Palm Beach Daily News (Friday, May 3, 2002) "Tropical Modernism: Architect Harry Elson Blends Informal Lifestyle with Palm Beach Aesthetics" by Casey O'Connor Tropical Modernism - a lavishly illustrated book compiled by James Grayson Trulove (HarperCollins International.HBI $39.95), features 17 homes designed for tropical and subtropical climates. Among the designs in Trulove's book is "Palm Beach House," a home fashioned by New York architect Harry Elson for his father and mother: former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Edward Elson and his wife Susie. Trulove, who has written, edited and published more than 30 books on architecture and is a recipient of the Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, uses his latest volume to showcase homes that he feels, "exemplify the critical ideas of modern architecture, while featuring the extensive use of glass; decompartmentalized, open floor plans, and the unification of interior and exterior spaces. "These homes are about artistic vision as much as they are about shelter," Trulove says. "Each dwelling is shaped by the aesthetics of its environment and the practical concerns of the tropical climate." The Elson's home was featured last fall in a photo-essay by Robert Janjigian (Palm Beach Daily News, Nov. 24, 2001), an article written shortly after the Elson's settled in Palm Beach. Architect Elson, outlining the growth of his vision, recalled that his parents "wanted the house to have the feeling, though not necessarily the look, of an Italian villa, full of warmth and light, with a formal layout that could accommodate an informal lifestyle." "The villa ideal also related to the Palm Beach context historically," Elson added. The original 4,500-square-foot home was neo-Regency style. Using materials he classified as "native," Elson crafted a 7,000-square-foot contemporary villa with a formal axis running through the structure, linking a public entry court to a private garden with a pool and pool house. Elson reorganized and enlarged the interior of the structure to create a "loft-like public zone flanked by a series of secondary private spaces." The home's stucco exterior was painted a golden yellow - similar to that seen in Tuscany, according to the Elson, "to strengthen the desired villa association."