Architects on Architects

In a tried-and-true pop-scholarly format, writer and photographer Susan Gray (Writers on Directors) presents Architects on Architects. The essays include Mario Grandelsonas on Mies van der Rohe, Cesar Pelli on Eero Saarinen, Diana Agrest on Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein, Charles Gwathmey on Louis Kahn and Der Scutt on Paul Rudolph. The contributors discuss the impact of their heroes and teachers on their own work, and many pieces convey nostalgia, admiration and gratitude. Arata Isozaki discusses Le Corbusier's death by drowning in relation to his vision: ""the sea was the substance of motive force that provoked all of his imagination by permeating every detail of his body."" Ricardo Legorreta describes studying under Jos Villagr n at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. With 200 elegant photos and illustrations of work by both mentors and mentees, architects and enthusiasts will delight in this moving, erudite collection. (Nov.)