Michael Diamant on the Classical Architecture Takeover and the Utter Stupidity of the Modernists

Im an architecture student and my dream is to design like the good old days.

The best way to describe modernism is “‘anti human”. It’s cold and bleak agenda, lack of any ornament is in contrast to the human condition that has celebrated beauty in design since the beginning of civilisation.

Absolutely true: ugliness is intentional. It's a form of spite and hatred for tradition and everything normal.

I have been working in the architectural field as an architectural designer for 35 years and it has been a battle that i have yet to win a single battle. I love traditional architecture (Paris). I am constantly told I live in the past. Read the book -A Patterned Language.

I agree when he said that ee should design buildings beyond mere function. I just witnessed a brutalist building set of for demolition to be replaced by an all glass building and no one complained. Then I witnessed a 1930's neo classical mansion that was also set up by developers for demolition to turn it into a warehouse like grocery store but people in the community protested against it. Though it was all rundown people find it valuable for their community.

Small correction on the topic of Notre-Dame : the roof and spire will be finally reconstructed with wood, it was found that making an iron structure would be too heavy for the walls… They have now started to collect the trees and the proper reconstruction will start later this year…

As an architecture student, wish me luck. I might either get rusticated tomorrow or loved for the presentation that I will be giving on this exact topic😅

This is one of the main reasons I dropped out of college architecture - almost everything I was being made to learn was the exact opposite of what I wanted to do in the first place (design and build oldschool, non-shitty houses). Instead I had to meditate daily on the wackiest, ugliest ways to make things and somehow explain why it was "good". The stress, disgust, and lack of actual motivation was overwhelming, and realizing it was by design made it even more so.

I have long followed people like Krier,Terry and roger Scruton and their seeming hopeless quest for the revival of beauty…..pure astonishment….that you people exist….long live social media…

We are currently in a Dark Age of architecture and can only hope for a new Renaissance in classical architecture. The classics are no longer taught in architecture school. That needs to change. It should at the very least be taught as a freshman background course.

Swan Lake Castle here in Granite Bay, California is an epic example of classical architecture finding it's way into modern buildings and it was built fairly recently using all contractors trained in classical European architecture and construction methods.

I have grown sick seeing boxes mushrooming around me. I met my soul tribe here. Loved this.

WOW! Much respect! I must say I agree with all of content and am finally happy, that I am not the only one viewing the architecture this way. I am confident enough, but now I will be even more. ;) Thank you so very much, Mr. Michael Diamant.

Michael Diamont is brilliant and brave. It's so wonderful to hear cogent arguments like this. Of course many have made the same arguments, but their voices are rarely heard. So, thank you so much for this video. I will share it. I highly recommend reading books on architecture by the historian Alan Gowans. He would agree vociferously with Diamont. I'm only mid-way through the video and although I'm a children's book illustrator, I'm excited to draw beautiful architecture for fun and for my children's books. Thanks for this video.

He has recently become a hero in my heart, Michael brings forth a very important topic that we really need to tackle as we go into the future. Beauty will prevail 😍

many Architechs have an instinct that that rejects general popularity. If Traditional architecture was hated by the people it would be build more.

Brilliant discussion debunking the argument of modernists. It constantly distresses me how my city, London, has been trashed by modernists since the post WW2 era. There of course some decent designs but overall most are cheap, bland and soulless with no relationship to their location. Robert A M Stern of New York summed up perfectly their irrelevance when he said (can’t recall the exact quote) they looked as though they could be demolished with a can opener - perfect!

If you need proof of concept just watch a Studio Ghibli movie. Many feature an idealized European city for their setting. And there's never a modern building in sight. Miyazaki knows what is beautiful.

The ideas discussed in this podcast are ones I've always thought. The presence of ugly buildings in my city, neighbourhood, and street bothers me. Why are there so many architects who suck at making beautiful things?? How dare they marr our lives with their ugliness??

Old brownstones here in NYC are beautiful from the outside but often feel cramped once you’re inside. If there was a way to incorporate bigger windows and higher ceilings (introduced in modern design )and bring it into more classical designs … I’d be a fan!