Roger Scruton Discusses Beauty with Architect Marc Tuitt

Sir Roger Scruton discusses beauty, what it is, where it comes from and what it means with architect Marc Tuitt. He talks about beauty in relation to art, religion, biology, philosophy, music and architecture. The conversation moves onto architectural styles, kitsch and pastiche architecture, taste, fashion and the Building Better, Building Beautiful commission.
For more architecture podcasts go to www.architecture-academy.com

[@GabrielaHandalArt]

Roger was an absolute treasure

[@musean]

Fascinating Interview. I love Roger Scruton. Not sure he'd agree with all the pictures used to illustrate his words here, but I still appreciate the chance to hear this interview.

[@marctuitt8061]

@@Orourkebanjo This is an interesting point which I have some sympathy with. The discussion does centre primarily around western ideas of beauty. The idea behind using images from different cultures and religious disciplines was to try and illustrate that although these ideas about beauty have come from western thinkers, these very same ideas transcend culture and are part of everyones intrinsic human nature. The Ancient Greek thinkers and certainly the Enlightenment philosophers were interested in universal truths that are true for everyone. This is the idea that the images are trying to convey although I see your point.

[@marctuitt8061]

Thanks! I think it was a really interesting discussion too.

[@polyfant8449]

I had a good laugh with the pictures, no consistency, other than changing at particular keywords, had a guy hurl a reference to Scruton at Tony Fretton at after a talk there tonight in a needlessly combative manner, so it was great to get a recent Scruton Interview, thanks!

[@architectureacademy4415]

Glad you enjoyed it! . You can check out some of our other interviews on the podcast.

[@reasonablyserious]

@@marctuitt8061 the examples he'd have a problem with are western. It's the ugly useless stuff, not a picture of a tea ceremony

[@cristinaegas]

So Insparing Sir. Scruton, thank you!!

[@cyclist68]

What has happened to the film the thumbnail was taken from, "The Importance of Beauty" by Roger Scruton? It is one of the most engrossing and mesmerising films on art and architecture I have ever seen, now nowhere to be found.

[@ThePhilosophyDoctor]

bbc have the copyright and they seem to have scrubbed it from youtube!

[@Vingul]

It was removed because our society is distinctly directed away from beauty and toward the enforcement of the ugly. Not joking.

[@Vingul]

I have it on a hard disk, but can’t upload it here.

[@cyclist68]

Hi Vingul, thanks for replying I have since found a copy with Portuguese subtitles on Vimeo. 🙂👍

[@kbeetles]

Contemplating these issues is calling for a slightly different format- a slower pace where there is time for thinking and wondering together. The questions in this interview come in quick succession, almost like bullets from a shotgun. I guess this is showing the difference between interest in beauty that is impatient, overly demanding (interviewer)versus mature and rich and far more allowing (R Scruton).

[@architectureacademy4415]

Yes, it's a pretty fast moving interview. I hope you were able to take some good things away from it.

[@DJSTOEK]

🖤

[@menacinghat]

i'm conflicted on this issue as pastiche has always been part of british architecture, welwyn garden city, bristol town hall, derby town hall, chesterfield town hall, braintree town hall, lcounty hall, taunton are all 1920s and 1930s pastiche georgian buildings. these weren't simply houses but made for the government. for people like alain de botton to turn around and say, ''oh we need to be of our time!!'' seems totally antithetical to most of architectural tradition and history when so much of architecture of the past is full of classical, gothic and georgian pastiche. however, at the same time, i believe that we've moved too far away from the world of the 1930s for pastiche buildings to fully respond and work with modernity in a way that makes us feel at home in it. pastiche is ok when you want to fill in a street or a building burns down, but entire towns just feel a bit eerie. worst of all, much of it is done by people who haven't been trained in classical architecture, so much of it is not only mediocre but has a horrible fake feeling to it, far worse than bad modern architecture that is at least of its time. another problem is the average architect is not a genius, so much of the novelty buildings that they create are terrible and have narcissistic qualities to them, think of the walkie talkie for example. this desire for novelty also damages the harmony of streets full of anonymous but pretty buildings. if you're going to stand out it has to be for a very good reason. the most beautiful city in england is arguably, bath, it has almost no, if none, ''starchitect'' buildings and relies heavily on harmony. however, i'm still conflicted, de botton's and other modernists argument of architecture not speaking of its time or being imitation coud apply to almost all beautiful european cities and render them to the pastiche dustbin for using classical stylings.

[@architectureacademy4415]

Really interesting comments!

[@menacinghat]

@@architectureacademy4415 almost all pastiche in britain is terrible, though. still conflicted.

[@architectureacademy4415]

@@menacinghat I'd be interested to know what your thoughts are on what makes a good or bad pastiche building. What makes the Hilton Hotel in Cambridge bad? What is a good pastiche building?

[@menacinghat]

@@architectureacademy4415 c8.alamy.com/comp/JWWJ56/hilton-cambridge-city-centre-hotel-in-cambridge-uk-JWWJ56.jpg i think it speaks for itself. ,you might not want to pay for it, but in the end your grandchildren will in the form of their mental health. just as we pay for the architecture of the 1960s and 1970s. alain de botton said in his recent article, ''why is the modern world so ugly?'' said, we have democratised comfort but made beauty exceedingly rare. be interesting if you could have him on. www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/why-is-the-modern-world-so-ugly/ he's very responsive to emails. i think the survivor bias argument is false, as we have photos of western cities going back to the 1830s. if ugliness was as common as it is today we'd have evidence of it.

[@MrDamsk0]

Clancer Yes.. That hotel looks so fake. The windows and arches are not aligned, the window frames are random, the corners are built incorrect, the joints and nodes look rubbish, (I don’t know the correct translation) the horizontal lines look like modern concrete. Overall just poorly designed and fake as hell. Now that you’ve got my interest, I’m interested in your opinion about the architect prof. dr. ir. Hans Kollhoff, as I do think he is a great example of a traditionalist, yet modern architect. If you look at his work you will always find traditionalist elements combined with some modern solutions, different styles, but also an authentic one of his own (stone plinth, red bricks middle part and green zinc crown (roof). He also built some traditionalist German houses or Roman villas, but mainly things like Leidsche Rijn Centrum and Hotel Boat&co, which are great examples of traditionalist architecture being modernized. I think it’s a clear answer to Scrutons question, how can modern day architecte pass on traditionalism/classical architecture, without copying other buildings or rather without pastiche. Leidsche Rijn Centrum: images.app.goo.gl/xSc92smhzX7o6sSe9 Hotel Boat&co: images.app.goo.gl/CxCZUvctuFjUpjAo8

[@nononouh]

17

[@Rustsamurai1]

Can women write poetry?

[@javierpacheco8234]

Of course they can, there are women who write poetry.

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

All fascinating until they start poking their noses into the whole sex thing. Irrelevant.

[@paulwillisorg]

It was a very short section near the beginning. Not a big deal.

[@Vingul]

They did so mostly to discard it.

[@latitudeselongitudes1932]

Sexuality is one of the most important dimensions of one's life. Very much connected to the topics of beauty, art, creative spirit