Tag Archives: Frank Lloyd Wright

Betsky barks at the Bauhaus

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

Some might not realize that Aaron Betsky has added to his role as critic for Architect magazine that of director of Taliesin West, the architecture school founded in 1932 by Frank Lloyd Wright and his third wife, Olgivanna. Amid the … Continue reading →

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Carlo Scarpa’s modernism

Posted on June 24, 2018 by

The identity of my favorite modernist architect has always eluded me. I am not familiar with the work of every modernist. But modern architecture is by its nature inferior to traditional architecture. At its heart is a rejection of the … Continue reading →

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Each state’s “ne plus ugly”

Posted on January 22, 2018 by

Architecture is a form of art. When a city constructs a new building, it should add beauty to its streetscape. The above quote, unattributed, introduces an article in MSN.com’s Business Insider entitled “The Ugliest Building in Every US State, According … Continue reading →

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Gaudi’s Manhattan tower

Posted on July 3, 2016 by

That Gaudi had considered erecting a New York skyscraper is not widely known. William O’Connor writes of it in “Gaudi’s Lost Manhattan Tower” for the Daily Beast. O’Connor prates absurdly of Gaudi’s modernism – more than any other major architect, … Continue reading →

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Zaha, FLW & arrogance

Posted on October 27, 2015 by

Far be it from me to defend Zaha Hadid. Any ammo you can blow up under her reputation might rock her architecture – its reputation if not its actual existence. Let ‘er rip! I have defended Zaha from accusations that … Continue reading →

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Architect, bury your mistake

Posted on October 17, 2015 by

Yesterday I ran some passages from the late critic Lewis Mumford and thought I recalled having written a column on him years ago after reading a biography. I cannot find it. But here is one column from June 1994 in … Continue reading →

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Betsky at Taliesin . . . Duck!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by

Amusing to hear that modern architecture’s ranter-in-chief, Aaron Betsky, has been hired as dean of the School of Architecture at Taliesin West – in Scottsdale, Ariz – where Frank Lloyd Wright spent his final years as an architectural provocateur. How … Continue reading →

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Wings: Frank Lloyd Wrong

Posted on April 20, 2014 by

Here is episode 129 of the TV show Wings, “Good-bye, Frank Lloyd Wrong,” about when a couple is offered a free house shaped like a 7 by a famous architect. The episode is here.

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Shoe slips on other foot

Posted on March 21, 2014 by

Michael Rouchell sends to TradArch a wonderful sketch of the new addition to the Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier’s pathbreaking modernist house of 1931 in suburban Paris. As intended, the addition raises interesting questions. Modernists are wary of additions to their work in … Continue reading →

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FLW on Corbu – Let’s you and him fight!

Posted on December 27, 2013 by

Here’s Frank Lloyd Wright taking a poke at Le Corbusier. Much fun, with the Great Man’s insecurities, if that is what they were, exposed. But still no cape. Maybe Corbu swiped it. Here’s the vid on YouTube. Hey, what’s Ludwig … Continue reading →

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