I'm just going to come out an say it: I think going for quirk is a virtue in an architect. That doesn't mean all quirk is good, it just means the architect is actually taking a big swing. It might not connect well, or could even end up being a whiff, but at least they tried something big.
I'm just going to be a curmudgeon and disagree.
I totally respect an architect who is willing to stick their neck out and do something different. In today's world, that would be doing LESS instead of MORE. It's easy to do more, and there is rather a lot of it going on right now. That's not brave at all.
I don't think we totally disagree with each other, but maybe we do. When I say virtue, I mean simply that. It's a heuristic for me, not a rule.
I find the best way to describe what I'm saying is to refer to films. Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Cameron, McTiernan -- all undeniably amazing directors. They make amazing films, period.
I think I just like directors that take bigger swings, often making worse films, but leaving a more recognizable imprint. I'd put Kubrick (worse films), Coen Bros (better films), Verhoeven (better films), Anderson (worse films), Burton (much worse films) all on a list of "quirky" filmmakers. These directors very much aren't for everyone. They build out their niche, and aren't playing to an general audience, but they have an audience, and you know very much when you're watching their films.
I think the minimalism that many fight for here was quirk that has been subsumed into the canon. C&C's 7th at Trinity Forest
is now considered a template in itself by younger generations. Having one's unique, niche style be so successful it becomes an archetype of the genre is wonderful -- I think Hitchcock is a good example of this.
Maybe I just have a different definition of quirk, but for me, it's about having an immediately recognizable style that is reflected in extremely unique, template-defining hole designs. And not just about over-the-top gimmicks.