Those cookie-cutter houses in Britain are positively quaint compared to the ranch-style houses that predominate here in America. The newer houses on my street are Georgian style, which is actually an improvement.
interesting, but the houses he recommends look like rows of single wide american trailers to me ..i can't improve on the people who commented under the first episode ...
As a graduate of Parson's School of Design/New School University in NYC and having attended the New York School of Interior Design, as you've already realized, "all art/design is subjective"! "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" , for sure! And you definitely have a real conundrum on your hands in the UK! However, while I do agree that the UK needs a shot in the arm when it comes to modern architecture, and it exists in London, I fear the British people are terribly afraid of their beautiful famous English countryside which I've seen with my own eyes quickly disappearing and a way of life, as well! And I can't blame them! I think it's terribly important just like here in the states to not bulldoze and rape the countryside due to over development which we see everywhere here for PROFIT AND GREED! And one really can't force something down their throats that they don't want no matter how ultra modern the Netherlands is! Beauty does matter esp. to designers/architects and all artists no matter what genre, it may even matter to a certain segment of the rest of the population as well, to others it doesn't matter.Many don't have the intellect or appreciation of the vastness of design to begin with. However, it is possible to combine function with beauty, the two are not mutually exclusive. It is boring to see the same architecture everywhere, but at the same time a mishmash of styles can be just as distracting to the eye as the same style everywhere! A real eye sore as well! Thanks for sharing, hope they all figure this out someday!
Does being open, casual and non-hierarchical really characterise our age? Modern houses may be as much of a delusion as the pastiches he critiques. For example the Crescent House has one big room for people doing disparate things and bothering each other with the noise. If there were guests over would the dad really tolerate his boys' making a bit of a sty on their end in full view? Probably not.
his says "what might be needed to change peoples taste"..... why not change his. other people might like their Georgian (not sure of the spelling)modern houses . i for one think they are beautiful. really nice actually. can we expect alain to do the sensible thing and change his taste to appreciate what the great majority appear to like.
Majority of people do not have taste. They just like what other people like. That s why "fashion" exists. I m not fond of modern arch. either, but most of times imitation of older styles is utterly kitsch.
The modern houses look great on the inside, but are very ugly and boxy on the outside, so, although the British houses are boxy from the inside and way too small, the pastiches look a lot better to me than the industrial wasteland looking, warehouse, houses. As for the plastic house being a good idea, I think that the fire at Glenfield, caused through plastic based cladding sends alarm bells ringing. Beauty isn't old or modern, it is eternal, and that's why we all need, want beauty inside and outside our houses.
I have a lot of love for Alain but I'm not sure has the ability to separate good modern architecture from just.. modern architecture. A few of the modern examples he shows (in this, as well as other programmes) are more awful than the mock Period houses he hates. He doesn't seem concerned with the need for aesthetically-pleasing complementary shapes, materials and colour (nor does he consider that very plain architecture looks depressingly dull against our grey British skies!)... - Some of the pitched-roof houses in Holland are reminiscent of Britain's notoriously unattractive 50s/60s70s housing developments... only... painted blue. The fact that people are calling them 'modern' doesn't automatically make them beautiful/ successful. - The Tudor house's modern extension was beautifully designed but it didn't aesthetically compliment it's Tudor counterpart, and unfortunately, it made the Tudor part look rather ugly in comparison. - Similarly, the reason that that man shouldn't build his modern house in the historic village is surely because it wouldn't visually complement the surrounding houses or the village as a whole, rather than because people are afraid of modernity. But maybe I'm in the minority to think this way or maybe it's just really hard to find enough examples of attractive, affordable, modern housing to fill such programmes!?
Wait stop. They have to evolve Alan...you're showing us buildings that have absolutely cut all ties with the past, those are hideous structures...i wouldn't keep my dog in them...You look at the best car manufacturers...Mercedes, Citroen and so on, the shapes of their vehicles have slowly evolved from the original design, except for some like the ds3 but the ds3, modern as it is, is a beautiful modern car, one that rivals the Mini in terms of looks, and is even better mechanically...So if you're going to build something, i agree, it should be modern, but it should include elements of the past, ie, beauty, craftsmanship and its design, a well built roof, wood panelling and so on. Not some fucking cow shed with a circular window, this is never going to take off, never, mark my words.
He is out of his league on many topics he speaks of. That is because he gets his advice from the humanities not from science. He looks for truths about the world from literature and old philosophers. Science has taught us that much of the common knowledge we get from anecdotal stories and folk advice is just plain wrong. His approach to understanding the world simply does not work.
![The Perfect Home - Alain de Botton [episode two]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XaL8S7vRA2s/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Perfect Home - Alain de Botton [episode one]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/80fb7Lt0z58/mqdefault.jpg)
Fantastic documentary (all 3 episodes). Full of insights. Really inspired me to think about. Thanks!
A thought provoking program, thanks for uploading
This Series has been such a treat. Thank you!
The S333 architect showed more restraint and professionalism in critiquing the pastiche garbage than I can.
I need to know what was in that lunchbox!
Big up, Kieth!
Those cookie-cutter houses in Britain are positively quaint compared to the ranch-style houses that predominate here in America. The newer houses on my street are Georgian style, which is actually an improvement.
interesting, but the houses he recommends look like rows of single wide american trailers to me ..i can't improve on the people who commented under the first episode ...
Tal vez la necesidad de construir como en el pasado en GB tiene que ver con el "Burkean conservatism"
As a graduate of Parson's School of Design/New School University in NYC and having attended the New York School of Interior Design, as you've already realized, "all art/design is subjective"! "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" , for sure! And you definitely have a real conundrum on your hands in the UK! However, while I do agree that the UK needs a shot in the arm when it comes to modern architecture, and it exists in London, I fear the British people are terribly afraid of their beautiful famous English countryside which I've seen with my own eyes quickly disappearing and a way of life, as well! And I can't blame them! I think it's terribly important just like here in the states to not bulldoze and rape the countryside due to over development which we see everywhere here for PROFIT AND GREED! And one really can't force something down their throats that they don't want no matter how ultra modern the Netherlands is! Beauty does matter esp. to designers/architects and all artists no matter what genre, it may even matter to a certain segment of the rest of the population as well, to others it doesn't matter.Many don't have the intellect or appreciation of the vastness of design to begin with. However, it is possible to combine function with beauty, the two are not mutually exclusive. It is boring to see the same architecture everywhere, but at the same time a mishmash of styles can be just as distracting to the eye as the same style everywhere! A real eye sore as well! Thanks for sharing, hope they all figure this out someday!
Does being open, casual and non-hierarchical really characterise our age? Modern houses may be as much of a delusion as the pastiches he critiques. For example the Crescent House has one big room for people doing disparate things and bothering each other with the noise. If there were guests over would the dad really tolerate his boys' making a bit of a sty on their end in full view? Probably not.
his says "what might be needed to change peoples taste"..... why not change his. other people might like their Georgian (not sure of the spelling)modern houses . i for one think they are beautiful. really nice actually. can we expect alain to do the sensible thing and change his taste to appreciate what the great majority appear to like.
Majority of people do not have taste. They just like what other people like. That s why "fashion" exists. I m not fond of modern arch. either, but most of times imitation of older styles is utterly kitsch.
The modern houses look great on the inside, but are very ugly and boxy on the outside, so, although the British houses are boxy from the inside and way too small, the pastiches look a lot better to me than the industrial wasteland looking, warehouse, houses. As for the plastic house being a good idea, I think that the fire at Glenfield, caused through plastic based cladding sends alarm bells ringing. Beauty isn't old or modern, it is eternal, and that's why we all need, want beauty inside and outside our houses.
I have a lot of love for Alain but I'm not sure has the ability to separate good modern architecture from just.. modern architecture.
A few of the modern examples he shows (in this, as well as other programmes) are more awful than the mock Period houses he hates. He doesn't seem concerned with the need for aesthetically-pleasing complementary shapes, materials and colour (nor does he consider that very plain architecture looks depressingly dull against our grey British skies!)...
- Some of the pitched-roof houses in Holland are reminiscent of Britain's notoriously unattractive 50s/60s70s housing developments... only... painted blue. The fact that people are calling them 'modern' doesn't automatically make them beautiful/ successful.
- The Tudor house's modern extension was beautifully designed but it didn't aesthetically compliment it's Tudor counterpart, and unfortunately, it made the Tudor part look rather ugly in comparison.
- Similarly, the reason that that man shouldn't build his modern house in the historic village is surely because it wouldn't visually complement the surrounding houses or the village as a whole, rather than because people are afraid of modernity.
But maybe I'm in the minority to think this way or maybe it's just really hard to find enough examples of attractive, affordable, modern housing to fill such programmes!?
Bellway houses are fucking hideous. The outer color schemes are just painful to look at.
.
Wait stop. They have to evolve Alan...you're showing us buildings that have absolutely cut all ties with the past, those are hideous structures...i wouldn't keep my dog in them...You look at the best car manufacturers...Mercedes, Citroen and so on, the shapes of their vehicles have slowly evolved from the original design, except for some like the ds3 but the ds3, modern as it is, is a beautiful modern car, one that rivals the Mini in terms of looks, and is even better mechanically...So if you're going to build something, i agree, it should be modern, but it should include elements of the past, ie, beauty, craftsmanship and its design, a well built roof, wood panelling and so on. Not some fucking cow shed with a circular window, this is never going to take off, never, mark my words.
what is that dreadful 'music' in the background. Sounds like a terrible, 70's, low-budget horror movie
I so respect what you know on other things, but...Alain, poor Alain....you are so out of your league here..🙈
He is out of his league on many topics he speaks of. That is because he gets his advice from the humanities not from science. He looks for truths about the world from literature and old philosophers. Science has taught us that much of the common knowledge we get from anecdotal stories and folk advice is just plain wrong.
His approach to understanding the world simply does not work.
that is the most shallow and dumb comment on the interwebs
I don't think you have a clue about what architecture means.
@@kajmobile 😂😂😂😂