Zaha Hadid Starcitect a 20th century phenomenon Dissertation

Zaha Hadid Starcitect a 20th century phenomenon - Dissertation Example In a technological world that is global in nature, most civic heads are now aiming to create global villages that are uniform in nature, without overtly portraying any of the local culture and traditions. It is here the ‘starchitects’ have gained prominence by creating structures that have no link to history or traditions, and are more futuristic in colour , and thus can fit almost anywhere in this world. In this article, I will examine the works of the famous ‘starchitect’ Zara Hadid’s works, to comprehend the uniqueness in this form of architecture. Name Instructor’s name Date ‘Star architect’ and Zaha Hadid– a 20th century phenomenon 1 Introduction Starchitecture culture is â€Å"characterised by the premature coronation of designers based on flashy forms and blowout press coverage, the infection of schools with the idea of fame as a career objective and...a certain enabling complicity by the leading lights of our critic al establishment† – Phillip Nobel, 1 ‘Starchitect’  is a recent  phenomena or ‘neologism’ that is a relatively new doctrine within the field of art of architecture.  The term is used to distinguish architects  (and also artists/ sculptors), who have used their works in a manner that have turned them into a celebrity of sorts, and after receiving a certain degree of critical acclaim they have managed to transform themselves into idols of the architecture world, and in the process even earning fame amongst the general public. It has been observed that worldwide developers are quite enthusiastic to bring in the "top talent" or (starchitects), in order to attract the local governments into approving projects for large developments, or when requiring more financial help, and also for adding more star quality into their projects in order to raise the building value. The chief characteristic of a starchitect's design is that it is always so di fferent from the surrounding architecture, that it forcibly stands out and is highly visible within a particular locality, thus often turning into an icon, by its mere power of being starkly different. Since this entire process is completely dependent on the media publicity and the subsequent degree of current visibility, there are also instances of architects losing the ‘starchitect’ status (hence turning into former ‘starchitects’) owing to fading visibility in the media, thus forcing these icons to always try and remain within the range of media visibility. The latest development in this field is the hiring of famous ‘starchitects’ by various civic heads, in order to produce structures that turn into a landmark feature, an iconic representation of a city, thus elevating its international status or profile. Having maverick architects like Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano, or Norman Foster designing an opera house or a museum, are instances of ‘s tarchitecture,’ when architectures or buildings are produced for more of a shock value, which would help to create a landmark or an icon. According to a recent economic theory followed by the civic heads, claims that a city tends to thrive and flourish if it possesses some amount of an  international fame.2 This was most evident in the case of Bilbao, where we find the ‘starchitect’ Frank Gehry designed an art museum, and this allowed the