Some Architectural Problems of To-Day

In this bracing 1924 polemic, Sir C.H. Reilly argues that a city's buildings are its civic dress as surely as the clothes on its inhabitants' backs. And what he sees dressed in the early twentieth century disturbs him deeply. With sharp wit and genuine passion, Reilly dissects the failures of modern architecture: civic buildings that fail to inspire, government structures devoid of dignity, residential areas thrown up without thought for beauty or community. He contends that architecture is never neutral, that every building either elevates or degrades the human spirit, and that society has forgotten this basic truth. Reilly calls not just architects but ordinary citizens to wake up, to demand more from the structures they inhabit, to recognize that civic buildings should uphold standards of decency and beauty befitting a civilized people. Though written nearly a century ago, his arguments about the social purpose of architecture and the shared responsibility for our built environment speak directly to contemporary debates about development, preservation, and what we owe to future generations.