Our Buildings Express Our Era

http://www.traditional-building.com/

http://www.alvinholm.com/

The idea that there are no longer Craftsmen around to build like this--is a myth. They are around and eager to honor the tradition passed down to them. The loss of 'Delight' from the old rule "Firmness, Commodity and Delight" took us through a grimm period of siding, minimal details and awkward spaces. Modernism had us believe that buildings we have seen in the early 20th Century are no longer feasible but traditional architecture is inherantly 'g*&*n'--that pesky word...grrr. The materials used where always local and had graceful aging properties. Look at any building before 1945 and you will see their harmonious permanence, and how they 'sing' as Al Holm once commented. It costs more money to build these buildings which protest with odd angles than it does the four-square which is more desirable for human well-being. If the material of choice for modernists is glass, than the feasibility argument goes out the window as houses made of glass are far more costly and in the long run will be just that---glass houses. Sorry Gropius, your Glass Cathedral called, it needs brick and a little romance back.