A tip of the hat to Lynn Becker, who directs readers to the New York Times‘ recent profile of Richard Driehaus. The Chicago-based investor and preservationist has plenty of opinions about the city’s architecture, stating that “design today is just not as heartfelt” and aligning himself instead with the “organic, natural and harmonious” forms of the 19th century.
“Modern architecture has become totally homogenized and uninteresting,” he said. “We’re losing our sense of who we are, how we developed and where we’re going. One streetscape in Prague is worth all of Dubai, visually.”
Becker questions those blanket statements and offers up Koolhaas and Jahn (remember him?) as examples of perfectly decent modern architects, but he also suggests that Driehaus’ restoration of the Nickerson Mansion for his new Musuem of Decorative Arts could be “nothing short of spectacular” when it opens later this year.