Reviewed by Lester Korzilius 
Approximately 560 words 

Published in Oculus, March 1995

The work of Edward Larrabee Barnes supports Louis Sullivan's proposition that a building is a mirror of the personal characteristics of the architect that created it. Both Barnes and his buildings have an understated elegance, a gentle but firm bearing, a pragmatic sensibility, and a sense of noblesse oblige. Barnes' work includes private residences, office buildings, churches, academic institutions, and museums. What is remarkable about the work is how good it is in many different building types. Barnes is one of the few architects who can design both an excellent house and commercial office building.

Surprisingly, this is the first book published on the work of Barnes and his partners. After five decades of practice Barnes has retired and dismantled his office. T-his book is his swan song, and as such it must have been very difficult to write. Overall, the book strikes a necessary but unfortunate compromise between the number of projects included and the detail given to each. Like his buildings, the text by Barnes accompany-ing each project says much with very little. The careful editing of photographs and plans mostly overcomes the limita-tions of the Rizzoli format that tends to turn the work of even serious architects into coffee table reviews.

Barnes' particular strength was the design of museums. The critically acclaimed Walker Art Center in Minneapolis cemented Barnes' reputation as an architect of world class stature. Faint echoes of the Guggenheim Museum appear in this work, but unlike the Guggenheim, this building defers to the art, while still maintaining its presence as a work of architecture.

Architects can learn from the work of the Barnes office. The wide gamut of excellent projects demonstrates, among other things, their clear under-standing of the realities involved in each building type. Barnes understood what aspects of a project could be manipulated and what were unchangeable. The drawings and plans are chosen to reinforce those areas of the design where Barnes had the most impact. The division of the book by building type underscores this approach.

Barnes' houses offer a particular delight. Often using simple materials in limited programs, there is an elegant simplicity that appears effortless, but in reality is extremely difficult to achieve. The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the recent winner of the AIA 25 year award, is well documented. The sensitive siting of this compound of simple buildings on a rugged slope on Deer Isle, Maine, set among trees and overlooking water, attains a timeless quality. 

The regrets with this book are that some projects are not covered in sufficient depth. In particular, the Walker Museum, the Dallas Museum, and the Scaife Gallery could be the subject of their own book. Similarly, Barnes' detailed views on archite-ctur-e, and the approach towards projects would be particularly insightful and valuable. Also, given the Barnes' office sensitivity in working with their clients, it was surprising that the owners were not mentioned in the project descriptions or in the building credits.

Nearly 500 architects, including this writer, passed through the Barnes office. Many have gone on to distinguished careers, helping define current american architec-ture. The depth of talent in the practice was perhaps one reason why the Barnes office received the AIA Firm Award in 1980. Like his Harvard mentor Walter Gropius, Barnes may be remembered by future generations as much for the architects he helped train as for the buildings he created. 

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