lewism

Architectural design now more than ever is a shared production with the Chief Architect perhaps if he or she is lucky leading the team, but we all want to believe in the Starchitect as Renaissance genius, while the truth is perhaps more mundane the effect of brand building and name dropping by developers and journalists. David Galbraith has an interesting take on this phenomenon. While many Architects working today actively pursue a strong style or self branding programme only a few admit to the fact, check out FAT architectures ironic (but how much, take a look at their work?) page on how to become a famous architect. Branding architecture for its own sake seems an inherently dangerous thing to do as Architecture and Fashion don’t work to the same time lines or cultural fault lines. I would say the strongest brands in Architecture are those names from the past whose portfolio is still traded on today, usually their furniture and product design, their architectural work is subsumed bythe brand styling of a piece of glassware or chair. Aalto is the perfect example of a world famous architect having been turned into a tradeable brand just think of the savoy vase.