FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblr

Artist Resources

Daily Inspiration: Alain de Botton Talks Bad Architecture

"Bad architecture is in the end as much a failure of psychology as of design. It is an example expressed through materials of the same tendencies which in other domains will lead us to marry the wrong people, choose inappropriate jobs and book unsuccessful holidays: the tendency not to understand who we are and what will satisfy us."

Alain de Botton is a lot of things; he’s Swiss and British and an architect and a philosopher and a TV presenter. His words of advice urge us to consider bad architecture (or I think more broadly bad design, or ill-planned pursuits) in the same vein as shacking up with someone totally wrong for you or other equally awkward oversights. de Botton’s words serve as a reminder that before we begin, we should know the building we are creating. So marry the right person and work at the right job for you. And go on a wildly successful holiday.

"flat pack t-shirt" by IanByfordArt

Comments