Humans are usually disgusted by decay. Evolution has taught us to turn up our noses at sunken pears and moldy biscuits. But when it comes to architecture, we can’t get enough of it. People love ruins. It’s an old love. The cultures most commonly associated with ruins—the Greeks and Romans—were fascinated by the broken remains of still more ancient civilizations. When, in turn, celebration of the Greeks and Romans reached a zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries, the fad became so intense that no European country estate was complete without an imitation ruin—manicured ivy on freshly laid plaster. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Seven Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 43 Stone Cold A history of spite architecture. Arts & Culture Issue 40 Olalekan Jeyifous On fantastical architecture and sci-fi Brooklyn. Arts & Culture Design Issue 39 What the Duck An introduction to duck architecture. Arts & Culture Issue 32 Essay: One Up, One Down Tim Hornyak explores Tokyo's scrap-and-build culture. Arts & Culture Issue 31 Noura & Anne Amid the turbo-development and futuristic cities of the Arabian Gulf, two architects have found a slower pace—and each other—in Bahrain. Arts & Culture Issue 31 SCALE S,M,X,XL: Our editors apply a Koolhaasian taxonomy to some favorite architecture books.
Arts & Culture Issue 32 Essay: One Up, One Down Tim Hornyak explores Tokyo's scrap-and-build culture.
Arts & Culture Issue 31 Noura & Anne Amid the turbo-development and futuristic cities of the Arabian Gulf, two architects have found a slower pace—and each other—in Bahrain.
Arts & Culture Issue 31 SCALE S,M,X,XL: Our editors apply a Koolhaasian taxonomy to some favorite architecture books.
