"Mercer's buildings embody the spirit of the 'woody and green country' as Ruskin described it. Especially in Fonthill, with its 'fantastic and rich detail', its traces of 'grotesqueness', and the fact that it 'assimilates with the intertwining of leaf and bough around it'. All three buildings are 'old fashioned in appearance, and 'not spruce, or natty, or very bright in color'; and all three have been developed to take advantage of the fact that in such a context 'the imagination is naturally alive.' Whether Mercer was aware of Ruskin's analysis or not, the qualities above exist in his buildings, probably the result of his very deep, nearly instinctive, understanding of and feeling for the place. To anyone who has felt the haunting serenity and mystery of the countryside in which they are located, the qualities seem right."

— from William Kleinsasser. Experiential Design Considerations and Categories of Experiential Response. p50-51.

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