Skip to 41:14 for a great photo comparison of modernist vs. classical buildings! For more FREE resources to help you rediscover beauty, truth, and virtue in today's Western culture, join my email list at the link below: imperium.coffee/invictus/
This video answered questions that I have had for years regarding the existence of dismal architecture... great interview... Michael Diamant is a wealth of knowledge...
It is so understated how much of human spirit is either built up or torn down by surroundings we live in - its very telling that architects themselves and people of power prefer the old, but always force everyone else to live in the new. Political discourse has to touch upon urbanism and architecture, because inevitably, it is those surroundings that make a place desirable and worth fighting for - no one fights to save a concrete block, but everyone will want to see an old townhouse saved. and it is that discourse that is so antithetical to the left - with visible tradition and history in place, their ideas are refuted and have no purchase when people have roots and commitments to their physical place, as opposed to abstract and fluid ideas.
You are totally right and one thing the movement does now is actively courting local politicians. A win for them as this matter is extremely popular on a local level.
1:44:00. Great point. A lot of people don't know that the Parthenon of Athens was a functional church for longer than it was a temple. The roof was actually only blown off in the 1800s when the Turks stored gunpowder in it and it exploded. In any previous period, it would have been rebuilt but that currently goes against our sensibilities of what "Ancient Athens" was like. Medieval icons were actually scrubbed off the marble walls in the 19th century by German classicists to preserve their pristine phantasy.
It is important to break with this freeze of time as it labels us as different human beeings than our ancestor's. We should rebuild many old ruins and good thing is that we are seeing that in central and eastern Europe. Building's that have been ruins for 100s of years are now reconstructed!
I´m a future student of architecture and engineering, I love the baroque, rococo, renaissance, gothique, neoclassical, art deco style. I detest minimalism and brutalism. I would love to do religious projects, museums, palaces, monuments and other historical buildings. Unfortunately in my country, Spain, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the construction sector and there are hardly any projects like this (maximalist/classical) today.
Reach out to Alejandro García Hermida of Culturas Constructivas in Madrid and let him know I sent you - he'll be able to point you in the right direction so you can work on more projects like this one day!
There is hope and join the movement in Spain. You can also learn traditional architecture and urbanism at the excellent summer school that is yearly in Spain/ Portugal!
Thank you very much for this talk! We would like to be part of your network - Michael. We are a non-profit community led housebuilder that provides homes at their cost price to qualified first-time buyers in the UK. Unlike other social developers, we want our houses to be not only affordable, but also - beautiful. The construction of classic-style houses does not cost more than “modern” ones.
I live in Los Angeles. I can't think of a single building that is both beautiful and built after 1940. Once the modern look took over in the late 1930s, it was all over. People here often look to buildings like the Capitol Records Tower as architectural achievements. I think it's hideous. Take a soda can, add some windows with sun visors, stick a pointy thing on top and you've got the Capitol Records Tower. We need more contemporary architects to recognize the human need for beauty. Imagine the future we could build!
Visit the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades (near Malibu) and the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino/Pasadena. Beautiful structures (and great Western art). Mr. Getty HATED the modern architecture in Los Angeles and hired a team to build a museum in the style of an ancient Roman villa to house his art collection. It's quite something! (He probably would have hated Richard Meier's Getty Center in Brentwood.)
The Aesthetic City released a video recently about the failure of schools of architecture, very much along the lines of these talks. He has a very low opinion of modernist "starchitects." That video also highlights that, thankfully, there are schools for traditional architecture being revived, or classical tracks being reintroduced in some modern schools. To name a few in the States: Notre Dame, The Catholic University of America, Benedictine College, Utah Valley University, University of Miami, and more. I hope it become even more prominent. Traditional architecture needs a renaissance.
Ruben Hanssen does an excellent work and we are witnessing a renesaince of new traditional architecture. But it needs to accelerate even faster. As for now China and India are building massive modernist future slums in the biggest capital destruction in history!
As an architecture student I totally agree with most of this, Thomas Heatherwick wrote a great book about this. Not that he is a perfect architect, but I would argue that most of his projects are quite beautiful. The one thing I might disagree on is that it is all the architects fault. It’s definitely originalt the architects fault for introducing this cost cutting futuristic different kind of thinking that was mainly adapted after the war as a result of a bad economy. The problem is that cost cutting has also become a culture with developers. It’s scary having to pay more for something that might be more worth, might not. It has also been a quite large culture shift in many architecture schools around the world, where le corbusiers early works are looked at as proven to not work. And Mies Van der rohe’s houses actually make you feel like living in a display case. Human scale has become important… again
I have no doubt that the typical contemporary modern architecture are structurally safe (as far as following competent building codes); but modernist architects can't seem to help but make sure their buildings look visually un-safe. Whether it's big hulking masses with a glass base facade or seemingly disjointed elements (ie window placement, panels). It seems like these architects love tormenting the average person that have to use or live in these buildings.
it's ironic how modernists try to put down traditional architecture by saying "fascists liked modern architecture" when in fact the OG fascists built the first modernist buildings in Italy
I am getting altogether sick and tired of the "fascist" label being thrown against everything that's not deranged, far-left extremist. The word has lost all meaning, because they throw it against everything except what is actually, legitimately fascist.
Also, even if fascists liked traditional architecture, this is an invalid argument. Fascists also liked eating with forks. So is eating with forks a facist thing?
Skip to 41:14 for a great photo comparison of modernist vs. classical buildings!
For more FREE resources to help you rediscover beauty, truth, and virtue in today's Western culture, join my email list at the link below:
imperium.coffee/invictus/
Such an important interview. And this is just the beginning. Architectural uprising is on a roll. Rescue our cities and join this movement.
It is! And we all can do our share by just knowing that we can build beautiful today and tell our friends and family!
Michael Diamant is the best!
Always a good time when Michael's involved 🥳
I am just a part of a movement. You are to by knowing that we can build beautiful again if we want!
This video answered questions that I have had for years regarding the existence of dismal architecture... great interview... Michael Diamant is a wealth of knowledge...
I am happy to contribute to a more beautiful world again. But you are to just by knowing that the ugliness is imposed and we can build differently!
he is indeed!
This is incredible! Love how high quality the production value is. Hope Michael enjoyed his time in Italy!
That was the easiest part. An incredible country in the regard to how good taste they have in all matters!
Michael Diamant my fellow scandinavian, saving architechture!
We are all part of this! Just by knowing that you can build beautiful today and spreading that awareness in your social circle is more than good!
@@michael.diamant Tack Michael!Beundrer från Norge.
It is so understated how much of human spirit is either built up or torn down by surroundings we live in - its very telling that architects themselves and people of power prefer the old, but always force everyone else to live in the new. Political discourse has to touch upon urbanism and architecture, because inevitably, it is those surroundings that make a place desirable and worth fighting for - no one fights to save a concrete block, but everyone will want to see an old townhouse saved. and it is that discourse that is so antithetical to the left - with visible tradition and history in place, their ideas are refuted and have no purchase when people have roots and commitments to their physical place, as opposed to abstract and fluid ideas.
You are totally right and one thing the movement does now is actively courting local politicians. A win for them as this matter is extremely popular on a local level.
1:44:00. Great point. A lot of people don't know that the Parthenon of Athens was a functional church for longer than it was a temple. The roof was actually only blown off in the 1800s when the Turks stored gunpowder in it and it exploded. In any previous period, it would have been rebuilt but that currently goes against our sensibilities of what "Ancient Athens" was like. Medieval icons were actually scrubbed off the marble walls in the 19th century by German classicists to preserve their pristine phantasy.
It is important to break with this freeze of time as it labels us as different human beeings than our ancestor's. We should rebuild many old ruins and good thing is that we are seeing that in central and eastern Europe. Building's that have been ruins for 100s of years are now reconstructed!
I´m a future student of architecture and engineering, I love the baroque, rococo, renaissance, gothique, neoclassical, art deco style. I detest minimalism and brutalism. I would love to do religious projects, museums, palaces, monuments and other historical buildings. Unfortunately in my country, Spain, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the construction sector and there are hardly any projects like this (maximalist/classical) today.
Reach out to Alejandro García Hermida of Culturas Constructivas in Madrid and let him know I sent you - he'll be able to point you in the right direction so you can work on more projects like this one day!
There is hope and join the movement in Spain. You can also learn traditional architecture and urbanism at the excellent summer school that is yearly in Spain/ Portugal!
Oooh…this is going to be amazing!! Great Vids 🎉🙏🏻✨
Thank you Colleen! 🙌
Thank you very much for this talk! We would like to be part of your network - Michael. We are a non-profit community led housebuilder that provides homes at their cost price to qualified first-time buyers in the UK. Unlike other social developers, we want our houses to be not only affordable, but also - beautiful. The construction of classic-style houses does not cost more than “modern” ones.
I live in Los Angeles. I can't think of a single building that is both beautiful and built after 1940. Once the modern look took over in the late 1930s, it was all over. People here often look to buildings like the Capitol Records Tower as architectural achievements. I think it's hideous. Take a soda can, add some windows with sun visors, stick a pointy thing on top and you've got the Capitol Records Tower. We need more contemporary architects to recognize the human need for beauty. Imagine the future we could build!
It is the future we were promised by Art Deco. How amazing it can be with this type of futurism!
Visit the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades (near Malibu) and the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino/Pasadena. Beautiful structures (and great Western art). Mr. Getty HATED the modern architecture in Los Angeles and hired a team to build a museum in the style of an ancient Roman villa to house his art collection. It's quite something! (He probably would have hated Richard Meier's Getty Center in Brentwood.)
The Aesthetic City released a video recently about the failure of schools of architecture, very much along the lines of these talks. He has a very low opinion of modernist "starchitects."
That video also highlights that, thankfully, there are schools for traditional architecture being revived, or classical tracks being reintroduced in some modern schools. To name a few in the States: Notre Dame, The Catholic University of America, Benedictine College, Utah Valley University, University of Miami, and more.
I hope it become even more prominent. Traditional architecture needs a renaissance.
Ruben Hanssen does an excellent work and we are witnessing a renesaince of new traditional architecture. But it needs to accelerate even faster. As for now China and India are building massive modernist future slums in the biggest capital destruction in history!
Micke D putting it on for my country Sweden🙏🏾
Shame this video dont get more views, keep it up, it’s important.
As an architecture student I totally agree with most of this, Thomas Heatherwick wrote a great book about this. Not that he is a perfect architect, but I would argue that most of his projects are quite beautiful.
The one thing I might disagree on is that it is all the architects fault. It’s definitely originalt the architects fault for introducing this cost cutting futuristic different kind of thinking that was mainly adapted after the war as a result of a bad economy. The problem is that cost cutting has also become a culture with developers. It’s scary having to pay more for something that might be more worth, might not.
It has also been a quite large culture shift in many architecture schools around the world, where le corbusiers early works are looked at as proven to not work. And Mies Van der rohe’s houses actually make you feel like living in a display case. Human scale has become important… again
I have no doubt that the typical contemporary modern architecture are structurally safe (as far as following competent building codes); but modernist architects can't seem to help but make sure their buildings look visually un-safe. Whether it's big hulking masses with a glass base facade or seemingly disjointed elements (ie window placement, panels). It seems like these architects love tormenting the average person that have to use or live in these buildings.
As mentioned, their most aspired attribute is "new" not good, beautiful or beloved.
it's ironic how modernists try to put down traditional architecture by saying "fascists liked modern architecture" when in fact the OG fascists built the first modernist buildings in Italy
It is the language of power to call your enemies fascist unfortunately.
I wear fascist like a badge of honor.
I am getting altogether sick and tired of the "fascist" label being thrown against everything that's not deranged, far-left extremist. The word has lost all meaning, because they throw it against everything except what is actually, legitimately fascist.
Also, even if fascists liked traditional architecture, this is an invalid argument. Fascists also liked eating with forks. So is eating with forks a facist thing?