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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
Does the public prefer traditional architecture? Half a century of surveys find: worksinprogress.co/issue/do-peopl - Between 60 and 95 percent prefer traditional architecture; - This pattern holds across gender, class, race, nationality and political views; - More traditional densification schemes seem to attract remarkably high levels of survey support; - Laypeople and design professionals respond dramatically differently, with professionals far more favourable to modern styles. Research is still at an early stage, and many questions remain. Personally, I am particularly interested in how the public would respond to a non-traditional but richer and more decorative style? I think they might like it, but we donโ€™t have hard evidence yet. But the results are already puzzling. Why do people end up buying buildings that are so different to the buildings they say they prefer? How did we end up in this odd situation? What can we do about it? Read more in
@RobertKwolek
's definitive review of architectural visual preference surveying.
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Rachel Edwards
@underthenettle
It's good to know that normal people don't have opinions about architecture that track their political opinions or demographics. Not everything requires a culture war! ๐Ÿ˜Œ
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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
The weakness of the demographic correlations is astonishing. The overall patterns are perhaps not hugely surprising but I expected them to have much stronger relationships to other demographic features than they do.
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Petr Hurtak
@PetrHurtak
"Why do people end up buying buildings that are so different to the buildings they say they prefer" from what I have seen buildings of the second type are pretty rare for new development and are always on the higher end of the price - doesn't that explain it?
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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
I think that's certainly a start! But the challenge is then: why don't developers build more of them, if they sell for a lot? We are commissioning some work on this at the moment, including from
@Cobylefko
.
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Kevin A. Bryan
@Afinetheorem
Maybe interior vs exterior? Open concept, large windows, "clean lines" appear *much* more popular, both for houses and for offices.
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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
I think you're onto something โ€“ although of course one can do a lot with big windows:
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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
People think of the flat rectilinear glass facade as axiomatically boring. But in the hands of an Edwardian commercial architect, as here in a Manchester side street, it is instantly transformed into something complex, rich and interesting. The trick is that the piers, floor
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Tristan Cleveland
@LUrbaniste
Great article! So glad to have this. You know, if 17-25% of new buildings were modern while the rest were traditional, it'd actually be pretty great. A small proportion of modernist buildings look great amongst trad ones.
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Samuel Hughes
@SCP_Hughes
Yes, there's quite a lot of variation based on the particular designs. A substantial minority of people seem to be 'swing voters' who can be convinced by a particularly strong modern design โ€“ which is I think what one might have expected?
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ProgressBureau
@progress_bureau
For homes and everyday streets, I find traditional architecture more beautiful. I can also admire a brutalist monument or an industrial landscape. A house is a tool for living in, and its beauty should feel good to come home to every day.
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David Wall
@wall_david61
Owners decide, not "the public." The public wants low prices and lots of debt spending to consume before producing value. The public is retarded when government implements its views by force.
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Fate2026
@FmFmFmFate
Modern architecture is all about more or less a box with some doors and windows plus ugly colours! The modern designs and buildings have no soul!
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Opinionated Observer
@opinionatedobs7
โ€œPersonally, I am particularly interested in how the public would respond to a non-traditional but richer and more decorative style? I think they might like it, but we donโ€™t have hard evidence yet.โ€ Itโ€™s called Art Deco. People love it.
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Shamrock
@realalarife
โ€œWhy do people end up buying buildings that are so different to the buildings they say they prefer?โ€ Maybe people appreciate traditional cityscapes and street faรงades without wanting to live in the buildings themselves.
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Albert Ward
@albertjward_
It's interesting that 'traditional' for these kind of buildings is kind of frozen in time with late-victorian neo-gothic
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