HYLAND
the simplicity of Japanese architecture; indeed, Taut
wrote a book called The Japanese House. This is a
long way of saying that Foster's work triangulates—like
a glass pane on one of his buildings—the historical and
architectural thinking of the Germans, Muthesius and
Taut in particular, with English conceptions of housing
and the Japanese exaltation of plainness.
Now Foster has created a floating world as lyrical as those
depicted in Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, yet shipshape as
any Gropiusbau. The sailing yacht Panthalassa is full
of sleek swooping lines and extra large portholes, an
essay in opulent minimalism.
