A large percentage of the new buildings in London were constructed in what I call the “millennial neoclassical” style–glass and steel buildings (frequently, but not always, skyscrapers) with high ceilings, large windows, well-lighted rooms, and minimal furniture, generally with clean lines. Notably, there are no columns, pediments, or statues associated with them; they are not, shall we say, imperial, and they would fit almost anywhere in the world.
Why this style? It could reflect the following:
- A rejection of conspicuous materialism after the Great Recession;
- The overwhelming importance of phones and other computers over other goods in today’s world; or
- A conscious desire to create distance between today and the UK’s imperial past, which is viewed more as racist than glorious by millennials.
#3 in particular comes with a political agenda. More on that in subsequent posts.