Modern is not a style

Check out this letter from Myrick Howard about the style of my personal home (under construction) at 516 Euclid St. The discussion of style is useful looking backwards as a way to understand trends and almost always counterproductive as a tool to understand design that is happening now. In the case of our house controversy and in looking a new building in Oakwood, the discussion of style has been distracting from the actual important design issues.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/28/4103432_myrick-howard-house-not-modernist.html?rh=1

The design for 516 Euclid St is a contemporary interpretation of craftsman homes from the turn of the century through the 1930's. The emphasis on simple building forms, honest expression of locally sourced materials and exposed building details is well suited to a contemporary home in an historic district. Quite unlike the bold compositions of glass and steel seen in designs firmly rooted in the International Style of the early twentieth century, the Euclid St design uses familiar historic design elements in a manner clearly of the present tense.