulder/nose/whatever. Though I do agree that I wish things had nicer designs. There's nothing wrong with the design of modern streetlamps, per say, but it'd be great if they were a little prettier. As an example, they could make them look like huge snowdrop flowers or something. I do feel like we could inject more aesthetics into things while taking advantage of modern design. The minimalistic look gets tiresome.

1point

Miguel Almeida 1 year ago

"The wooden lecture hall might look pretty, but whoever is sitting on the sides wouldn't be able to see anything on the blackboard or any projected presentation." I've been to several """modern""" looking ones that have the exact same problem - given this fact, wouldn't it be preferable to have a lecture hall designed w/ slightest of good taste...? "but are super inefficient, (...) chose the ugliest concrete abomination he could find. " you do know that you can mantain that classic look/style and make it so that the light is better distributted, right...? You literally apply the same logic when building the ""modern""" ugly ones, and change the style, material, color, etc... and these lamps are usually used in pedestrian areas, not highways... Plus, can you give an example of a """modern""" street lamp made w/ a decent design ? Oh, and without "cherry-picking" of course...

0points

rumade 2 years ago

The penultimate tweet here mentioning Christianity is so weird. This person has obviously never travelled. Go to India or Japan or Morocco or Mali and see the beautiful traditional buildings that have nothing to do with Jesus.

38points

Kel_how 2 years ago

Cathedrals, temples, churches, mosques, and other religious buildings are generally very elaborate and beautiful. You're right that it isn't purely Christian. But I don't know that I agree that that's what's been lost. In fact, I look at modern churches in America and they look more like concert venues than beautiful sanctuaries.

21points

Load More Replies...

APL 2 years ago

India and Japan are particularly good examples because they are countries that are not religiously homogeneous, so the claim that it is lack of shared cultural value that is the problem is evidently hogwash. Indeed, there are some very pretty mosques and some bloody ugly churches here in Britain.

6points

NopedOut 2 years ago

In the West, though, it IS about Christianity. In Muslim countries, their mosques were and are important. In Hindu countries and Buddhists countries, their temples were important. The loss of our religious beliefs certainly affected our architecture in the West. But if you go to Japan, they also largely build for the sake of convenience nowadays. Their temples are tourist attractions and closer to museums, since the majority of Japanese people are not religious. In religious countries like India and Egypt, you still see tons of slums because mosques and temples are more important than people. So it's a double-edged sword.

3points

NopedOut 2 years ago

Good thread. But I have mixed feelings on bashing cheapness. If you could travel back in time, the differences between the haves and have nots was more stark than it is today. Cheaper materials allow more people to be housed in a functional home, rather than be stuck in shanty town tents. We still have homelessness, yes, but not nearly as much as we used to. More people live with running water and electricity today than in the past. We only have that because of cost efficiency. The beauty of the Gilded Age had a message of its own- objects were more important than people. No wonder communism started to sprout. More effort was put into a bus garage than safe homes for the bus drivers. There's an argument to be made for ugly, cheap architecture- no object is as beautiful as the people that make/use it. So while I see what this author is saying, I'd take housing a family any day over wrought iron curlicues.

20points

mind yours 2 years ago

the problem with this argument is that income disparity is worse now than it's ever been, and mass-producing something that isn't just a minimalist blank slate isn't dramatically more expensive - the point is to keep people bored in boxes and striving for the "luxuries" they don't have access to not to mention that things that are mass-produced cheaply like the things you're suggesting aren't magically just cheaper, they're produced by exploiting labour. i would rather house a family than have beautiful things, but that's not what the problem is: the people who hoard wealth and try and convince the rest of us that beauty is necessarily a luxury to earn are the problem.

2points

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