BACKPeriod Homes - March, 2007
"Traditionalist architects are at last catching on to the sales power of weighty monographs. Competing with Modernist serial monographers like Rem Koolhaas and Steven Holl, the traditionalists who have won over publishers so far include prolific southerners (William T. Baker, Ken Tate, Harrison Design Associates), institutional specialists (Robert A.M. Stern, David M. Schwarz), urban planners (Duany Plater-Zyberk), haut Classicists (Thomas Gordon Smith) and assorted Brits (John Simpson, Quinlan Terry, Demetri Porphyrios, Léon Krier). Many of these studies have been published by little-known houses, and at least a few are partially architect-financed. So what a surprising delight to see Rizzoli present this lavish volume about the New York City firm of Fairfax & Sammons.
Anne Fairfax and Richard Sammons are eloquent, enthusiastic advocates for Classicism and preservation. They're tireless volunteers for good causes like The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America, Merchant's House Museum and Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation. They've attracted a roster of prominent patrons including actors (Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Liv Tyler), culturati (the American Academy in Rome's Adele Chatfield-Taylor, playwright John Guare), law and media powerhouses (Steve Brill, Kimba Wood) and a duty-free-shopping tycoon (Robert Miller). Some clients commission apartments first and then country houses, returning devotedly for phase after phase."
- Mary Miers
