The Commoners

Are starchitects dominating the architecture market? A recent viewing of archdaily.com reveals a gorgeous house in the Chilean coastal town of Zapallar, House H, by architect Felipe Assadi completed at the dawn of this year; in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, architect Francisco Mangado’s Congress hall and hotel is all but mundane; and in Østerid, Norway, Cubo Arkitekter delivers a highly engaging visitors and community center. More inspiring projects follow, and more names of unfamiliar sounds: Alhumaidi Architects, Funkti on Design, Hype Studio, DnA, Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter. Sporadically, in the succession of this long list of unrecognizable architects sprout familiar faces: Jean Nouvel with new images of his soon to be completed National Museum of Qatar, Steven Holl with the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Renzo Piano proposed residential tower in Miami. The scene repeats when browsing other architectural digital platforms. Work, exceptional work, by little-known architects outnumbers the work by the starchitects.

Volume Editors
Jasmine Benyamin, Kyle Reynolds, Mo Zell, Nikole Bouchard & Whitney Moon

ISBN
978-1-944214-28-9