The Americas

Houses built by people with money, nerve and a theory — and the sense to leave the theory standing.

Distance is the tax here. Two houses in one American city is a good day; two in one American week is an itinerary. I plan these trips around a single anchor and treat everything else as luck.

The best rooms in Mexico City are ticketed weeks ahead and shown in small groups at a fixed hour. Book before you book the flight, and do not expect to be forgiven for arriving hopeful.

Four of the fourteen I have not been to — Lima, Kansas City, uptown Manhattan and a glass house in a São Paulo forest. Three of those are simply nerve; one is a form I have not yet filled in. They stay in the plate because intention is part of a directory too.