Guild House

This building even managed to offend Edmund Bacon. That says something. Venturi is like a painter who spits on a piece of paper and claims it's art because he gave it a colorful back story. He paved the way for the Gehrys and the Graves and other modern architects who, like modern artists, figured out you don't need talent if you can sell your story to an elite minority who tell the rest of us what we are supposed to like. Was the Guild House influential? Absolutely. But not all influence is good. Venturi may have influenced a line of hacks, and if this building is that line's catalyst, it is evident in the fact that at the end of the day it is just plain ugly.