Introduction and Chapter I, The Silver Prince Summary and Analysis

Wolfe opens with the claim that in probably no other place on earth have people with so much wealth and power paid for architecture they hated. Children walk into schools that look like factories and many can't figure out why it happens. New 900k summer homes are full of pipe railings, ramps, industrial plate glass, etc. and end up looking like insecticide refineries. Law firms in New York move constantly into huge glass office buildings with concrete slab floors and then hire a decorator to change it entirely. Everyone hates the glass box skyscraper.

To see these reactions, one only needs to visit conferences and symposia where architects congregate. They are often appalled themselves, particularly at the "glass boxes." Wolfe thinks that new approaches are on the rise, such...