It’s astonishing, really, but many humanists think that if they only built better buildings, the “perfectibility” of mankind could be achieved. All it takes to perfect man, they think, is stellar blueprints with a bit of elbow grease. This idea is what philosophers call "the myth of progress." It is a utopian dream whereby mankind can engineer salvation through architecture.

The humanists are correct about one thing, “Building houses and designing them is a religious activity," as Alan Wilson says in "Religion of Works."

In the area of architecture, humanism has had dire consequences. The more committed the humanist’s dream of salvation through human effort, the uglier their designs have become. Wilson asserts that, "[N]o other art form has been so plagued with messianic dreams than architectural design, especially in the twentieth century."

Perfectibility of man only comes from acknowledging our sin and accepting salvation through the Cross, but when we insist on saving ourselves, failure is inevitable. Look at any public housing project, of instance, and you will see a bunch of ugly buildings—buildings which people hate to enter.