The Ugliness of Modernity: A Plea for the Return to Goodness, Truth, and Beauty

In a world dominated by gray steel poles, interchangeable concrete slabs, and functional chill, we yearn for beauty: the kind that not only delights the eye but nourishes the soul. Our cities, our everyday objects, even the simplest infrastructures feel like soulless machines: efficient, yes, but devoid of poetry. Why have we abandoned the aesthetics that once united the most utilitarian creations with the sublime? Why do we inhabit an environment that depresses rather than inspires?

These are the questions posed by Sheehan Quirke in his widely viewed and provocative video How Did The World Get So Ugly?, which has sparked a global conversation about the lost beauty of our surroundings. Quirke walks along London’s Thames Embankment and juxtaposes two streetlamps: a modern, anonymous steel tube that merely provides light, and a 19th-century Victorian lamp adorned with dolphins, floral ornaments, and golden details: a work of art that transforms public space into something magical. The message is clear: in the past, progress was not the enemy of beauty but its ally. The Victorians revolutionized the world with electricity, sewer systems, and engineering marvels, and they adorned them all with an aesthetic that united the True (function), the Good (societal benefit), and the Beautiful (artistic fulfillment).

This ethos reaches its pinnacle in one of the most breathtaking examples of Victorian architecture: the Crossness Pumping Station in London, designed by the brilliant architect and artist Charles Henry Driver (1832–1900). Built between 1859 and 1865 as part of Joseph Bazalgette’s revolutionary sewer system, which saved London from cholera and the infamous “Great Stink,” Crossness is no mere utility structure: it is a cathedral of iron, as architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner aptly described it.

Driver, who was not only an architect but also a passionate painter of oils and watercolors, masterfully fused industrial functionality with ornamental splendor. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style, the building features round-arched windows reminiscent of medieval churches. Yet the true marvel lies within: an octagonal hall of filigreed cast iron, painted in vibrant red, green, gold, and cream, with floral motifs, vines, and geometric patterns that evoke Gothic frescoes. The four colossal beam engines: Victoria, Prince Consort, Albert Edward, and Alexandra, with their 52-ton flywheels and 47-ton beams, were not just technical wonders that pumped millions of gallons of sewage daily; they were sculptures that unfolded symphonic beauty in motion.

Driver, who collaborated with Bazalgette on the Thames Embankment and other pumping stations such as Abbey Mills, was a pioneer of ornamental iron architecture. His designs, including the dolphin lamps celebrated by Quirke, demonstrate that even a sewage pumping station can be a place of uplift. After decades of neglect, Crossness was lovingly restored by the Crossness Engines Trust and has glowed in full splendor since 2016. It stands as a monument to the idea that beauty is not a luxury but a necessity: it makes us more human.

Sheehan Quirke puts it succinctly: “If you want to understand a society, look at what it creates.” Our contemporary society produces ugliness. Yet we do not need a return to the Victorian era; we need a renaissance of aesthetics in modern form.

In every domain: architecture, design, public space, we must return to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. A shining example is contemporary photorealistic and hyperrealistic painting. Artists such as Pedro Campos or Antony Brunelli capture reali…