gehry and his own house
hadid and vitra fire station
SANAA and The Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion
ds+r, slow house for industry break, macarthur for financial break, institute of contemporary art culmination of both
future systems and lords media centre
'Looking for some situations where firms caught that "big break" - winning a competition that launched the firm into popularity (or at least solvency). '
Which implies a built work. ''Involuntary Prisoners'' and ''Delirious New York'' were both not for profit, both completely theoretical, and both purely academic.
Right, I'm trying to think of the guys (gals) who when they got the project people were like, "WHO? How the hell did they win?" Then BOOM, they're superstars. I'm not sure OMA ever fell into this camp or Zaha. Both seemed to be blazing a trail that didn't care about built work, then suddenly they got real projects.
This usually says just as much about the client as it does about the architect. It takes a lot of courage to put some of these big time projects in the hands of the unknown, but it seems that the playing field is being slightly leveled. In these "lean times" experience can be bought at a discount it seems and collaborating halfway across the world is almost too easy.
SMLXL kinda catapulted him to the top, too, although he was well known long before that. That was like 10 years prior to Seattle?
I'd say Hadid's Peak competition got her famous first. I had a book before Vitra was built.
Many of these guys were famous long before they got the big commission.
Perhaps a distinction between 'big break' and 'big commission' as many of these guys/gals are well known and famous before they build their first building (or famous building).
Why doesn't your own house count? Most of these folk have money, so that's almost irrelevant if they paid for their own thing. I think the important part is what impact it had on their careers (and architecture in general). Gehry's house certainly shook things up.
jplourde - i think treekiller's right. oma was very well known before any of their 'built' work was actually materialized. in fact, the villa dall'ava was more of a validation of their built work than not.
if you're trying to stick to the premise of the thread - that the 'competition' is the vehicle to sudden stardom, you'd have to include asymptote's win in the l.a. freeway competition way back when.
hadid's peak is certainly in there - it was the first 'look' most people had at her work.
maya lin and the vietnam memorial is pretty much the textbook definition, no?
really, it's quite rare to establish yourself on a world stage with a widely 'known' competition. if you were to go back into the annals of history, though, i'm willing to bet that most really influential projects (say stockholm public library by asplund) were the result of a competitive selection process. they just weren't as well known as, say, the chicago tribune offices...
People can exist and be respected for decades in the profession without building anything. Look at Libeskind, or L Woods, or Raymond Abraham, or Gamal El Zoghby, or Hedjuk. Paper architecture leads to insular fame, meaning within the profession and among aficionados. When is the last time an architect commissioned another architect to do a building for him?
I do think that the original question was refering specifically to competitions that led to *built* work that in turn led to increasing commissions. Ergo, I fully doubt OMA would have built Seattle Public, had it not been for Bordeaux, Dall 'Ava, etc etc.
It's two lines of thought. The paper work that leads to built work, and the built 'break out' project that leads to more built work, and, more specifically, recognition outside the profession. Understand the difference?
Orhan,
It's funny to the psuedo - deconstructive/po-mo mix of the Californians prior to the computer, eh? Gives me a chuckle.
(PJ's Glass House) was a second hand mies design...
gotta disagree with this, the glass house is pretty amazing. i agree that it may not be as good as the farnsworth house but it has enough of phillip johnson's own hand in it to make it way more than just a weak copy of mies.
With all due respect but: did Phillip Johnson actually have an "own hand"?
On topic: I'd say MVRDV - Villa VPRO, instead of the expo pavillion. It was about half a decade earlier, more remarkable that they got the commission, it launched their fame in the Netherlands (which, eventually, lead to them getting the commission for the Expo).
I think, Rem Koolhaas's early breaks are definitely 2nd prize of "Parc de la Villette competition" and "Delirious New York" in late 70's.
"villa bordeaux" was the 90's and at that time he was already a "superstar".
I think there are just a few architects who get their fame just by winning A Competition.
Before building an actual building, most of "star"archiects had spent their enormous time to deepen their ideas and solidify academic background to persuade others of their ideas.
The competition, in the process, is just one thing revealed in the public.
And, actually, a competition is not a good way to introduce the first new idea.
A competition is, in most case, just the way to spread ideas that had been already introduced by someone through more theoretical works.
i interpreted 'big break as built work that brought some sort of financial independence...maybe i was reading too much into the solvency part...which probably also implies some sort public (non community) recognition. or else yes, zaha's peak would have preceded the vitra firestation. and a number of oma's other work would have proceeded the seattle library. and maybe the m house for ito? and plum house for sanaa??
I would say Phillip Johnsons graduate degree house design would certainly count....wait...wasn't he rich anyhow! Then he gave us the ATT Building....and yikes his glass house and the little travel-log guy shelters on his property....damn he had alot of lucky breaks. He didn't marry rich cause he didn't have to.
oma did some dogs when he was young. i don't have pictures, only tales from my dutch business partner. he went to TU Delft and remembers going to lectures from rem and jean nouvel where no one knew who those guys were.
ando did a series of really bad brick buildings before he hit world stage. i had photos of them but they are stuck on the farm so you will just have to imagine for yourselves.
mvrdv started by winning europan. the project was never built but led to vpro and then they were off.
as far as i can tell there is usually a 10 year period of mild success where no on pays attention, followed by big project and tonnes of attention and everyone thinks it came from nowhere...but it seldom works that way.
'Right, I'm trying to think of the guys (gals) who when they got the project people were like, "WHO? How the hell did they win?" Then BOOM, they're superstars. I'm not sure OMA ever fell into this camp or Zaha. Both seemed to be blazing a trail that didn't care about built work, then suddenly they got real projects.'
Based on this, please ignore all my suggestions....
Nov 3, 09 9:14 am ·
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The Big Break?
Looking for some situations where firms caught that "big break" - winning a competition that launched the firm into popularity (or at least solvency).
Some possible examples:
Jorn Utzon and the Syney Opera House.
Jean Nouvel and the Arab Institute.
Piano & Rogers with the Pompidou Centre.
FOA - Yokohama Port Terminal
gehry and his own house
hadid and vitra fire station
SANAA and The Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion
ds+r, slow house for industry break, macarthur for financial break, institute of contemporary art culmination of both
future systems and lords media centre
BIG/PLOT - CPH harbor bath (or VM house)
ito and Sendai Mediatheque
oma and Seattle Central Library
johnson and the glass house
mad and the absolute towers
libeskind and Jewish Museum Berlin
OMA and Seattle Central Library???
Ito and Mediatheque???
Sanaa and Toledo Museum???
seriously hema, do you mean when they got their big break or when you first noticed them?
snøhetta & bibliotheca alexandria in egypt
oh, i don't think johnson & the glass house counts either. building your own house doesn't really qualify as a "big break"
especially when it was a second hand mies design...
Agreed, doing your own house doesn't make the cut.
And OMA with the Seattle Library? More like REX and the Seattle Library.
oma and villa dall 'ava?
or
oma and villa bordeaux?
or
oma and eurolille?
mvrdv and expo 2000 / pig city
shop and pier 17 [if it gets built]
h&dm and rudin house
not sure if academics qualify but:
libeskind and chamberworks
eisenman and house series
holl and pamphlet architecture
OMA and Rem's AA thesis is more like it. OMA was going strong before Eurolille. seems that the schools don't teach recent history to the young uns...
Treekiller,
The original question was::
'Looking for some situations where firms caught that "big break" - winning a competition that launched the firm into popularity (or at least solvency). '
Which implies a built work. ''Involuntary Prisoners'' and ''Delirious New York'' were both not for profit, both completely theoretical, and both purely academic.
It seems the 'old-uns' forget how to read.
Right, I'm trying to think of the guys (gals) who when they got the project people were like, "WHO? How the hell did they win?" Then BOOM, they're superstars. I'm not sure OMA ever fell into this camp or Zaha. Both seemed to be blazing a trail that didn't care about built work, then suddenly they got real projects.
This usually says just as much about the client as it does about the architect. It takes a lot of courage to put some of these big time projects in the hands of the unknown, but it seems that the playing field is being slightly leveled. In these "lean times" experience can be bought at a discount it seems and collaborating halfway across the world is almost too easy.
SMLXL kinda catapulted him to the top, too, although he was well known long before that. That was like 10 years prior to Seattle?
I'd say Hadid's Peak competition got her famous first. I had a book before Vitra was built.
Many of these guys were famous long before they got the big commission.
Perhaps a distinction between 'big break' and 'big commission' as many of these guys/gals are well known and famous before they build their first building (or famous building).
Why doesn't your own house count? Most of these folk have money, so that's almost irrelevant if they paid for their own thing. I think the important part is what impact it had on their careers (and architecture in general). Gehry's house certainly shook things up.
jplourde - i think treekiller's right. oma was very well known before any of their 'built' work was actually materialized. in fact, the villa dall'ava was more of a validation of their built work than not.
if you're trying to stick to the premise of the thread - that the 'competition' is the vehicle to sudden stardom, you'd have to include asymptote's win in the l.a. freeway competition way back when.
hadid's peak is certainly in there - it was the first 'look' most people had at her work.
maya lin and the vietnam memorial is pretty much the textbook definition, no?
really, it's quite rare to establish yourself on a world stage with a widely 'known' competition. if you were to go back into the annals of history, though, i'm willing to bet that most really influential projects (say stockholm public library by asplund) were the result of a competitive selection process. they just weren't as well known as, say, the chicago tribune offices...
^ ouch
People can exist and be respected for decades in the profession without building anything. Look at Libeskind, or L Woods, or Raymond Abraham, or Gamal El Zoghby, or Hedjuk. Paper architecture leads to insular fame, meaning within the profession and among aficionados. When is the last time an architect commissioned another architect to do a building for him?
I do think that the original question was refering specifically to competitions that led to *built* work that in turn led to increasing commissions. Ergo, I fully doubt OMA would have built Seattle Public, had it not been for Bordeaux, Dall 'Ava, etc etc.
It's two lines of thought. The paper work that leads to built work, and the built 'break out' project that leads to more built work, and, more specifically, recognition outside the profession. Understand the difference?
Orhan,
It's funny to the psuedo - deconstructive/po-mo mix of the Californians prior to the computer, eh? Gives me a chuckle.
(PJ's Glass House) was a second hand mies design...
gotta disagree with this, the glass house is pretty amazing. i agree that it may not be as good as the farnsworth house but it has enough of phillip johnson's own hand in it to make it way more than just a weak copy of mies.
and for this thread i would say eisenman's wexner center competition win.
With all due respect but: did Phillip Johnson actually have an "own hand"?
On topic: I'd say MVRDV - Villa VPRO, instead of the expo pavillion. It was about half a decade earlier, more remarkable that they got the commission, it launched their fame in the Netherlands (which, eventually, lead to them getting the commission for the Expo).
I think, Rem Koolhaas's early breaks are definitely 2nd prize of "Parc de la Villette competition" and "Delirious New York" in late 70's.
"villa bordeaux" was the 90's and at that time he was already a "superstar".
I think there are just a few architects who get their fame just by winning A Competition.
Before building an actual building, most of "star"archiects had spent their enormous time to deepen their ideas and solidify academic background to persuade others of their ideas.
The competition, in the process, is just one thing revealed in the public.
And, actually, a competition is not a good way to introduce the first new idea.
A competition is, in most case, just the way to spread ideas that had been already introduced by someone through more theoretical works.
i interpreted 'big break as built work that brought some sort of financial independence...maybe i was reading too much into the solvency part...which probably also implies some sort public (non community) recognition. or else yes, zaha's peak would have preceded the vitra firestation. and a number of oma's other work would have proceeded the seattle library. and maybe the m house for ito? and plum house for sanaa??
I would say Phillip Johnsons graduate degree house design would certainly count....wait...wasn't he rich anyhow! Then he gave us the ATT Building....and yikes his glass house and the little travel-log guy shelters on his property....damn he had alot of lucky breaks. He didn't marry rich cause he didn't have to.
na, he just never found the right guy......
what are you talking about, emilio? he was with david whitney for about 45 years.
oma did some dogs when he was young. i don't have pictures, only tales from my dutch business partner. he went to TU Delft and remembers going to lectures from rem and jean nouvel where no one knew who those guys were.
ando did a series of really bad brick buildings before he hit world stage. i had photos of them but they are stuck on the farm so you will just have to imagine for yourselves.
mvrdv started by winning europan. the project was never built but led to vpro and then they were off.
as far as i can tell there is usually a 10 year period of mild success where no on pays attention, followed by big project and tonnes of attention and everyone thinks it came from nowhere...but it seldom works that way.
'Right, I'm trying to think of the guys (gals) who when they got the project people were like, "WHO? How the hell did they win?" Then BOOM, they're superstars. I'm not sure OMA ever fell into this camp or Zaha. Both seemed to be blazing a trail that didn't care about built work, then suddenly they got real projects.'
Based on this, please ignore all my suggestions....
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