I blame the popularity of Ayn Rand’s Objectivism.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s overwhelming influence on American architecture can’t be understated. Part of his popularity was his productivity; he built 532 buildings in his career which is apparently a lot – and designed just as many that weren’t.
American commercial industry loved his stuff because it was cheaper to build using steel and concrete, square blockiness that worked well with concrete and forms which were also square and boxy. Like puzzles to put together.
And they went up quickly, consistently and could be made very very tall which maximized precious city real estate.
But still I blame Ayn Rand because gave these folks SOME philosophical justification for their utilitarian / profit maximizing perspectives – including her glowing admiration for Wright’s style. Apparently the hero of one of her books – or maybe multiple? I never read her – was based on Frank Lloyd Wright and his personality.
So there you have it. It’s Corporate America and its acolytes that are to blame.
https://worldwidekitsch.com/news-articles/why-is-ayn-rand-so-wrong-about-architecture/
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