[tsomer]

One last thought:

I.M.Pei belongs to the European minimalist tradition: internal load bearing piers supporting “curtain walls.”
The idea was that by freeing the exterior walls from any structural role, the designer had more freedom enclosing the space. Ironically, their strict, idealized adherence to geometry severely constrained the possibilities this offered.

Anybody interested in this stuff should read Tom Wolfe’s “From Our House to Bauhaus.”

[Richard Kimball]

You may make me re-evaluate my thoughts on Wright. I haven't studied architecture much, mostly painting and sculpture. When I look at most of Wright's buildings, they're aesthetically nice, but I still think they are more concerned with looks than function, and IMHO, form follows function should be #1 in functional design.

Your posts to me on this have made me look back at the work, and I think you're right. The European minimalist school is what has produced most of the architecture I find objectionable from both an aesthetic and functional standpoint.

I wouldn't want the upkeep, and I think its a shame that you can't see the waterfall from the house, but Wright's Falling Waters house is still one of the most beautiful buildings around. I'd just rather look at it than live in it.

The two World Wars and the Spanish Revolution did something to Europe, and so much of what comes from there creatively is nihilistic now. I find it disturbing to get too involved with their design sensibilities.