I can see the hand of Mies van der Rohe all over New York. His Seagram building was the prototype for decades of modernist architecture that went quickly from loving tributes to cheap knockoffs as is the way of most creative trends. What was radically new at the time has become commonplace and a visual cliche. But what a legacy to have your signature stamped all over the landscape. Unlike writers or artists or singers, your legacy feels more tangible - made of stone and glass and steel. If you're lucky. Most architects probably end up designing hallways and gas stations and malls, their best most ambitious works remain unfinished in desk drawers. For writers nothing stops them from having their best work realized. Except themselves.