Fernando de HaroCritiques

I get sucked in by books on architecture. The photographs are so good and the colours enchanting and I think....Oh great! some really nice insights into (in this case Mexican) Architecture. But I usually end up disappointed. In this case, as in many others, the book is really just a showcase of the work of a handful of architects. Not much of a thereto it as far as i could see. It was supposed to be Tradition and modernism and i guess there was a bit of the old leather covers furniture on display for tradition but mostly it seemed to be modernism. Which is ok but it was also a grab bag of photos (all fully furnished places with established gardens). What was I expecting? Well, I guess a bit more of the Finca style of architecture for the traditional part. And these were not your average suburban home either. This was the upper 1% of the super rich in Mexico...with vistas and sweeping staircases and huge terraces and swimming pools. Yes, some nice pictures but overall I come away a bit disappointed. Three stars from me.

Very disappointing. Not the houses, they were great, but the book. It wasn't a book, it was a folded pamphlet with staples down the middle. My own fault really, I love architecture books and they are nearly always in the $40 range so why did I think I would get anything much for under $10? Idiocy overcoming commonsense.