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Has ‘Clever’ Left the Building?
“Modernism is just another style these days. What makes the pursuit of a pseudo-avant-garde so incredibly clever?” —Tony Kiley, responding to Clem Labine’s most recent blog about Modernism’s grip on...
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Are Tax Credits a Taxing Matter?
“Tax credits are an easy, low-cost path to preserving our rich architectural heritage for years to come. Our country’s history deserves better than a wrecking ball.” —Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, and...
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Is the Modern Mind Unable to Comprehend Craftsmanship?
“While the modern, plugged-in mind and human imagination are stimulated and intrigued by the visual artist’s computer craft, those of us who wish to continue to practice crafts that produce solid...
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Is Modernism Just Child’s Play?
“These discordant buildings may simply be the products of architects who never grew up, but found a way to cloak their immaturity with ideology.” —Marc, responding to Clem Labine’s most recent blog...
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Is It Time for Modernists to Grow Up?
“It’s…sad to see that today’s modernist abhorrence of architectural ornament remains imprisoned in adolescence a century old. When will these children grow up?” —John Crosby Freeman, well known as The...
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Should We Just Cleave Them Alone?
“I imagine Daniel Libeskind strolling around Rome, fantasizing about the opportunity to bring St. Peter’s into the 21st century by penetrating that musty old dome with a pointed glass shard.”...
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Is It Time, Once More, to Make Room for Traditional Architecture?
“The world is a richer place for diversity of values and diversity of architectural expressions. Architects can choose to design Modern or traditional buildings according to the fitness for the design...
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When Is It Time to Think of Time?
“It’s best to remember that every time we see something that has happened to a part of our built environment, we need to include the dimension of time in our understanding of what we observe. Without...
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What Would Ike Like?
“The Lincoln Memorial is a wonderful example of strength and theme. And this is what I want this memorial to be—an inspiration for who we are as a people, and what we accomplished during those years.”...
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Why Can’t Today’s Monuments Look More Like This?
“I think the world is slowly coming around to the rather obvious fact that the Frank Gehrys and Daniel Libeskinds of the world are not geniuses at all. They are in fact little more than brand peddlers...
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Mr. Secretary, Can You Lower Your Standards, Please?
“But the solution is simple: The Secretary of the Interior should support phasing out the Standards and replacing them with a Model Historic Building Code. . . .” —Gary Cole, AIA, preservationist,...
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Is Historic Preservation the Key to Economic Success?
“I cannot identify a single example of a sustained success story in downtown revitalization where historic preservation wasn’t a key component. Not one. Conversely, the examples of very expensive...
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Should It Be Curtains for Glass Buildings?
“. . .The Real Estate Board of New York has cleverly co-sponsored a study that sets out to prove that for many glass curtain-wall commercial buildings constructed between 1955 and 1975, demolition and...
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Should We Always Give Thanks to the Memories?
“Today, contemporary architecture defines itself in opposition to historic architecture, making attempts to reconcile new and old construction difficult.” —Architect, author, and educator Steven...
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When Does Idiosyncrasy Become Idiocy?
“Many of today’s cultural clients look primarily for novelty and provocation. Unfortunately, when you design a one-off sculpture-building that’s never been seen before, all details have to be devised...
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What Is It About Sweet Home Chicago?
“We find that there is much to be learned from examples that remain resonant and successful over time, and we’re particularly interested in finding where traditional principles of design and modern...
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Does Babble Ever Make Sense?
“Brahmins on top of the architectural hierarchy are heavily invested in the theory that Modernism is superior – morally and aesthetically – to Traditionalism. When this theoretical supremacy is...
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Goodbye, Mr. Gunther; Fare Well
“I will take a breather. I will do some writing and traveling and consider the next best step for me in a career devoted to the civic realm and how in differing but intertwined ways America can best...
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When Does Public Duty Trump Private Gain?
“I was always campaigning to save some building somewhere – at times literally standing in front of wrecking balls! Thankfully, most people are wised up now.” —Architect Milton Grenfell, recipient of...
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Was Stone Such a Hard Case?
“Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978) had a fabulous architectural career. At his zenith – in the 1960s – he was arguably the most famous architect in America, with accolades like ‘colossus’ and...
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