Who is the Greatest Architect of Modern Times?

[Paul Ewins]

My personal favourite is Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Apart from the fact that he routinely overan the budget by a large amount he would be the one to build me a house. If you let him he would design the house and everything in it, right down to the cutlery.

Along with his wife Margaret Macdonald, an accomplished artist and craftsperson, he is almost as well known for the interiors and furnishings as for the buildings themselves. It say a lot about him that our state gallery, half the world away in Australia, has one of his chairs on display in its furniture exhibit and reproductions are still being manufactured 90 -100 years on.

[David Brubaker]

My current favorite is Glen Murcutt. An Australian architect who works alone, and is as creative as Mies van der Rohe. he is just recently becoming well known.

[Jay DeFehr]

I thought that I had replied to this thread, but I don't see my post, so here I go again. Since no one else has mentioned him, I'll say Hassan Fathy, the Egyptian architect, and Charles and Henry Greene, http://www.gamblehouse.org/ masters of the Craftsman style. These choices are both contingent upon the "house" specification.

Jay

[ronald lamarsh]

All right I'll have to answer Frank Lloyd Wright on both issues. Architecture as in art is a very personal thing some love Dali others Van Gogh and some even think that Maplethorpe is an artist. I can say though that I have personally toured and photographed many of Wright's creations: the Johnson Wax building in Racine Wis I found particularly moving. Standing in the entrance archway one is overwhelmed with the feeling of being a part of the building. That is probably my unique response which will be different for everyone.

[Vamsi M]

I would rather have von Erlach design me a house than any 'famous' modern architect. And the unnamed genius who designed Chartres still outshines all the celebrity architects of more recent times..

[guillaume p]

A great architect (living) : Rem Koolhaas.
A great architect (dead this week) : Philip Johnson.
There are many other 'great architects'…
To design a house ? Glen Murcutt.

[Kevin Kemner]

Andre,

I don't know if you're searching for an architect or maybe buildings to photograph but, here's my list. For living architects first would be Tod Williams & Billie Tsien, next Renzo Piano, sometimes Steve Holl and Rem Koolhaas, and Thom Mayne/Morphosis. I go out of my way to see their works and am rarely disappointed. If I had all the money in the world I would hire Williams Tsien in a heart beat. Frank Gehry gets tons of press and deservedly so for a couple projects but he also has some real clunkers. If you're asking for the GOAT of modern architects this is a good list: (somewhat in order) Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Louis Kahn (didn't build enough), Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Guisseppe Terragni (career cut short by war), and Carlo Scarpa. There are many many more great architects for whom I have a good deal of respect but those would be the real stars. FWIW if you're looking to photograph some works feel free to email me and I would be happy to offer suggestions.

Kevin

[kevin seiler]

Frank Lloyd Wright was nowhere near as good an architect as he thought he was. He took credit for a lot of work of his employees and colleagues such as Irving Gill, Louis Sullivan, Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, and his own son, Lloyd Wright. In fact, his son actually invented knit block construction and used it to much better effect than his dad. Very few FL Wright houses don't leak, and very few were delivered at cost. The man was a charlatan, a megalomaniac, and the fact that so many are still under his spell baffles me. It was once said that a useless thing can never truly be beautiful, and I think a lot of architects forget that- FLW among them. If a structure is not useful to live in, work in, and doesn't last, it is merely a monument to ego.

That being said, Wright did recognize genius in others. One such architect was Rudolph Michael Schindler. Of all the architects working in the early modern period, Schindler was the most talented, original, and underappreciated. I've talked with several people who knew him and commissioned houses from him, and all speak very fondly of him. Can't say the same about Wright. Schindler built wonderful houses, often with his own hands. He delivered value to his clients, consistently on budget. He was more interested in providing a service than fame to his reputation. His buildings stand the test of time structurally and artistically.