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Guess The Architect

 

Sure, the East End is home to beautiful beaches but it’s also got its fair share of style. Even when it comes to the bricks and mortar that make up our architectural landscape. How well do you know the creative geniuses behind some of the most iconic imagery to grace the Hamptons and beyond? Dig deep and have fun!

A) Best known for his early work constructing weekend houses for wealthy industrialists, this late great architect was also an innovator in the world of pre-fab construction. During his lifetime, the celebrated architect conceived of more than 100 major projects—from his storied estates to thoughtfully considered urban planning. His grand style lives on here on the East End, and on the pages of at least one seminal Hamptons coffee table book.

B) This architect’s name is synonymous with the Beaux Arts beauties he designed. Embracing the “American Renaissance” style, through his well-known firm, his work is celebrated from the South Fork to Newport. Lesser known is the fact that his last work, a major departure, was a contribution to Nicola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower in Shoreham. This son of a theater scholar (who had no money but great connections) was prone to dramatic visual statements in his residential and institutional commissions, and regarded as conquest collector in his personal life. He made what might be his biggest lasting mark in lower Manhattan, though some say his death—resulting in “the trial of the century” of the time—nearly eclipsed his life’s work.

C) This prolific architect made a name for himself designing structures in harmony with humanity and the environment. The organic architecture pioneer is the father of the Usonian home and a leader of the Prairie School movement. Often referred to as “the greatest American architect of all time,” his colorful life and romantic adventures landed him in the headlines nearly as much as his iconic work.

D) Sculptural beach houses were this architect’s stock in trade. His modest but distinctive beach homes were not just interesting to look at, they were designed to be compatible with the environment in which they sat. Multiple examples of his quirky work grace the East End, from the oceanfront shore in Westhampton to an entire community in Montauk. In addition to his super-modern mid-century work, this architect’s legacy lives on through his connection to the great “Kitchen Debate” over the merits of capitalism versus socialism.

E) Still living and producing monumental work, this architect and abstract artist revels in making bold statements. The East Hampton resident’s minimalist geometric designs make prominent use of the color white—as evidenced at his Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Saltzman House here in East Hampton. So sure is it that his playfully original architecture will stand the test of time, his alma mater named a professorship after him.

(A) Grosvenor Atterbury (B) Stanford White (C) Frank Lloyd Wright (D) Andrew Geller (E) Richard Meier

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