408 - Andrew Gould & Michael Diamant - Architecture: The Most Important Art

In this conversation I’m joined by Andrew Gould and Michael Diamant to explore the importance of traditional architecture and city planning. We discuss why so much of our built environment feels alienating, how modernism abandoned human proportion and beauty, and why recovering classical forms matters for culture, community, and even our spiritual lives.

Michael shares the story of the Architecture Uprising movement across Europe, and Andrew explains how he approaches designing buildings that are rooted in tradition yet alive for today. Together we reflect on how beauty is not just a luxury—it’s essential for human flourishing.

Youtube version: https://youtu.be/uS_3FB7foVc?si=5zMFNf8ALUUAov9d

Architects, go to https://newtrad.org/
Follow Michael on X / Twitter: https://x.com/michael_diamant
Andrew Gould's website: https://newworldbyzantine.com/
Follow Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.gould.1401

Buy Rapunzel and the Evil Witch: https://rapunzelbook.com/

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:48 - Intro music
01:13 - Introduction
06:14 - What's great about ugly architecture?
09:27 - Politics
10:51 - The Brutalist
13:03 - City planning
15:28 - Density
20:28 - What is driving the madness?
27:03 - The options for architects
30:17 - What architecture is today
34:26 - Classical beauty
40:10 - Bad classical architecture
45:52 - Defending your culture
51:05 - Andrew Gould's work
01:01:02 - Architectural fashion
01:04:58 - The film industry

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/