lets just put it this way: name your favorite 5 starchitects!

Mayne
Hadid
Calatrava
Meier
Holl

First 5 I could think of. Probably'll change my mind later...

I really like some of the better KPF stuff, but that's not star power.

what's the project type/program?


without knowing that, i would wanna work with/learn from:
Zumthor
Mayne
Ito
Rem
Piano
abracadabra faia

related?

This my list is for Starpower and most likelihood of a "brandable" building.

H&dM
Zaha
Rem
Morphosis
Ito

Those are my favorites that fit the criteria. Others might be Coop Himmelblau, Greg Lynn, Libeskind, Calatrava, Ando, Piano, Holl -- which brings me to a point of argument that I've been wondering about when reading the salary polls: Who is a starchitect and who isn't. I think we can agree that all of the above are "Starchitects." But what about people like Diller and Scofidio, Neil Denari, Michael Maltzan, SHoP, Asymptote, FAT, MVRDV, RoTo, etc., etc.? These are all more or less successful firms who have built projects, have gotten acclaim, both public and critical, and who are very visible, well-published, have partners in academic positions at the best schools (please don't make this into an argument about schools or the value of teaching) ... but are they "Starchitects?"

thinking in terms of each starchitect's contribution:
rem
hadid
balmond (ok?)
foster
jaques herzog

but for STAR VALUE:
calatrava
hadid
libeskind
rem
foster

I would try to choose a "starchitect" that has not built their signature building yet.

Neil Denari
Lorcan O'Herlihy
Wes Jones
Asymptote
Carlos Zapata

even Coop Himmelblau but thats just a personal choice

but the others (Calatrava,Hadid,Libeskind, Foster) have already done it and you are just getting a forgetable derivation of it. I think the only exception would be Rem.

I want to thank everyone for their contributions however, it seems that this list is no different than it was 10 years ago, in some cases 20. Is there anyone else?

When your client asks you a question like that, you say: "Let me develop an incredible design for you and you'll be credited with discovering the next great architect."

Well, it plays out nicely in my imagination at least.

Keep dreaming. They pay the bills and the architect is but a crumb in all that needs to go into a project. Plus, as one of my former employers once said, "You have to be famous to get famous".

rem
h&dm
zumthor
moneo (this guy OOZES passion when he talks architecture)
nouvel

h&dm after seeing hte deyoung...one of my favorite buildings
morphosis
d&s&r -have yet to have a major building finished, but i think the ICA
will be nice...the apartment building in japan is nice too.
tod & billie tsien
zaha - she may be old news, but she's just starting to get built and the results so far have been very nice.
i also agree with zumthor

people who could be "discovered":
LTL
SHoP
Patkau - maybe? they haven't had a major commission yet...
Shim Sutcliffe

If this helps..... Its a high rise (40 Story +) hotel and condominium tower in downtown NY

If this helps..... Its a high rise (40 Story +) hotel and condominium tower in downtown NY

If this helps..... Its a high rise (40 Story +) hotel and condominium tower in downtown NY

Well then, I'll have to go with the standards, the tried and true, not to break with tradition:

1. SOM
2. HOK
3. RTKL
4. Carter Burgess
5. Perkins & Will

The choices were very easy to make.
I hope this helps.
Good luck to you with your search!!!

I would pick a superstar!




Ando
H&dM
Renzo
Holl
Eisenman...

Ok, the last one was a fake.

In this order:

1. Nicholas Grimshaw
2. Felix Candela
3. Sir Michael Hopkins

or, any designer from SOM


One question I always ask myself when given a project is this:
WWNGD?

Piano by far-
Holl deserves a good size project in NYC- to many of his large projects are overseas
Office dA- I would like to see one of those sensual façades in NYC.
Pugh + Scarpa- to see if that California caulk joint would hold under the east coats weather-
TEN Arquitectos- Enrique knows how to deal with those developers
UN Studio- with a name like Ben van Berkel- you know the project is going to be cool
Christoff Finio- in my book one of the best new faces- props to you Chris-
Woods Zapata- since Peter Pant is probably to old to do a project his size- nothing like a good clonie.
Dean Wolf- if you could only get that compulsive over the details on a large scale- love to see the developer’s face- what the curtain wall is $1,200 s.f.

Zumthor
Mayne
Ito
Rem
Piano
abracadabra, faia

pretty good choices AP, thanks...

what is so cool about starchitects? I don't desire fame, never have, and don't pay attention to pop culture.

Like stated above, you have to be famous to get famous. It is all circumstance and I don't find reward in that.

philip k. nixon - master architect
dick busch - masterful logo
peter cook - married christy brinkley
brad pitt - superstar
bofill architects - most prestigious firm in the world

i think the projects that come with fame are what's 'cool'.
the types, clients and budgets that are looking for design
rather than looking for someone to do legal documenting of
their ideas.

personally i'd love to do an art museum, a campus center,
any building that isn't the norm...before i quit. those types
of projects aren't typcally given to the average/everyday
architects.

of course i'd also like to do a residence or two which i don't
really need to work for a star to do.

also, of the two 'starchitects' i've worked for i find the level of
knowledge and care re: the work to be quite a bit higher than
the other firms i've worked in (5 at this point). it just seems
to be a better discourse regarding architecture..and an environment
in which i can learn more.

ZUMTHOR
ZUMTHOR
ZUMTHOR
ZUMTHOR
ZUMTHOR

but seeing as its a residential tower he might turn you down.

Some others:

Snohetta
Diller & Scofidio
Khras
Behnisch
MVRDV

H&dM
Ando
Zumthor
Alberto Campo Baeza [not really starchitect, but I love his work and have had very positive personal experiences w/him]
Steven Holl

OMA as a force
Asymptote for the sensual
Fuksas as a wild card
Herzog and De Mueron for the fetishes
Sejima's perfect boxes

Mayne
Hadid
Rem
Rashid
Ammar Eloueini

there I was contemplating the pros and cons of my top five, scrolling down through the thread with a serious frown - then I read silverlake's top five and all thoughts evapourated in a sniger and a grin.

To include the master Philip k. Nixon and Brad in the same sphere of 'starvalue' is genius. It's a shame that Mr. Nixon's web presence is not longer with us.

I morn the loss to the proffession.

lars, you are absolutely right, I know what you mean, and i was being a bitch up there. i apologize, was in a mood.

my 5: Piano
Gehry
Brad, if he has his shirt off

I only have 3 I guess.

blase blase blase

Moneo
Caruso St John
Siza
RCR: Aranda Pigem Vilalta Arquitectes
Cloepfil

This thread began with a pretty transparent question that dealt with STARVALUE, which in relation to architecture and everything else is a very real cultural and economic force, which really has nothing to do with a person's or firm's value as architect or designer, though some of the more interesting architecture being made tends to come from these firms.

I think that budget and expectation have a lot to do with this, so I do often wonder what would happen if Joe or Jane Blow, AIA, of Shunk, PA, was suddenly handed a huge project, with a huge budget, huge expectations, and a very capable executive architecture firm to back them up.

In one case, a former employer of mine at a small, non-profit, community design firm demured when a client asked him for something a little "out of the ordinary." "I've been doing ordinary for so long," he said, "I don't think I know how to design 'out-of-the-ordinary.'" Maybe the ordinary is just good enough, good enough.

Or, as a tutor once said to his seminar audience: 'why don't we learn to appreciate the adequate?'

Checked Wikipedia (as I am unable to think on my own before lunch) and it told me to choose these starchitects:

John Burgee, of the defunct post-moderns;

Frank Gehry, bad boy of sheet steel;

Michael Graves, designer of Target housewares;

Richard Meier, white or nothing;

Eric Owen Moss, West LA urbanist;

John Portman, hotel atriums;

Antoine Predock, designer of the new southwest

hmm... i wanna swap nouvel for sejima in my previous post... and just to add a 2nd tier (fame-wise anyway) underdog, i'd go with barkow leibinger.

I must note these are all american starchitects.

chili, check yourself... when did rem, h&dm, zaha, moneo, etc. etc. etc. gain american citizenship?

@shaybug: Candela died in 1997, wou can't work with him anymore..

H&dM
Nouvel
Murcutt
Zumthor
Piano

(and Miralles if he'd have survived that damn brain tumour)

Zaha's architecture is great but I don't think I could work with/for her at all after reading about/seeing how she treats her staff..

Taboho, I was refering to my previous post. Look up a few inches, eh?

h&dm
mvrdv
scda (singapore)
dcm (aus)
and.. ole scheeren of oma

Based on everyone's input, here's where I think the list lies:

LTL, MVRDV, Grimshaw, Allied Works, Barkow Leibinger. Anyone have anything to say about Henegan Peng?

HPA... Irish firm, isn't it? I think I remember seeing their project for the Egyptian Museum. They're worth a look.

How could I overlook Pei. The second architecture book I was ever given, right after FLW, and I'm pretty sure you're not gonna get FLW to do any work right now!

People: This is an opportunity to make someone who is not the usual suspect visible. The city has said they want someone who hasnt' built in NY Before (yes I know, now NY is "collecting" architects). So keep that in mind.