Richard Meier, Architect, Vol. 3: 1992-1998
While architectural styles keep changing, Richard Meier is a rock of constancy, holding fast to the forms and principles of classic 20th-century modernism. His pristine white buildings, precise and articulated, proclaim that rationality and clarity still have the power to impress us in an age of unfettered stylistic experimentation. Others may seize the role of Dionysus, but he is content to be Apollo.This is the third installment of a series of monographs on Meier's architecture; the first volume was published in 1985. It records 23 works designed or completed between 1992 and 1999. The best known of these is the legendary Getty Center in Los Angeles, but that billion-dollar Wagnerian extravaganza has not distracted Meier from turning out many other impressive structures of large and small scale, including the Hague City Hall and Central Library, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Rachovsky House in Dallas. Two-thirds of the projects are in Europe or Asia, suggesting that America may not be taking full advantage of this native son's abilities.This large-format, square book is handsomely assembled, with 444 pages and more than 650 well-reproduced color and black-and-white photos and finely honed line drawings. Essays by architectural historians Kenneth Frampton and Joseph Rykwert and a postscript by architect Arata Isozaki--all major figures in their fields--provide valuable analysis that completes this impressive volume.--John Pastier