Why did some people find the International Style cold or lacking in warmth?

Many people found the International Style cold or lacking in warmth due to its emphasis on austerity, efficiency, and a complete rejection of traditional ornamentation.123

The style was characterized by boxlike forms, hard and glassy surfaces, and the use of industrial materials such as steel, reinforced concrete, and plywood. Because the movement prioritized functionalism—the idea that a building's form should grow directly out of its structural engineering and purpose—it stripped away decorative elements that had historically provided visual richness and human scale.123

Critics and inhabitants often felt that these "glass-and-steel boxes" were stultifying, formulaic, and monotonous. The French architect Le Corbusier famously described the house as a "machine for living," a concept that many found dehumanizing, as it suggested that people were expected to live inside machines rather than comfortable, inviting spaces. By the 1970s, this perceived lack of human warmth and the limitations of the style's "bare and denuded" aesthetic led to a significant reaction against modernist architecture, eventually paving the way for postmodernism.124