Beautiful Necessity (1910), Architecture and Democracy (1918), and The Frozen Fountain (1932), he advocated a theosophical approach to building design, urging an "organic" Gothic style (which he thought of as reflective of the natural order) over the "arranged" Beaux-Arts architecture of the classical revival. He had yet another overlapping career as an author of books on spiritual topics, including Eastern religions. These books include Old Lamps for New (1925), Delphic Woman (1925), The Eternal Poles (1931), Four Dimensional Vistas (1930), and An Introduction to Yoga (1933). His autobiography More Lives Than One (1938) alludes to both his belief in reincarnation and his varied career paths. In 1920, he helped translate and publish P.D. Ouspensky's Tertium Organum, for which he also wrote an introduction to the English translation. Bragdon’s work fell out of favor in the 1930s as American architects and clients embraced International Style modernism. But it left an ongoing legacy as younger architects—in particular Buckminster Fuller, who adapted some of Bragdon’s ideas and designs—found new ways of using geometric pattern to promote architectural and social integration. Works Writings Mathematical Abstractions More Lives Than One Projective Ornament The Beautiful Necessity The Frozen Fountain Architecture and Democracy See also Livingston County Courthouse (New York) Organic architecture Progressivism References External links Bragdon's sketch of his Bevier Building at RIT's Art on Campus Bragdon at daileyrarebooks.com Bibliography of Claude Bragdon Bragdon Family papers at University of Rochester Biography Tertium Organum at Sacred Texts. Claude Bragdon scenic designs, 1923-1938, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Christina Malathouni, "Architecture is the pattern of human mind in space: Claude F. Bragdon and the spatial concept of architecture", Journal of Architecture (2013) 1866 births 1946 deaths American Theosophists 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Architects from Ohio Architects from Rochester, New York Architects from New York City Organic architecture