Book Review
Abstract
Michael Cadwell, Strange Details , Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2007 REVIEWED BY SCOTT COLMAN [H]is theoretical speculations make it necessary for him to undertake his own complex drawings, to be implicated in the project by way of its re-enactment, in order to confirm his hypothesis. His textual references, while crucial, invariably play a supplementary role to these on-site observations and actions. References substantiate the argument, prove the point, rather than instigate the ideas. Moshen Mostafavi, on Robin Evans 1 In Strange Details Michael Cadwell offers his insight into the construction of four canonical works of modern architecture: Carlo Scarpa's Querini Stampalia Foundation , Frank Lloyd Wright's Jacobs House , Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House , and Louis Kahn's Yale Center for British Art . It may be possible to read the brief introduction and these four, short essays, and simply continue on one's way. For in its penmanship and structure the book is clear and accessible. There is a regular cadence to the interspersed illustrations. The book fits well in the hand and is well designed. Most liberating of all, there is no conclusion. Indeed, nothing seems to be claimed of the reader at all.