What, ask architects Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow, makes a good house — one that is "supportive, vibrant, and appealing to both the intellect and the senses"? The answer, they say, can be found in what they call the theory of contrast. The Good House is the authors' attempt to set forth their ideas on contrast as a contribution to design theory, and to illustrate its application by practical examples drawn from their own work and that of other architects. In general the authors believe that good houses are satisfying because they contain contrasts at all levels of scale, linked together by transitional elements. A horizontal lintel supported by a round column and linked by an ornate capital serves as
