When it comes to the aim of capturing the spirit of the times, there is probably no profession that can compare with architects. A building that represents a true expression of its time enjoys the highest status a building can achieve among the fellowship of architects. It does not matter whether the building is ugly or beautiful, whether it is beloved by the people or not; what matters is the connection between the building and the putative spirit of the times. Because society is always changing, the architecture of buildings must change; indeed they should be on the cutting edge and, as it were, a forerunner of the new.
The journalist Anders Frelin (DN 17 Apri 2009) describes below what can happen when a newly constructed and fairly uninteresting building is forced on a neighbourhood with old buildings:

Just after the bridge from Hornstull to Liljeholmen [in Stockholm] is a new building that makes one recoil. It follows the older buildings abutting it with its form. ...