Time to Move On

Here’s a very nice house in Montauk. It looks just like that very nice house I saw a few months ago on Shelter Island. Or that other nice house in Aspen my husband worked on a few years ago.

Glass first floor, check. Floating staircase, check. Feature fireplace, check. Pocket doors, check. Brand-new mid-century modern furniture, check. Quote about loving the indoor-outdoor life, check.

Sure, it’s lovely. But am I interested in it anymore? No. Can it possibly work at the beach and in the mountains? No. How long will it take for that bronze mesh — the only interesting thing about the house — to rust? Unknown.

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By Alexandra Lange

Alexandra Lange is an architecture critic and author, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism, awarded for her work as a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab. She is currently the architecture critic for Curbed and has written extensively for Design Observer, Architect, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. Lange holds a PhD in 20th-century architecture history from New York University. Her writing often explores the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and design, with a focus on how the built environment shapes everyday life. She is also a recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA, an honor she shares with Design Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Ellen McGirt.