https://culturecritic.beehiiv.com/p/lost-american-beautyWhich looks more American?
Hint:
Sir Christopher Wren, a leading British architect of the 17th century, said that public buildings are “the ornament of a country”.
Which is precisely why the US cannot claim to be American if it listens to Wren. But of course Culture Critic does not want the US to be American:
The misguided artistry of modernism isn’t the only thing eroding American cities. There’s a far more deeply ingrained factor of American identity that is destroying beauty: efficiency.
...
Ironically, in its breakneck pursuit of efficiency, Kansas City actually sacrificed what would today be some of its most profitable real estate. The downtown buildings, had they not been demolished, would be worth around $655 million today.
Even while brutalism’s artistic influence (and that of its ugly cousins, modernism and postmodernism) slowly fades, efficiency continues to reign. Fast food drive-thrus show no signs of slowing down. And with housing and property prices leaping upwards, there is little expendable room in budgets for buildings that are anything more than functional.
Western occupiers such as Culture Critic want the US to look as un-American as possible:
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