I’ve always thought of architecture as one of the great American crafts. As a former editor of the design magazine Dwell, where we explored almost every feasible iteration of prefabricated architecture, I was continually amazed at how stubborn the architectural process was; it just seemed to innately reject industrialization.

This resistance was a great source of frustration, particularly during the magazine’s struggles to build its own prefab home in Pittsboro, North Carolina. In retrospect, however, I have to smile. As
the world barrels forward at a remarkable pace, there is something reassuring about
a discipline so integral to our society’s well-being subtly telling us to slow down and smell the roses or—barring that—stop and enjoy the buildings surrounding us. Like the word craft itself, architecture seems to say, “Hey, not everything has to move at breakneck speed and, in fact,
the best things in life often don’t.” Archi-tecture has always played a critical role in grounding communities and it’s nice to see that it still does.

In this issue we’ve rounded up some particularly intriguing work that does just that. In New York’s Hudson Valley we explore the recently rescued home of the potter and painter Henry Varnum Poor, where individual creativity is on rampant display (“Crow House Rising”). Crossing the Atlantic, we find ourselves in Oslo, where the new Norwegian National Opera house is a prime example of the stellar work that can be achieved when artists and architects work together from the outset (“Come Together!”). Coming back Stateside, we head down to New Orleans, where Laurel Porcari, an artist and architect, is pushing glass in new directions and simultaneously helping to get her adopted hometown back on its feet (“Mapping the Future Perfect”).

There’s much more in this issue, of course, including the announcement of the 2007 Aileen Osborn Webb Awards—our annual honor roll of artists who have contributed to the world in immeasurable ways (“Congratulations”). And don’t forget to look at our guide to the craft communities hidden among the mountains and valleys of Western Massachusetts (“Wide World of Craft”). With summer here it’s a great time to take a trip, and American Craft is the perfect primer.

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