"That's the one," he says, pointing across the river. "Thirty-six barrels of gunpowder should do the trick. We've hidden it down in the cellars."

The UK parliament building looms large in the distance, all sharp GothicCharacterised by gloom, mystery and horror. towers and tall glass windows. "The Palace of Westminster?" exclaims his companion, shocked to his core.

"No, silly," he points again. "That concrete atrocityAn extremely cruel or terrible act., right there!" Amid the historic buildings, a mishmash of neoclassical"New" classicism, or based on the influence of ancient Greek and Roman art and design. , High Victorian Gothic and BaroqueA heavily decorated style of building and art that was popular in Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries. styles, a new monument to Britain's rich architectural history is being built. A contemporaryModern. piece, it clusters upwards towards the sky in a heap of grey concrete and haphazard glass.

This could be the Guy Fawkes of today. Instead of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his Catholic co-conspirators to blow up Parliament, he may choose to detonateExplode or cause something to explode. his gunpowder underneath any of London's controversial modern buildings in order to preserve England's great historic cityscapes.

There is no shortage of ugly buildings to catch one's eye. Previous winners of the Carbuncle Cup, awarded annually to terrible architecture, have included London's "Walkie Talkie" on Fenchurch Street, Vauxhall Tower and Saffron Square in Croydon.¹

The Czech-French novelist Milan Kundera wrote of the "uglification" of our world. We are housed in concrete blocks. We visit monochromaticOnly one colour. supermarkets for mass-produced food. We walk down identical streets. Some think our cities are increasingly becoming traps.

A collectiveDone by people acting as a group. founded by the renowned British author Alain de Botton, who wrote The Architecture of Happiness, claims that the majority of our "nice" architecture was built before 1900.

"If we were to show an ancestor from 250 years ago our cities and suburbsLiterally 'below the city,' suburbs are essentially the outskirts of any major urban area. In some cities, such as Rio de Janeiro or Istanbul, the suburbs are great sprawling slums housing millions of poor. In Britain and America the idea of 'suburbia' is more associated with spacious, leafy districts - they are often among the most expensive areas to live in., they would be amazed at our technology, impressed by our wealth, stunned by our medical advances - and shocked and disbelieving at the horrors we had managed to bring," an article from the collective claims.²

So where did it all go wrong? Some blame modern construction techniques, whilst others say it all started with BrutalismA style of functionalism architecture, often involving steel and concrete. Popular in the 1950s and 1960s.. The unpleasant truth is that ugly buildings are endlessly appealing to developers: cheap, versatile, efficient.

The psychologist Daniel Berlyne theorised that all of our behaviour is motivated by the desire to obtain new information. Because of this, many urbanists believe that passers-by are most stimulated by detailed, active, dynamic and open-plan locations, with positive psychological effects.³

Boring buildings make bored people. And boredom can kill. A recent psychological experiment indicated that boredom increases heart rate and cortisolA hormone that helps the body deal with stress. - symptoms most associated with dangerous levels of stress.⁴

But others say that a nice appearance is not the only thing that makes a building functional or worth preserving. Sometimes function comes above form. And a seemingly inconsequentialUnimportant. building can be made beautiful when it becomes a site where history is made.

Even the Palace of Westminster itself, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is so decrepitRun down or poorly maintained. that the roof routinely leaks, the pipes burst and there is such a huge quantity of asbestosA material once used to insulate and fire-proof homes. It can be harmful to people when they are exposed to it frequently. that removing it "could require an estimated 300 people working for two and a half years".⁵

Do we need to lose our sentimental attachment to our buildings and start anew? It may be the best aesthetic choice. But with our cities rapidly expanding and a housing crisis already raging, it is unlikely this will come any time soon.

Yes: If we can prove that boring buildings are harming our mental health and causing boredom and stress, we should just knock them down. We need to create and preserve only the architecture that makes us happy.

No: We should not only preserve those parts of history that appear aesthetically pleasing. Every building, every stone is a mark of our shared past. We preserve them to remember the years gone by, not just because they are nice to look at.

Or... The rejection of modern architecture is the sign of a movement against modernity altogether. Many of those who criticise modern architecture are cultural conservatives who want to take us back into an idealised past. We must resist this movement.

Gothic - Characterised by gloom, mystery and horror.

Atrocity - An extremely cruel or terrible act.

Neoclassical - "New" classicism, or based on the influence of ancient Greek and Roman art and design.

Baroque - A heavily decorated style of building and art that was popular in Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Contemporary - Modern.

Detonate - Explode or cause something to explode.

Monochromatic - Only one colour.

Collective - Done by people acting as a group.

Suburbs - Literally 'below the city,' suburbs are essentially the outskirts of any major urban area. In some cities, such as Rio de Janeiro or Istanbul, the suburbs are great sprawling slums housing millions of poor. In Britain and America the idea of 'suburbia' is more associated with spacious, leafy districts - they are often among the most expensive areas to live in.

Brutalism - A style of functionalism architecture, often involving steel and concrete. Popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Cortisol - A hormone that helps the body deal with stress.

Inconsequential - Unimportant.

Decrepit - Run down or poorly maintained.

Asbestos - A material once used to insulate and fire-proof homes. It can be harmful to people when they are exposed to it frequently.