I think it’s helpful to distinguish between two cultural phenomena: increasing global homogeneity and the blandness of it. What if the emerging contemporary architecture was rich and beautiful? For example, Brooklyn is filled with blocks and blocks of similar looking Italianate row houses, it’s homogenous but beautiful. The same is never said about stretches of post-war tower blocks.
That is a really really good point. Also makes me think of art deco. There were some minor modifications between New York, Miami, London, and Shanghai that made those places recognizable but the overwhelming impression is of the beauty of the art deco style as such. It does not have the same problem though because as you say it is beautiful.
I think it’s helpful to distinguish between two cultural phenomena: increasing global homogeneity and the blandness of it. What if the emerging contemporary architecture was rich and beautiful? For example, Brooklyn is filled with blocks and blocks of similar looking Italianate row houses, it’s homogenous but beautiful. The same is never said about stretches of post-war tower blocks.
That is a really really good point. Also makes me think of art deco. There were some minor modifications between New York, Miami, London, and Shanghai that made those places recognizable but the overwhelming impression is of the beauty of the art deco style as such. It does not have the same problem though because as you say it is beautiful.
There’s some irony that the decline appears associated with self-consciously thinking about an international style: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Style_(architecture)