Iconic Legends:The 10 Greatest Modern Architects of Our Time

lang · Post by **lang** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 7:57 am

http://freshome.com/2012/08/17/iconic-l ... -our-time/

I know all these lists are all subjective, but really! How does Gehry rate the #1 spot over Frank Lloyd Wright? You can see Wright's influence in the work of many architects and in the layouts of modern floorplans. Gehry's done some spectacular buildings, but even so, his body of work doesn't even touch Wright's.
I guess its fortunate he rates a #2 spot. A. Aalto, E. Saarinen, and R.M. Schindler didn't even make the list!

Lang

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 12:42 pm

1. Frank Lloyd Wright
2. Alvar Aalto
3. Rudolph Schindler
4. Eero Saarinen
5. H. H. Richardson
6. Henri Louis Sullivan
7. Sverre Fehn
8. Will Bruder
9. Ludwig Mies Vander Rohe
10. Kenzo Tange ...
... off the cuff

Of those on the posted list, Gehry (whose work will not age well), Pei (the most overrated architect), Hadid (who seems to be on an eternal 'trip') and Johnson (who on "60 Minutes" accurately described himself as a whore) don't belong. Tom Wright is an unusual choice, but interesting. I have mixed feelings about Renzo Piano.

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 1:14 pm

It would seem the definition "of our time" is from just preceding the earliest death of one of the architects on the list (1959) to the present day.

I found it a surprise to see E. Fay Jones missing from the list. I was more surprised Santiago Calatrava was not listed as dramatic as his work is to the general public....I would put it on a higher plane than the work of some of the others on the the list.

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sat Oct 26, 2013 5:38 pm

Add

Le Corbusier
Louis Kahn
Stephen Holl
Kenga Kuma

Delete

Fehn
Bruder
Tange

modern-eyes · Post by **modern-eyes** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:20 am

Oscar Niemeyer is missing too.......

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:41 pm

To rate (i.e., to compare) the famous and accomplished -- more accomplished than we, no doubt ? -- is tempting, and perhaps inevitable. But it is essentially a meaningless and a fruitless endeavor, saying more about the lister than about the listed. Each of these men added something to the collective modernist achievement; deciding who is more worthy of praise is beneath both us and them.

That said -- fire away !

SDR

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:00 pm

"Of our time" is so ambiguous.
Isn't it much clearer and easier to say of a certain generation, century, or decade?
But seriously, Philip Johnson more iconic than Mies? And if Wright and Mies are considered to be of our time, how could Le Corbusier not be mentioned?

As entertaining as it might be to rate and compare, these lists are generally an excercise in futility.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:23 pm

True, Top 10 lists are useless. Usually they end up being My Personal Favorites. The American Film Institute publishes a Best 100 movies list yearly, apparently to get people to notice the AFI. Means nothing. Although I did notice on the above list that Swiss architect, Peter Zumthor, who has designed a massive replacement for LACMA that resembles (from the air) a giant oil spill next to the La Brea Tar Pits, was not included, even though Christopher Hawthorne, LA Times architecture critic, has been trumpeting the design for months. One hopes the fund raising for that latest indignity will not get off the ground.

The age of the idiosyncratic architect, or starchitect (don't you just love the silliness of modern culture?), dates back to the late 19th century. Without the likes of H. H. Richardson and Frank Furness, what would modern architecture be? Selecting The 10 Best "of our time," if one were to go back to the fountainhead, would be futile.

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:34 pm

Zumthor's proposal in site plan looks poised to devour Bruce Goff's Asian Pavilion in one gulp:

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/ ... -the-past/

Quite a behemoth to behold, but I suspect the view from the proposed building to Goff's and the garden that surrounds it will be pleasing. The Swiss architect "embracing" Goff's work?
I guess it is a consolation that the Asian Pavilion has no transparent fenestration (just Kalwall) and views of the new building will not pose a distraction for guests viewing the art.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:42 pm

Flying in to LAX will provide one with a bird's eye view of Zumthor's channeling of Hans Arp paintings:
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/pain ... tails.aspx

http://archinect.com/news/gallery/75004 ... -picks-319#

Rood · Post by **Rood** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:49 pm

In the late 1940's Fernand Leger was painting two-dimensional murals of similar design on the walls of the United Nations Buildings in New York City. Then President Harry S. Truman dubbed Leger's work as reminding him of "scrambled eggs".

http://christianbjone.net/?page_id=774

JimM · Post by **JimM** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:15 pm

Roderick Grant wrote:the La Brea Tar Pits

Only in LA.... "the the tar tar pits"!

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:51 pm

... or the former L A Angels, The The Angels Angels.