Architecture criticism isn't just about shooting fish in a barrel, it's about making people think about the shocking waste of time and energy that occurs once a relatively small group of people makes a bad decision. Like wars, bad architecture originates from a sense of anxiety that gets misdirected into action. In the case of the Scots, the architectural legacy of their southern overlords created an environment of mistrust and vulnerability. Consequently, they allowed an academic architect to saddle them with a Parliament building that is at once unmemorable and wonderfully photogenic in its awfulness.
However, the Scottish don't have to pin their entire hopes on one building. Some day in the near future they'll be faced with the same dilemma as the leaders of the City of Boston--how long do we maintain something that nearly everyone hates? Once doubt about a piece of architecture has been sown, it blossoms with a fervor for demolition, or more appropriately, quiet abandonment.
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