From my Taki’s Magazine column:

The Year Zero of American Architecture
Steve Sailer

March 20, 2024

Why do some buildings make us happier than other buildings?

Tom Wolfe offered an eye-opening explanation in his 2003 collegiate novel I Am Charlotte Simmons: “the existence of conspicuous consumption one has rightful access to—as a student had rightful access to the fabulous Dupont Memorial Library—creates a sense of well-being.”

But why did architects suddenly lose interest in their traditional task of providing the pleasures of conspicuous consumption eight decades ago?

One of my perennially popular Twitter threads is a long 2020 series of photos of city halls from before and after the Year Zero of American architecture, when pleasing the public suddenly vanished as a respectable goal for architects:

The dividing year in architecture is 1945. Before, Westerners tried, in many different styles, to make buildings look beautiful. After 1945, they felt like they didn’t deserve beautiful buildings.

Read the whole thing there.