„In the Mood for Architecture” seeks to intervene in the polemics between tradition and modernity, and between modernism and classicism, mediating between entrenched positions with a theoretical sketch, or perhaps a meditative fragment, that evokes a contemporary architecture not afraid to acknowledge both tradition and modernity, that embraces newness and originality but also recognizes the role of imitation and convention. Lucien Steil believes that traditional cities and architecture have always represented the ideals of harmony and beauty in a destabilized and disrupted world. For him, traditional cities and architecture have remained desirable models of cultural identity, homeliness, urbanity and civilization, and he maintains that the traditional city remains a good and desirable place to live, and that tradition offers a home to modernity and originality. It has proven to be perfectly compatible with modern life, despite an array of pressing challenges that must be considered as opportunities rather than limitations. For Steil, „this is both a tangible reality, time-tested and perfected, and a realistic, buildable, operational and necessary project for contemporary civilization”.