Walk-in cancer treatment center in London, by Steven Holl. (curbed.com)

Curbed.com recently published a list, compiled by Spencer Peterson, of rejected modernist projects proposed by certifiable starchitects. Of this list it may be said with confidence that it is not long enough, not by far. The seven rejects include Steven “Hollible” Holl’s horrible intervention in a lovely London neighborhood. The walk-in cancer treatment center was cancelled when – well, let’s here it from the Architects’ Journal – when “members ‘raised concerns about the proposed glass façade,’ despite Holl’s stated drawing of inspiration from ‘the deep history of the area.’ ”

Huh? Shouldn’t it be “because of” rather than “despite” Holl’s obviously bogus historical inspiration? If I were a member of any panel of architectural reviewers and I’d been shown the drawing above to reassure me that the architect drew inspiration from “the deep history of the area,” I would shut him down for insulting my intelligence. Maybe this is what the committee did, but that’s not what the article says. Hmm.

High on the list (and last on it, too) is Frank Gehry’s proposal for a memorial just off the national Mall to Dwight Eisenhower. I certainly hope this project was not placed on the list by mistake. It has been rejected by one committee but not cancelled.

Of course, it was totally depressing to see Bob Stern on the list. He may be considered America’s only classical starchitect. So while we normally would not like to hear about the rejection of a RAMSA project, in this case – a strip of entertainment schlock near Gehry’s philharmonic schlock in L.A. – its rejection is not nearly as depressing as its having been proposed in the first place. Many do not realize that the Stern “brand” fails to reflect the regrettable diversity of his firm’s product, which includes not just great traditional work such as 15 Central Park West (with which many, including many clients, are familiar) but modernist abominations like the Comcast Center, a tower in Philadelphia. Stern may not admit it but his L.A. rejection is probably good for his own business. If he were to put out his shingle solely as a classicist, RAMSA’s bottom line would benefit, but perhaps not as much as the beauty of the world. As matters stand, the firm’s transgressive quality strikes a chord similar to that struck famously by Philip Johnson when he likened architecture (or at least his own architecture) to the oldest profession.

Still, leaving aside that Peterson’s list of rejected modernist projects only whets the refined appetite for more, it is sure to warm the heart of any advocate for beauty.