Outhouses: By Famous Architects

Outhouses have been much ridiculed and maligned structures, thought worthy of only the lowliest of humor and virtually ignored by architectural critics as inconsequential blips in the development of building design. And yet -- as architect Steve Schaecher so poignantly reveals in this collection of renderings -- architects of genius from time immemorial have used their considerable talents to enhance the beauty and function of the outhouse.Here are reproductions of stylish (dare we say "perfectionist"?) renderings from Wright's Flushingwater to the Centre Pompidoodoo -- the unmistakable outhouse for that weird-looking French museum -- and many others. Each is accompanied by insightful historical and analytical text, depending on your definitions of insightful and analytical. The preface, by architectural critic I. P. Daley, will leave you in no doubt of the importance of this completely nonsensical book.