Who is the architect rumored to have always been so consumed in his work that he never had the time to get up and go to the bathroom, and instead urinated in an empty gallon milk jug throughout the day? I think it was said that at the end of the day he would pour it out into a trashcan filled with discarded drawings, but that there was nothing symbolic about this, it was just done to disperse it over the paper instead of resulting in a
big pool of it at the bottom of the garbage bag.
Does anyone not think that these people who are steeped in so much priase and honor are just plane wierd. I have to say all these stories whether truth or rumor just prove to me that I would have absolutely no time for such behaviour. They should all be "bitch-slapped". They appear to be totally offensive.
it's rare, but there are also the stories of starchitects who are...gasp...actually nice guys. i've known a few people who have interned at renzo piano's office(s) who rave about the guy's magnanimity. but you always remember the ugly rumors...
Renzo is my hero. I've often thought that Calatrava looked like a really nice guy, but I've never met anyone who's met him, so I have no clue. He just *looks* nice.
I saw a documentary about Caltrava, I think he takes himslef too seriously. The documentary was in German, and hte followed him to a construction site in Spain. He was basically telling this younger architect that he had no idea about anything, and was insulting construction workers. All this whilethe german narrator was singin his praises.
Plus I don't like his stuff.
I met Kengo Kuma. He was moderate. He thought he was the shit, but wasn't particularly offensive. He did take the time to talk to us. But some of his employees said they wanted to move on because he is quite the slave driver.
I met Alvaro Siza this spring and he was extremely kind. I went to his office where he actually took the time out to speak to me. He invited me to a seat and asked me where I was from, where was I traveling to and what I had seen in Porto. We talked about how the politics slowed down the building process in Porto. Then he asked me what could he do for me. I told him I wanted a job and I bought my portfolio. He flipped through the pages and discussed the work and sketches. Although he wasn't hiring, when I was on my way out he said "your sketches are beautiful", needless to say that pretty much made my day.
As stated earlier about Renzo Piano I find the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians extremely laid back and nice. Maybe they possess a humility and generosity other architects don't.
I just heard another interesting story about Helmut Jahn: Apparently there was a new receptionist working at his office, and she naturally said "good morning" to Helmut when he showed up one morning. He didn't say a word to her, but went to another senior staff member and told him to instruct the receptionist never to speak directly to Helmut again.
In contrast, Ralph Johnson of Perkins + Will is one of the most mellow, down-to-earth architects I've ever met. He's known to have a few eccentricities, but he comes across as if he was born completely without an ego.
I feel like I should add to this post too, but I'm not sure I have anything good enough...hmmm...
Rumor has it that Frank Ghery...um...eats babies. yea, and R Buckminster Fuller was abducted by aliens, and when they released him, he had an insatiable appetite for tacos...and not just eating them
well, for these stars as with the bush white house, the truth nobody knows is probably worse than the rumours.
does anybody know of a bonafide 'star' architect who is a good parent and partner and who doesn't cheat on whoever their 'official' partner is ? no doubt they think the 'freedom' of their behaviour is actually a laudable quality.
I consider humility the most important attribute, and might be why I don't find famous people enthralling in the least, especially starchitects. Unless they are humble of course.
oh god - please stop all the PC posts. This thread is for gossip rumors and smack talking!
For example - I heard that when ever Zaha gives a lecture she insists on three things: 1. a suite - not a room at the hotel. 2. that there be a chilled bottle of moet waiting for her in said suite. 3. that a young man be made available to escort her arond all day.
i was talking to the uncle of the husband of one of my wife's best friends who was working for a developer in houston during the early 80s, back when oil was real lucrative. they were doing a building with michael graves. who charged...
$1,000 per hour for his time.
one thousand dollars per hour. a rate that typically is reserved for high-dollar defense lawyers and prostitutes.
SOM used to have a company limo, but sold it in the late 80s
no starchitect by any means, but there was the story of nada andric, an extremely uppity interior architect, who once had to ride the el back from a meeting. she demanded one of the lower architects' suit jackets, which she placed on the seat before sitting down
by the way - the Helmut Jahn receptionist story - in high school my German Class went to his offices across from the Goethe institute and a guy in my class asked the receptionist if when he wasnt looking they chanted "Helmut, Helmut" while gesturing as if he had a big head and did a litlle dance - the receptionist stared expresionlessly back at him and said bluntly, "no".
steven holl, after winning a competiton, called the partner at one of the offices that he was competeing with and asked them if they knew of anyone who wanted to be project architect on the project...
i was talking to the uncle of the husband of one of my wife's best friends who was working for a developer in houston during the early 80s, back when oil was real lucrative. they were doing a building with michael graves. who charged...
$1,000 per hour for his time.
one thousand dollars per hour. a rate that typically is reserved for high-dollar defense lawyers and prostitutes.
"...For example - I heard that when ever Zaha gives a lecture she insists on three things: 1. a suite - not a room at the hotel. 2. that there be a chilled bottle of moet waiting for her in said suite. 3. that a young man be made available to escort her arond all day..."
oh, u forgot the 2 plane tickets on british airways or air france (only) bussines class....
and i know that from my school years when we (student union) invited her to lecture at my school....
Ok guys, from the people I know, Siza and Souto de Moura, are real gentlemen, nice guys, sometimes even telling playful stories and jokes (right Mr. Souto!?). Some days ago i met one of portuguese stArchitects João Luis Carrilho da Graça and for a man that i heard to be mean, sadistic, and arrogant, i found him very nice and a good listener. Also met Mr. Cecil Balmond from ARUP, which for an engineer we was very calm and nice, almost a guy to go and enjoy some beers at the bar next door. Some dudes are just COOL with no STAR shining in their BRAIN!
my mom used to manage a nightclub in ft worth during the late 80s. they had a lot of "stars" come thru to perform. i remember some notable riders and richard marx (yes, you won't admit it, but you remember who he was) asked my mother to do his laundry
but george strait actually just wanted a six-pack of beer in the dressing room and the red hot chili peppers were just glad they could actually get paid to perform (this was, i believe, 1987-88 or so)
and all bill hicks wanted was some blow
so it's the same in all industries
btw, i heard zaha requires exactly 99 rose petals arranged in a heart shape on the bed of her suite...oh wait, that's jennifer lopez
When I become a starchitect I will bring along my pet monkey who will critique young students work by throwing feces on their drawings and models. The more the monkey throws, the better it is. This is monkey logic not mine.
The guy operating Zaha's slide projector was her ex-boyfriend, in lectures she always made fun of him, announcing that changing the slides "was some form of foreplay" for him, and other eccentric comments. He recently left her (and her office) for a rich Japanese woman who lives in London as well, Zaha is boiling with jealousy.
famous stARCHITECTS' bad behavior stories
Who is the architect rumored to have always been so consumed in his work that he never had the time to get up and go to the bathroom, and instead urinated in an empty gallon milk jug throughout the day? I think it was said that at the end of the day he would pour it out into a trashcan filled with discarded drawings, but that there was nothing symbolic about this, it was just done to disperse it over the paper instead of resulting in a
big pool of it at the bottom of the garbage bag.
Does anyone recall who this is?
Does anyone not think that these people who are steeped in so much priase and honor are just plane wierd. I have to say all these stories whether truth or rumor just prove to me that I would have absolutely no time for such behaviour. They should all be "bitch-slapped". They appear to be totally offensive.
it's rare, but there are also the stories of starchitects who are...gasp...actually nice guys. i've known a few people who have interned at renzo piano's office(s) who rave about the guy's magnanimity. but you always remember the ugly rumors...
What's funny is that as I was writing my last post I thought "maybe Renzo is the only guy I haven't heard nasty things about". Just a classy guy!
Renzo is my hero. I've often thought that Calatrava looked like a really nice guy, but I've never met anyone who's met him, so I have no clue. He just *looks* nice.
well, renzo does chain-smoke really cheap cigars indoors, but apparently he'll ask first before lighting up
I saw a documentary about Caltrava, I think he takes himslef too seriously. The documentary was in German, and hte followed him to a construction site in Spain. He was basically telling this younger architect that he had no idea about anything, and was insulting construction workers. All this whilethe german narrator was singin his praises.
Plus I don't like his stuff.
ochona basically all italians chain-smoke
yes ive heard from someone who toured calatrava's office that he is a dick
I met Kengo Kuma. He was moderate. He thought he was the shit, but wasn't particularly offensive. He did take the time to talk to us. But some of his employees said they wanted to move on because he is quite the slave driver.
This may uplift your hopes for a nice architect
sorry about that.. Submitted too soon.
I met Alvaro Siza this spring and he was extremely kind. I went to his office where he actually took the time out to speak to me. He invited me to a seat and asked me where I was from, where was I traveling to and what I had seen in Porto. We talked about how the politics slowed down the building process in Porto. Then he asked me what could he do for me. I told him I wanted a job and I bought my portfolio. He flipped through the pages and discussed the work and sketches. Although he wasn't hiring, when I was on my way out he said "your sketches are beautiful", needless to say that pretty much made my day.
As stated earlier about Renzo Piano I find the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians extremely laid back and nice. Maybe they possess a humility and generosity other architects don't.
Mr. Manteno, I think the desk/milk jug pisser you're talking of was Frank Israel. I've heard that before too.
So far the biggest breaking news produced has been that
The Zaha Shits
and Frank Israel urinates.
I guess that they are (somewhat) human after all.
she might have been going to powder her nose,
but thats another rumour altogether
I just heard another interesting story about Helmut Jahn: Apparently there was a new receptionist working at his office, and she naturally said "good morning" to Helmut when he showed up one morning. He didn't say a word to her, but went to another senior staff member and told him to instruct the receptionist never to speak directly to Helmut again.
In contrast, Ralph Johnson of Perkins + Will is one of the most mellow, down-to-earth architects I've ever met. He's known to have a few eccentricities, but he comes across as if he was born completely without an ego.
I feel like I should add to this post too, but I'm not sure I have anything good enough...hmmm...
Rumor has it that Frank Ghery...um...eats babies. yea, and R Buckminster Fuller was abducted by aliens, and when they released him, he had an insatiable appetite for tacos...and not just eating them
Babies taste good with dijon mustard.
well, for these stars as with the bush white house, the truth nobody knows is probably worse than the rumours.
does anybody know of a bonafide 'star' architect who is a good parent and partner and who doesn't cheat on whoever their 'official' partner is ? no doubt they think the 'freedom' of their behaviour is actually a laudable quality.
I consider humility the most important attribute, and might be why I don't find famous people enthralling in the least, especially starchitects. Unless they are humble of course.
oh god - please stop all the PC posts. This thread is for gossip rumors and smack talking!
For example - I heard that when ever Zaha gives a lecture she insists on three things: 1. a suite - not a room at the hotel. 2. that there be a chilled bottle of moet waiting for her in said suite. 3. that a young man be made available to escort her arond all day.
I didn't make a single piece of that up.
i was talking to the uncle of the husband of one of my wife's best friends who was working for a developer in houston during the early 80s, back when oil was real lucrative. they were doing a building with michael graves. who charged...
$1,000 per hour for his time.
one thousand dollars per hour. a rate that typically is reserved for high-dollar defense lawyers and prostitutes.
I saw Zaha shopping at Rem's Prada store in NYC a couple years ago...
She's damn scary looking, especially since she was wearing a coat that looked like it was made from dead Muppets...
SOM used to have a company limo, but sold it in the late 80s
no starchitect by any means, but there was the story of nada andric, an extremely uppity interior architect, who once had to ride the el back from a meeting. she demanded one of the lower architects' suit jackets, which she placed on the seat before sitting down
that jacket was an armani, supposedly
coat that looked like it was made from dead Muppets
best thing I've read in weeks.
by the way - the Helmut Jahn receptionist story - in high school my German Class went to his offices across from the Goethe institute and a guy in my class asked the receptionist if when he wasnt looking they chanted "Helmut, Helmut" while gesturing as if he had a big head and did a litlle dance - the receptionist stared expresionlessly back at him and said bluntly, "no".
yeah, and i heard that zaha is pretty much stoned everyday.
steven holl, after winning a competiton, called the partner at one of the offices that he was competeing with and asked them if they knew of anyone who wanted to be project architect on the project...
as a side note, his work sucks
indeed. expensive milled 'sponge-esque' acoustic ceiling panels and silly looking desks but 9 windows per room that don't open. bravo dude.
oooh but those dreamy watercolors of his make mere mortals woon and buckle at the knees.
swoon
PJ was a filthy old man with naughty thoughts, the glasses somewhat masked what he wanted but I could always tell when he had a nasty urge.
FG wears diapers.
har. i guess that jibes with this thread's title.
i read that brad pitt let jennifer aniston go. what a loon!
maybe brad listens to sheryl crow.
"and i thought that ammonia odor on these drawings got there at the print shop."
we'll have PETM check out that rumor.
$1,000 per hour for his time.
one thousand dollars per hour. a rate that typically is reserved for high-dollar defense lawyers and prostitutes.
and less than the development tycoons 'earn'.
this isn't dirt. this is praise.
oh, u forgot the 2 plane tickets on british airways or air france (only) bussines class....
and i know that from my school years when we (student union) invited her to lecture at my school....
and was ms. hadid worth the fuss ?
she cancelled argueeing a busy schedule....that was like mmhh 5 years ago or something??? damn im getting old
Ok guys, from the people I know, Siza and Souto de Moura, are real gentlemen, nice guys, sometimes even telling playful stories and jokes (right Mr. Souto!?). Some days ago i met one of portuguese stArchitects João Luis Carrilho da Graça and for a man that i heard to be mean, sadistic, and arrogant, i found him very nice and a good listener. Also met Mr. Cecil Balmond from ARUP, which for an engineer we was very calm and nice, almost a guy to go and enjoy some beers at the bar next door. Some dudes are just COOL with no STAR shining in their BRAIN!
when zaha came to lecture at our school, she bitched about the guy running the slide projector the whole time...ended up it was a guy from her office
as a side note, her work sucks
my mom used to manage a nightclub in ft worth during the late 80s. they had a lot of "stars" come thru to perform. i remember some notable riders and richard marx (yes, you won't admit it, but you remember who he was) asked my mother to do his laundry
but george strait actually just wanted a six-pack of beer in the dressing room and the red hot chili peppers were just glad they could actually get paid to perform (this was, i believe, 1987-88 or so)
and all bill hicks wanted was some blow
so it's the same in all industries
btw, i heard zaha requires exactly 99 rose petals arranged in a heart shape on the bed of her suite...oh wait, that's jennifer lopez
i heard that mdler says everyone's work sucks
as a side note, his work sucks
When I become a starchitect I will bring along my pet monkey who will critique young students work by throwing feces on their drawings and models. The more the monkey throws, the better it is. This is monkey logic not mine.
i heard a rumor about rem and zaha consumating their love affair on a trans-atlantic flight
on a stack of discarded magazines on air france (because BA has too many SOM partners going between NY and london in business class)
there was muppet fur everywhere
The guy operating Zaha's slide projector was her ex-boyfriend, in lectures she always made fun of him, announcing that changing the slides "was some form of foreplay" for him, and other eccentric comments. He recently left her (and her office) for a rich Japanese woman who lives in London as well, Zaha is boiling with jealousy.
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