Agree on the arts center, @MAandMEmom. That’s another one that doesn’t “harmonize.”
IMO most of modern commercial and institutional architecture is ugly or at best nondescript.
It can be pleasing when new but tends not to age well. Industrial materials generally do not develop a patina of age. Modern structures can look dated and sometimes decrepit within a few decades (instead of looking more and more interesting, mysterious or charming).
UChicago’s Regenstein Library is a pretty ugly structure, but in an interesting way, and it does serve its purpose well (without looking any uglier over time than it already is). This is the modern bargain we’ve bought into in. We want buildings to deliver the greatest functional benefit at the lowest possible cost, without any unnecessary embellishment. If we reach a point where we can 3D print a building and erect it in a couple days, so much the better.
Liberal arts college campuses are nearly the last vestiges of traditional village life in America, so that’s where I’d look for a combination of technical innovation (for energy efficiency) and efficient yet beautiful vernacular style, on a human scale. I think some of the best inspirations for this in modern structures are in Scandinavian vernacular or Shaker buildings. These generally are residential or small-scale institutional structures. Maybe something like the Franklin Environmental Science Center at Middlebury College is a good example. As I recall, Bennington College does a good job of integrating rural vernacular style. It wouldn’t translate well to a large urban university.
For large, urban campuses, it might be nice if more architects would try to incorporate allusions, whimsy, or humor (along the lines of Denver International Airport or some of the more understated Frank Gehry structures, perhaps).
Sadly Noyes house at Vassar, while cool in the 70s vibe way, is very noisy. It’s shape makes it act as a huge amplifier. Anything played on one end can be heard perfectly on its opposite end. Also anything played in the middle can be heard all over campus.
Ditto #9. I dislike modern architecture in general. At best, it’s functional. But most of it is ugly. When I tried to think of any modern building that I liked, the "fish scale building " at UTD was the only one that came to mind. Photos don’t show how the light reflects off the scales/colors seem to move and change–it’s pretty. It does fit in with the rest of the campus, which is completely modern, but the scales make it stand out–in a good way.
I’ve posted elsewhere that Wesleyan’s arts center, if it absolutely had to be in the Corbusier/brutalist mold (given its time period), comes about as close as it gets to getting the scale right, spread over six acres, with plenty of green space in between, the limestone buildings are almost impossible to capture in one single image thus creating a kind of whimsy all their own:
http://grahamfoundation.org/grantees/5395-kevin-roche-the-quiet-architect