Who doesn’t love an architectural folly? These little structures designed for ultra-specific purposes have a place in the heart of many a design observer, including me. This month Boston architects Keith Moskow, FAIA, and Robert Linn, AIA, have a new book out that examines small-scale, rural follies in detail. Contemporary Follies, published by The Monacelli Press ($40), highlights 51 projects by a wide range of architects.
Just two of the selected follies are by the authors’ firm, Moskow Linn Architects, with the rest coming from all over the world. I was pleased to see several projects we’ve published before in Residential Architect, including Marlon Blackwell Architects’ Moore Honey House and Keenan Tower House; Olson Kundig’s Rolling Huts; and Moskow Linn’s Chicken Chapel (left) and Swamp Hut. Some of my additional favorites in the book are Snohetta’s Norwegian Wild Reindeer Pavilion in Dovre, Norway; University of Talca’s Landmark in Machachi, Chile; and Summer House by Saunders Architects in Hardanger Fjord, Norway.
Moskow and Linn’s brief afterword does a nice job of explaining why these types of projects are important. “These latest works make nature more accessible,” they write. “They allow us to re-interpret the environment and draw us closer to its mysteries.”