Actually a fair critique in some ways; the early years of concrete/glass/steel construction were not pretty.
I have no clue why some buildings are considered pretty and others ugly, it all seems so arbitrary to me. And like the point of buildings is to protect the people and machines inside from the elements, not to look pretty, why does everybody care (this is all a subset of the sentiment “why does everybody but me have such a strong visual aesthetic sense”)
It’s a sort of passive emotional buff. Good-looking buildings feel better to be in and around even when they perform the same function. Bad-looking buildings are a bit emotionally draining.
edit: I mean, this doesn’t explain why some buildings look better or worse, but that is how people react to/treat them.