Unfortunately when architects attempt to pull off texture and exuberance it ends up being gimmicky, repetitive and "I'm trying so hard to be different and zany! Look at me!" and the structure suffers for it. See also: Deconstructivism, Postmodernism
This building would have worked better had the faux brick not looked like a low resolution texture tiled over the surface of the exterior. I didn't think you could find the uncanny valley in architecture, but apparently it's possible.
I look back at "original" minimalist buildings, and even the sleekest is rich in subtle, beautiful detail when you get up close. The builders of central part of the 20th century apprenticed with a different generation of master craftsmen----I think this is lost today. We now hire union workers not craftsmen.
"Subtle, beautiful detail" is more a product of the design phase than the construction phase.
Pelham: What kind of phone do you have? I have the Razr and I couldn't take a picture of my hand a foot away from the lens and have it come out that crisp.
I tried but sun was at the wrong angle?iPhone 3G
I'd love for somebody with some real photo equipment to capture that same double Clarendon shot - looks like a medieval castle to me from that angle!