Common Definition: A famous architect.

Unauthorized Definition: Attention seeking architects, called Starchitects, court the media with outlandish experiments in novelty. This marketing strategy feeds our hungry consumer culture. As a result however, fame obsessed designers don’t have an incentive to think of building as shelter anymore. Nor do they take a client’s other needs into consideration. If they address practical concerns at all, it’s to parody, “deconstruct” or question the very validity of human nature.

Starchitects often define architecture as an abstract art for their own self expression. They treat clients like patrons. Sure this meets the designer’s need for creativity and professional advancement, but leaves homeowners shut out of the process. Tragically, the pursuit of novelty means time tested building practices are ignored. Discounted as quaint or old fashioned, highly successful traditional architecture is marginalized. Proposed in its place, disorder and confusion.

Sound Like a Pro: Be careful how you use the label Starchitect. Some architects actively seek fame and are genuinely flattered by the label. Designers concerned with client needs however, think of the term as derogatory.

Fun Trivia: Anything seems possible through information technology. Architecture now looks like the fashion industry, where impractically clad models strut down runways hoping for fame. Like clothes designers, architects often pursue shocking forms and spaces with little regard for purpose, structure, or climate.