The Evolutionary Beauty of Buildings
The Evolutionary Beauty of Buildings
Why we love classical architecture
Last winter I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of Europe’s foremost advocates for classical architecture — Sweden’s very own Michael Diamant.
Michael works at the heart of the classical revival in Europe, frequently meeting with politicians to discuss policy, the value of beauty, and how to stop modernist atrocities from being built. By his calculations, he and his team have stopped over 200 architectural eyesores from being constructed in Stockholm alone.
He came to visit me in Italy a few months back, and there we got to discuss all things classical architecture. I then traveled to Stockholm to see him over the summer, and we’ve since become good friends — I truly can’t commend him and his work enough.
Today, we look at why certain buildings make you stop and stare, while others make you want to look away. As you’ll see, the answer lies deep in our evolutionary past. I pull the main points from my video interview with Michael (linked at the end of this email) to highlight why humans are drawn to the beauty of classical designs.
Michael’s observations aren’t just aesthetic musings — they’re grounded in the evolutionary needs that shaped our ancestors. So here is the biological reality behind why beauty speaks to us…
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Short histories, insights and expert interviews…
Understanding the Appeal of Classicism
Three-fourths of the population inherently prefers classical over modernist architecture. This preference isn't just a matter of taste or education, but is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. Classical architecture, with its emphasis on order, symmetry, and proportion, speaks to the very way our brains have evolved to interpret the world around us.
But first, let’s define “classical architecture.” As Michael explains, classical architecture doesn’t just mean white columns and Greco-Roman buildings:
“Classical architecture is a tradition. It’s called the classical tradition because it’s not a style — it’s a loose framework, an understanding of how you do it”.
In other words, even an Art Nouveau building can be considered “classical,” as long as it follows the classical framework — a framework in which facade division and harmonious mathematical proportions play a major role.
The Role of Facade Division
Proportionally harmonious facade division is one of the main components of classical architecture, and one of its features that most appeals to our evolutionary instincts. In the classical tradition, proper facade division means endowing buildings with a clearly defined base, midsection, and roof section, often adorned with symmetrical windows and decorations. These proportions should be “weighted” correctly, which typically means the base section is largest, then the middle, and finally the top.
The clarity and order that derive from this harmonious facade division make classical buildings easy to 'read' and understand, which has a calming effect on the human mind. Michael stresses the deeper psychological impact of these elements, noting that a building with good facade division is “both readable and stimulating at the same time.”
Michael also notes that the symmetry and regular patterns found in classical architecture mimic the natural environment in which early humans thrived — our preference for familiarity and order can be traced back to our savannah-dwelling ancestors.
Facade division matters because it adds a “bottom, middle, top” way of understanding the building before you, similar to how you could easily judge and decode the natural weight distribution of a tree or a mountain.
The clever reader will also note that “facade” derives from the same word as “face” — meaning we look for the same symmetries and proportions in architecture as we do in our fellow human beings…