Roger Scruton: Architectural Principles (1994)

Nihilism: The belief or theory that the world has no real existence; the rejection of all notions of reality. (Oxford English Dictionary)

Considering that architecture imposes itself on other people, architectural taste has a social dimension and requires a public justification. Most modern architecture imposes its look and design upon us in ways that detract us from our lives. With its emphasis on materials and function, most modern architecture lost its aesthetic value. Postmodern architecture is no better. We should return to the values of 19 century architecture, when art was at its best. Roger Scruton identifies few fundamental principles that were recognized in that period.

• As a public gesture, meaning is vital.
• As appearances reveal meaning, they matter.
• The use of a building is mutable. We can't tie meaning & value to a specific function.
• Architecture is a dimension of public, shared life - life with other people who are strangers. Interaction at the street level is central.
• Visual appearances must coordinate with our non-aesthetic interests and values.
• In the public realm, we should pursue common values.
• We are aware of visual meanings. They "saturate" visual experience.
• Therefore the visual design of buildings is part of public morality.
• Genuine beauty is grounded in a satisfaction of our shared human ends.
• Therefore aesthetic understanding is not a private understanding/response.
• Therefore the appearance of the public realm is a public language and it must reflect our shared agreement.

In sum, good architecture takes both mental effort and personal humility.

How important is the aesthetic of architecture?

When the forms of architecture were limited by materials and construction methods, aesthetic principles were limited by order and proportions.  In the modern times, many more forms are possible, and the invention of these forms can give a much wider range of meaning. Modern architecture broke off from stylistic traditions and invented new ones—some derived from precedent movements like the Bauhaus, others from the work of architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Gehry (Fig1). Others found possibilities in vernacular architecture, construction methods, or abstract, new forms. 

Fig1: Stata Center at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass. (2004)
Photo credit: inquiriesjournal.com

MIT Sues Gehry Firm Over for Persistent Leaks, Sliding Ice and Snow, and Cracking Masonry

Further reading: https://thetech.com/2007/11/09/lawsuit-v127-n53

The selection of specific forms conveys meaning to us, whatever choice is made. For instance, a glass building can mean transparency and honesty, while an opaque building means privacy and concealment. Tall buildings have always been expressions of power; colorful buildings can mean levity and whimsy. The building's activities can be shown or hidden  as can the means by which the building operates, like structure and mechanical systems.

Today's variety of expression in terms of aesthetics, materials, style and approach can be seen in these four examples of federal building projects (Fig2-5).

Fig2: Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
Photo Credit: Finegold Alexander + Associates

Fig3: Jose V. Toledo U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Photo Credit: GSA

Fig4: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Satellite Operations Facility, Suitland, MD
Photo Credit: Morphosis and GSA

Fig5: Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse, Cleveland, OH
Photo Credit: GSA

Contemporary culture advocates diversity of styles and the development of new architectural languages. In response to this openness, designers agree that aesthetically successful architecture comes from an integrated approach. By correctly formulating a project's function and engaging in team-wide design reviews, an architect most effectively arrives at a solution that is as delightful as it is cost-effective, secure/safe, sustainable, accessible, and functional/operational. One can conclude that three standards of architecture reinforce one another. Good architecture achieves useful, humane, and economical results, and a building expresses those qualities regardless of style.