Architectural Art and the People

Architectural Art and the People Who Love It There were two homes selected among the top 25 favorite pieces of American architecture … and you have to get elected to reside in one of them. (No, it's not a New York co-op. A hint: it's White with a capital "W.") The Empire State Building (architect: William Lamb) topped the list, and the White House (architect: James Hoban) took second place. In eighth place was the Biltmore Estate (aka Vanderbilt Residence) in Asheville, N.C., built in 1895. Richard Morris Hunt was the architect. The next home on the list, ranked 29th, was Frank Lloyd Wright's Kaufmann Residence ("Fallingwater") in Bear Run, Pa. That was followed by another Wright-designed home, Taliesin of Spring Green, Wis., in 30th place. There were 150 architectural gems total on this list, which is part of the American Institute of Architects' 150th anniversary celebration. A total of 2,448 AIA members nominated a list of 247 structures, and 1,804 adults participated in a survey that led to the ranked list of 150 structures. In addition to office buildings and homes, the list includes bridges, museums, theaters, churches, baseball fields, hotels and other architectural favorites. Washington, D.C., is home to six of the top 10 and New York City claimed two.

Visitors to the top-150 Web site can comment about the architecture at an "Archiblog" that is built into the Web site. –Glenn Roberts Jr., Inman News