At the risk of losing my credentials as a curmudgeon, I can state with confidence that architecture has been on a consistently upward trajectory since its inception. There have been some retrograde movements, but even then, building technology continued to improve in subtle ways. User expectations tend to be satisfied by banal experiences---air conditioned offices and factories, dwellings with multiple spaces, bathrooms, specialized art venues. Spiritual and inspired form-making still makes headlines, but a well designed operating room in a hospital is regarded as more important to the public welfare. If we take a hard look at the profession we find a culture of wonks who play the struggling artist game--but only as longing as their cashing checks from ordinary clients for ordinary things.
The image above is from Peter Gruhn. He is not often bound by pragmatism in his design work, to his credit.
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