content: Why modern cities and buildings are boring and ugly The market value of a property has little to do with the quality of its construction and is primarily based on cash flow. It doesn't make sense to invest heavily in the quality since it doesn't improve returns enough to be worth it. Contemporary architecture is designed to look "decent" or "good enough" while saving as much money as possible. And since contemporary artists make stuff that pairs fine with this stuff you get all of the boring international architecture we all hate