Mark Lamster is a writer on the arts and culture. He is Associate American Editor of The Architectural Review, and is currently at work on his third book, a biography of the late architect Philip Johnson. Follow: @marklamster.

Recent Essay

The Tower that Beer Built

A review of the Kirby (nee Busch) Building in Dallas, now a residential apartment house but originally a spec office tower financed by the St. Louis beer barron Adolphus Busch.
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Recent Book

Master of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubens
Mark Lamster
Nan A. Talese, 2009
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Design Observer Essays

DESIGN OBSERVER ESSAY ARCHIVE

03.05.13: Inventing the Modern Library
02.20.13: Orange City
02.05.13: The Imaginary Worlds of Stephen Talasnik
01.28.13: Grand Central Turns 100
01.17.13: Clear the Promenade
12.31.12: I Love New York at Night
12.20.12: Norman Foster's NYPL: Not Good Enough
12.10.12: Lunch With The Critics: Third-Annual Year-End Awards
11.27.12: The Other Ezra Stoller
11.14.12: F*ck Elegant
11.01.12: Lebbeus Woods & John Johansen: Memories of Architecture's Lost Visionaries
10.22.12: High (Line) Anxiety
10.15.12: Nick Tobier Will Make You Smile
10.01.12: The Rise and Fall of Polaroid: An Interview with Christopher Bonanos
09.24.12: Joy, Illustrated
09.07.12: Mr. Wright Comes to Moloch
08.28.12: Unconventional Imagery
08.16.12: Literature's Harshest Criticism
08.09.12: Celebrating the Undecorated Shed

Other Essays

Reviews

The AIA Guide to NYC
Architect, June 2, 2010

Leo and His Circle
Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2010

Art of the Steal
Architect's Newspaper, February 26, 2010

Hearts of the City
Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2010

The Goldberger Standard
I.D.

Bottom of the Ninth
Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2009

A Terrible Splendor
Bookforum, May 2009

The New West
Print, December 2008

The Great Delusion
Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2008

Makers of Modern Architecture
I.D., February 07, 2008

The Architecture of Happiness
I.D., February 07, 2008

Architecture of the Absurd
Los Angeles Times, December 23, 2007

Letters of Jackie Robinson
Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2007

Edward Tufte's Beautiful Evidence
I.D., November 2006

Baseball Before We Knew It
New York Times, April 10, 2005

Criticism/Features/Profiles

Small Scale, Big Change
Architectural Review, October 25, 2010

Center of Controversy
Architectural Review, September 22, 2010

The Eighty Years War in Ninety Minutes
Mediaite, July 10th, 2010

The Virtues & Perils of Design Thinking
Architect, July 8, 2010

Last Stop on the Way to Ellis Island
Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2010

The Architect 50: #1 SOM
Architect, April 28, 2010

A Clean Slate
Dwell, March 2010

When Artists "Borrow"
Los Angeles Times, February 28, 2010

The Aughts in Architecture & Design
Mediaite, December 11th, 2009

Lessons on the Art of Diplomacy
Huffington Post, October 21, 2009

The Art of Diplomacy
Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2009

What Barack Obama Can Learn from Peter Paul Rubens
Mediaite, October 10th, 2009

Next Door, New York
Print, October 2009

Ron Arad at MoMA
I.D., September 21, 2009

Play Ball
Metropolis, July 22, 2009

Bleacher Bummers
I.D., April 08, 2009

Bombs Away: A New Home for the Jets
I.D., February 2009

Clean & Clear: Chris Hacker Remakes J&J
I.D., April 22, 2008

Reflections on the Baseball Encyclopedia
Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2008

The End of the Yankees Dynasty?
Slate, October 9, 2007

Taser's New Stunner
I.D./Business Week, July 9, 2007

Seven Days in Frankfurt
Metropolis, February 2001