Return to Beauty with Conor Lynch

Title: Return to Beauty Subtitle: Why We Stopped Building Beautiful Cities Guest: Conor LynchWhy do millions of people travel across the world to admire centuries-old cathedrals, palaces and public squares, yet so few make pilgrimages to the office towers and apartment blocks built in the last fifty years?What did previous civilisations understand about beauty that we may have forgotten?In this episode of The New Orchard, I sit down with British architect and architectural commentator Conor Lynch to explore one of the defining cultural questions of our time: why beauty in architecture still matters.Together we trace the rise of modernism, examine why classical architecture largely disappeared from architectural education and practice, and ask whether our cities have lost something essential in the pursuit of efficiency, standardisation and progress.From the enduring grandeur of the Pantheon, St Paul's Cathedral and the great cities of Europe to today's skylines of glass, steel and concrete, we discuss why certain places continue to inspire generation after generation while so much contemporary architecture feels temporary, anonymous and disconnected from human scale.We also explore Hungary's ambitious restoration of Budapest's historic Buda Castle District, the growing international revival of traditional architecture, and why an increasing number of young architects are rediscovering the classical tradition.In this conversation we discuss:• Why beauty matters in architecture• How modernism reshaped cities across the world• Why classical architecture largely disappeared from architecture schools• The economics and incentives behind contemporary development• Budapest's remarkable architectural restoration projects• Can beauty be objective?• Architecture, identity and the health of civilisation• Why buildings once lasted centuries—and why many are now designed for decades• The resurgence of traditional and classical architecture• How individuals can support the return of beautiful placesWhether you're an architect, designer, urban planner, student, historian or simply someone who has stood beneath a great cathedral and wondered why it still moves people centuries after it was built, this conversation explores the profound relationship between architecture, culture, memory and human flourishing.Because architecture is never just about buildings.It is a reflection of what a civilisation believes to be true, beautiful and worth leaving behind.Notable links and conversation references: 1. Conor’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/c_k_lynch 2. Quinlan Terry Architects - https://qtarchitects.com/introduction/ 3. Poundbury, an urban extension to the Dorset county town of Dorchester, built on the principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by HM King Charles, III, in ‘A Vision of Britain’. - https://duchyofcornwall.org/poundbury.html 4. Moray Estate’s vision is the creation of a traditional town, very like market towns so enduring and popular all over Scotland. - https://www.tornagrain.com/ 5. https://www.intbau.org/ - A global network dedicated to creating better places to live.6. https://www.latablerondearchitecture.com/ - The Architecture Round Table (TRA) is a non-profit association dedicated to the defence and teaching of beautiful, humane and sustainable architecture.7. Andrea Palladio - https://www.worldhistory.org/Andrea_Palladio/ 8. City of Cayalá, in Guatemala. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrnAsMSwGbg 9. Léon Krier - https://twitter.com/leonkrier?lang=en 10. Buda Castle Palace District site restoration project (Nemzeti Hauszmann Program) - https://nemzetihauszmannprogram.hu/ 11. House of Parliament Budapest - https://www.parlament.hu/web/visitors/house-of-parliament