With the hindsight of history I find Le Corbusier vastly overrated. It just seems that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and that was certainly true in that era.
I can appreciate that it was "hey, here's a new material, and new techniques, let's see what we can do", but it all went a bit to far with Brutalism.
To be honest, we're back at that point again over the last couple of decades with office buildings that are largely glass exteriors where the current glut of architects are putting "frilly bits" on the buildings to make them a bit less bland, but at the same time making them look very much "of the moment".
As for current homes, in the UK, at least, the architecture has never been blander. Boring boxes with 2 car spaces and a bit of grass out the back. In terms of the article, I don't see how modern homes can be given much extra character by the owners versus those designed by Corbusier mentioned in the article. If anything modern house architecture is at a worse, lower point than in previous years.
It could be the same trend as in fashion: a huge chunk of the population cares way less about social signaling and extra character, especially when it comes with more maintenance cost and no more functionality.
Interesting article. You're right, I guess, I prefer architecture as (classical) art. My preferred architecture is largely anything Art-Deco or earlier, and most buildings (not necessarily houses) built in the late 80s-90s (oddly, specific, I know). The brutalist stuff in London (the South Bank, the Barbican, QEII centre, and so on), I'd pull down in an instant if I were in charge (which is probably a good reason for me not to be in charge of anything tbh).
I can appreciate that it was "hey, here's a new material, and new techniques, let's see what we can do", but it all went a bit to far with Brutalism.
To be honest, we're back at that point again over the last couple of decades with office buildings that are largely glass exteriors where the current glut of architects are putting "frilly bits" on the buildings to make them a bit less bland, but at the same time making them look very much "of the moment".
As for current homes, in the UK, at least, the architecture has never been blander. Boring boxes with 2 car spaces and a bit of grass out the back. In terms of the article, I don't see how modern homes can be given much extra character by the owners versus those designed by Corbusier mentioned in the article. If anything modern house architecture is at a worse, lower point than in previous years.