Mavericks: After the Age of ‘Starchitects’

The idea of a maverick in architecture – and arguably in art, literature and even science – is inextricably associated with the myth of the creative genius. From perhaps Leonardo da Vinci onwards, creative genius has been popularly associated with disregard for social conventions, isolation, and of the individual overcoming adversity – traits that are often understood in masculine terms. In architecture, the creative genius trope has helped give rise to the ‘starchitect’, the name given to an almost exclusively male group of celebrity architects, whose work is defined by its avant-gardist novelty, and signature, iconic forms.

As the gravitational pull of the ‘starchitect’ consumes media attention with ever increasing ferocity, our panel discusses its distorting effects and explores what might lie beyond it. To what degree is the ’starchitect’ a creation of the media? In what ways does the ‘starchitect’ system act to exclude women, if indeed it does? How might we begin to celebrate architectural achievements without perpetuating the myth of the ‘starchitect’? What, in short, might life be like after the age of ‘starchitects’ and how might it be reached?

Speakers:

Karen Cook – founding partner, PLP; former partner, KPF
Owen Hopkins – Architecture Programme Curator, Royal Academy of Arts (chair)
Hana Loftus – founder, HAT Projects
Catherine Pease – founder, vPPR
Vicky Richardson – Director, Architecture Design Fashion, British Council

Image caption: Fred May, 'Caricature of dinner at RIBA (detail)'. Original drawings from “The Tatler” sketch 22 Feb 1939. Pencil & wash with white highlights on Card/board. 555 x 405mm. © RIBA Collections, London.