Neo Craftsman

I've been a tad leery of new housing built in the Craftsman style. New-builds should say something about their time, I argued, not just ape the time honored. However a great many styles, Tudor, Italianate, Chateauesqe, are revival styles, and their periodic re-engagements, re-popularizations, or continuities are germane and revealing.

What do I expect?! Architectural paradigm shifts are uncommon, relying on the shared destination of technology, economics, and socio-politics, a hugely influential practitioner (like a Louis Sullivan or an H.H. Richardson), and an international cultural/political event (like the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago or World War II). (Attention true modernists, a perfect storm is centered in Dubai and Beijing.)

Maybe it's a good thing the Craftsman/Shingle/Prairie lexicon persists, and enjoys periodic spasms of popularity. Perhaps this archetype is destined for that timeless, perennial category which includes Spanish/Mediterranean, and Colonial. Maybe it also helps make the style less alien, more palatable to the uninitiated, those most likely to misguidedly alter and abuse fine period examples.