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"The End of Architecture?"

eigenvectors

title of this post is the title of a book published in 1992 - the last time unemployment had been this high. In retrospect it appeared to have been a G8 summit of starchitects in hard times - Coop Himmelblau, Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, Thom Mayne, Eric Owen Moss, Carme Pinos, Lebbeus Woods....

Gehry's preface was and still is quite priceless (last sentence) - "I guess finally I am optimistic that all of you will get work and will make beautiful buildings and will not have to sit around and worry about the end of architecture."

I'm awaiting for a re-actment of this conference, where the rich kids sit around and discuss the world's demise. It's hard times, but you can still afford a Vienna conference. Maybe Gehry was invited but had to work, hence he just heard the tapes and wrote a preface.

Any predictions on who will be attending this recession's future starchitect meeting? Or where I can get invited?

 
Nov 20, 08 9:39 pm
citizen

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but who cares?

One of the reasons for Starchitects in the first place is the proclivity of others to sit around and talk, write, and speculate about them.
Do you really give a rat's ass what any of those folks will think or do about this, or almost anything else?

Now, if one or more of them gets a big commission and starts hiring new people, that's a reason to get excited. But besides that, why give them more air time?

Nov 20, 08 9:56 pm  · 
 · 
eigenvectors

there are reasons for starchitects? I thought they made themselves.
(this is a humorous post, and I wanted predictions man!)

Nov 21, 08 8:00 am  · 
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Moody

looooool @ rat ass , i totaly agree wiv citizen

Nov 21, 08 11:28 am  · 
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zivotinja

1992? I would say that the crisis lasted longer than that. Let's approximate, 1989-1992. And it was very serious since architectural field did not fully recover until 1997. However, there were opportunities such as opening smaller offices on your own since most experienced architects (w/o families) did not survive. Most likely they changed carrier.

Nov 22, 08 1:46 pm  · 
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Emilio

is this really the same thread as "the collapse of capitalism"?

Nov 22, 08 2:29 pm  · 
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eigenvectors

another interesting stat - last year was the highest salary averages ever reported for architecture.

corret Emilio - when there is little capital there is little architecture with a capital A

Nov 22, 08 6:46 pm  · 
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deliver

..."capital A"rchitecture only possible with big capital?. Please read something other than shiny mags.
it would be ridiculous to see producers of surplus museums discuss affects of the real-economie on architecture.

Nov 24, 08 2:53 am  · 
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eigenvectors

deliever - re-read the sentence you responded to.

and don't be so naive to believe that capital does not have a direct relationship to architecture with a capital "A".


now re-read my original post as a mock commentary and you'll find we are saying the same thing

"it would be ridiculous to see producers of surplus museums discuss affects of the real-economie on architecture."

Nov 24, 08 8:58 am  · 
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[maybe the reactious reaction to re-actment]

1992 was not so much the 'end of architecture' but definitely in the midst of a hiatus. CADD (computer-aided drafting and design) became CAAD (computer-aided art design).

Annunciation, Apollo
Timepiece Studio
Man 1
Man 2, Timepiece Studio
Man 3
Studio, Still Life 1
Bride
Exhibit One
[virtual] Exhibit at Gallery B
three Heys
three Odds
me @ 6
Zoom Out
Wall
Aldo
Beuys Haus
Balls and All
Ignudi
Taken Literally, model
Taken Literally
The Expeditious Expedition
Ignudi in Chairs

"The more things change (like screen names), the more they stay the same (linearity)."

So, if you blasted off from the North Pole and then traveled in a constant straight line, would you ultimately end up at the South Pole?



Nov 24, 08 10:48 am  · 
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