The Easel

5th May 2026

The Bard Graduate Center Mounts the First U.S. Exhibition of Viollet-le-Duc’s Expansive Drawing Practice

Patrick Templeton | Architectural Record | 5th February 2026

The 2019 fire at Notre Dame cathedral drew attention to Viollet-le-Duc, the architect responsible for its 1864 restoration. Praised for rescuing national treasures such as the cathedral and the medieval town of Carcassonne, a later generation accused him of “defiguring” those same structures. Wanting to re-create the “halcyon past”, his buildings were what one writer calls “exercises in inauthenticity”. Ironically, his original drawings assisted in Notre Dame’s restoration including his controversial spire.

28th April 2026

Zumthor earns his L.A. stripes

Christopher Hawthorne | Punch List | 17th April 2026

The new LACMA building was once called “suicide by architecture”. Now, after 20 years of work – and $724m – it is open. Despite fatigue from those years of controversy, reactions are unexpectedly positive. Yes, the concretework is imperfect. Bold artworks look great but smaller works can seem overwhelmed. Nonetheless, it is a fresh approach to the relationship between architecture and the display of artwork. “I can’t think of another museum building that operates quite this way.”

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