Archinect - News

The ‘Starchitect’ Image

2014-08-11T13:17:00-04:00

Readers respond to a letter by Peggy Deamer, an architect, calling for less arrogance and more collaboration in architecture. [...] It is not only the public that is fed up with this idea of The Architect, but also the profession itself. Having watched ourselves increasingly backed into the corner of aesthetic elitism, we are now more interested in models of practice that do away with the egos and the glamorous buildings they are associated with.

Previously:

Invitation to a Dialogue: Less Ego in Architects

2014-08-04T11:34:00-04:00

Frank Gehry once said that if we didn’t have starchitects, architects (and architecture) wouldn’t be in the media at all. But this kind of coverage, even when positive, we don’t need. It perpetuates a Howard Roarkian image that makes most of us architects cringe — not the least because of the uber-capitalist, Ayn Rand alignment — and also deflates a more productive optimism within the profession that sees these arrogant acts as old school.

The Financial Times calls Zaha an "Unlikely ‘pushover’ who doesn’t play safe"

2013-03-06T15:08:00-05:00

Referring to younger staff variously as “kids” or “the children”, Dame Zaha, cloaked in black and with smudges of fuchsia on both her eyes and lips, says she is approachable. Those who know her (and prefer not to be named) characterise her as volcanic – she blows up but then it’s over. There are no lasting grudges. Her business partner, architect Patrik Schumacher, says the explosions are the byproduct of “uncompromising standards”, suggesting such bust-ups are normal in creative offices.

She pulls the architect responsible to one side. “I don’t care where [the lights go] as long as they’re not in my presence,” she snaps. Dame Zaha’s two assistants stare at the ground. Moments later they fall to the floor to take off her high-heeled Martin Margiela ankle boots so she can walk five yards across the room.

Why does this globally renowned architect – the first female winner of the Pritzker award (considered the Nobel Prize of the field) – pick on her employees? “Some people take the piss and I don’t like that,” she says. “People have to understand my limits. There is a point of no return. Most people who work with me know that line.” You cannot run a business and be “a complete doormat”.