Witold Rybczynski, the architect and emeritus professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, complained recently about “starchitects” who often work in cities they are unfamiliar with, creating buildings that are out of sync with their surroundings. In an interview, he argued in favor of local architectural talent, or “locatecture.”
Are superstar architects ruining city skylines?
Debaters
- ‘Starchitects’ Aren’t the Problem, ALLISON ARIEFF, DESIGN WRITER
That there is not enough attention paid to how a building works for a neighborhood is a problem for architecture generally. - International Input Improves Design, VISHAAN CHAKRABARTI, AUTHOR, "A COUNTRY OF CITIES"
The global circulation of building methods and architectural talent should outweigh any retreat to the allure of parochialism. - For New York, What’s Local Is Global, ANGEL BORREGO CUBERO, DIRECTOR, "THE COMPETITION"
Manhattan shows that a fair amount of foreign pollution and contamination is healthy in architecture. It is up to the client to sniff around and choose well. - Here’s to the Demise of the Star Architects, BEVERLY WILLIS, BEVERLY WILLIS ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
Anyone involved in building — from its design, environmental site, its engineering to its construction — knows that architecture is a collaborative process.