There was a good article in the New York Times about these guys the other day but I can’t find it now. I think it’s a good thing. More than being a threat to modernist architects I think the resurgence of this sort of thing is maybe a sign that POMO is at finally completely dead. People who appreciate classical architecture as a historical artifact should get what they want and have it well done and well researched by architects who respect their tastes and are excited about the work rather than having to submit to some snide, pretentious fop giving them “playfully†ironic pastiche and trying to pass it off as progressive architecture.
It’s not these kindly old duffers who go around pushing for disciplinary autonomy and “post-criticalâ€, “post-functionalist†formalism. It’s the damn anti-modernist reactionaries. I hope these guys build lots of nice projects and I hope they keep a lot of old-school craftspeople busy so we don’t loose that knowledge and I hope that people with conservative tastes are so pleased with it that Bob Stern starves the fuck to death.
