In a message dated 12/14/2004 2:01:45 AM Central Standard Time, Chris  writes:
Vinyl awaits its Ruskin. Palladio would have done wonders with
Dryvit,
The appropriate place to have this conference is on Gulf shores right after
Ivan ; the old turn of the century court house still stands but  the materials
you describe above now swim with the fish ..... but like lemmings the
developers with insurance cash in hand are back with a vengeance.
Any Ruskin worth his salt would have been bought out by the  Casinos and the
Trumps long ago and  would now be writing glowing reports in Stone World or
the Architectural Record about the use of Rosa Alicante marble  in the commodes
and showers   while the rest of the buildings architecture  swallows us  in
dryvit and molded plastic.

Nah , the closest we can get to traditional crafts in large new public
buildings are lobbies and bathrooms and even these the architect must fight for with
owners and builders who look and act like an army of Tony Sopranos .
With the Punic wars going on in Iraq , the sacred space of Ruskin has been
usurped  by Bacchus and Mars ....see you at the baths citizen ....   Py