There is a widespread belief within architectural education that traditional architecture is elitist and unwelcoming to people from less affluent or diverse backgrounds. My own experience as a student has led me to believe the exact opposite is often true.

Traditional buildings are often the ones people feel most comfortable in, yet in schools of architecture, a preference for traditional design is regularly treated as outdated or even suspect. This attitude not only limits creative freedom but may itself be a barrier to diversity in the profession.

If we asked the general public what kind of architecture contributes to the marginalisation of less affluent communities, many would probably point to the concrete high-rises of the 1960s or the deeply flawed New Town experiments in places like Cumbernauld. Yet the architectural establishment persists in the view that modernist ‘innovation’ is the best way to create inclusive and popular places for people to live and work.

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