Public Buildings and Societies

"Public buildings reveal much about the attitudes and values of the society that builds them. Today’s new schools, courthouses, airports, and libraries, for example, reflect the attitudes and values of today’s society."

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

All artistic manifestations carry the attitudes and values of the society they were built in. This happens because they are influenced by the science, culture and ethics of the society.  Architecture is a part of this noble family. 

Sampling any part of the whole can give a fair idea about the underlying causes. If it was not so then marketing surveys would not have worked. So the reasoning above is partly true.  However I do not agree with the logic of confining the sampling to public buildings only. To me that would indicate the attitude of the Government or the ruling class rather than the whole society. To get a complete picture both public and private buildings need to be considered.

However none should doubt the power to understand a society by looking at its buildings. Looking at the Sistine Chapel one can easily deduce that it was built in a religious and creative society.  One look at a primitive building in an Amish village is enough to deduce their refusal to accept anything modern. Seeing huge glass skyscrapers in hot tropical countries shows the enormous western cultural influence. Preservation and glorification of all traditional buildings in Europe indicates the pride that the society takes in its history. Standing before the Pyramids is enough to convince anybody of the strength of purpose of the Egyptian civilization. So on and so forth, it is not too hard to see. One does not even need to be an expert to see it. Simply by looking at the public buildings one can get a good idea about the attitudes and values of the society. The point to note is that there is nothing to differentiate between the buildings commissioned by kings, governments or rich individuals.

Concluding I agree with the stated opinion to some extent. The opinion glorifies a small sample, public buildings, from the vast sea of arts and applied arts. Even if the opinion took into account architecture as a whole I could have agreed with it. The reasoning is in the right direction but is not comprehensive.