That's Shanghai. Constructing anything as big as a building is obviously a group project, and in the U.S., only 5% of all buildings built actually use a licensed architect.
The phenomena of the stararchitect is somewhat puzzling in light of this. Or is the phenomena just one way of gaining recognition in a field that has traditionally been under-recognized. A forthcoming book, Leadership by Design by Honorable Richard Swett suggests that it is the latter.
Brendan Gill thinks architects should be anonymous.
"That would be wonderful! But it would be saintly. It's violently opposed to what we are trained to be. It has to be anonymous now. The great work of building now has to be done by those who are not seeking fame."
Shanghai, which enthusiastically latched onto Western notions of postmodern architectural greatness and hired many starchitects to design enormous buildings now finds itself confronting serious problems.
Architecture can certainly be great, as can architects. They certainly add to the beauty of human civilization. And perhaps starchitects are not to blame, for they are just one component of the buildings people point out as failures. Nonetheless, the architecture establishment - theoretically-based, high material schools of thought including educational programs and critics - continue to narrow the realm of architecture. Guard against this, for the future is at stake.
0 comments:
Post a Comment