British transport minister decries "cult of ugliness" in brutalism, modernism

2016-11-02T19:09:00-04:00

A Government minister has declared war on “brutalist” architecture, arguing that it is “aesthetically worthless” and embodies a “cult of ugliness”. John Hayes, a transport minister, said in a speech that the Government would be the “vanguard of a renaissance” in architecture by rebuilding a Doric arch that stood outside London’s Euston station before it was demolished in 1962.

"Politicians speak a lot and sometimes they speak sense," the British Minister for Transport John Hayes states at the beginning of a speech that makes a case for a return to "beauty" in public architecture. Specifically, he takes aim at brutalist transit stations and promises to rebuild the Euston Arch, an 1837 Doric arch. "What a statement it will be of the revolt against the Cult of Ugliness, of our new orthodoxy," Mr. Hayes contends.

I highly recommend reading the speech. It's pretty out there (and a bit chilling to tell you the truth):

"My certain conviction is unwavering. We will beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly to new elegance, style and beauty."

Sure, you may very well agree with his sentiments, but can you really defend a public transport minister invoking the most cliché line in the Great Gatsby to make his point? Also, it should be noted that, when first erected, the Euston Arch was called by critics "gigantic and absurd", among other things.

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British transport minister decries "cult of ugliness" in brutalism, modernism