NOTES ON BECOMING A FAMOUS ARCHITECT

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53. Take a lesson from IKEA
2008-05-30 17:20:00
IKEA sells a brilliantly envisioned, meticulously conceived, inter-operational collection of constructed "components" of individual identity, situated in the domestic sphere, and supported by a global system of logistics, engineering, marketing, operations, but most of all DESIGN, that is really remarkable. The connection that I made with all of this is the increasing significance of design, in the most universal, far-reaching sense, in the world of software. Apple Computers' incredible success of the last few years since the introduction of MacOS X, the iPod, and its super-sexy notebooks, is not about selling a Unix-based operating system, a digital personal music player, and mass-market commodity laptops - it's about DESIGN, transformative, transcendent design that engages us in experiences which makes our inner ape feel safe, happy, sexy, powerful - emotional experiences which stimulate our pleasure centers and form habits of use, habits of consumption.-http://www.puregin.org...
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52. Know How to Tell Your Story in the Media
2008-05-24 10:15:00
Publicity is by far one of the most effective marketing tools at your disposal, but how do you promote yourself to the media so that they will give your growing business the spotlight it needs? Story telling. That's right, because ultimately, business stories are human interest stories and every reporter is looking for a good story. In fact the press refers to the articles they write as stories. Here are 4 things you need to give the press to help them tell your story: 1. Personality. "A company is faceless without the people who run it," says Joanne Cleaver, a business writer whose work has appeared in Home Office Computing and Dividends Magazine. "In any story, you want the personality of the people to come through. You want to get a sense of who they are." 2. Facts & Figures. Reporters love facts and figures; they anchor a story in reali...
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51. Denounce Starchitecture
2008-05-17 02:36:00
Starchitects Have Reason to be GloomyFirst, the good news. The early model of the starchitect incited by the image-mongering of Frank Lloyd Wright is still in play. It captured the extra-architectural imagination of the popular press and helped catapulted the careers of many architects ever since. Unfortunately we may now be seeing a more universal fatigue with the entire enterprise. Now, the bad news. The fatigue has become so bad that starchitects have now become a popular instrument of ridicule by the media in popular culture. The starchitect have come to represent vanity, greed and shallowness; an enterprise that is ethically challenged. The model has so many broken windows that it has become popular for every lowly wayward to throw a brick at it.So many architects who have worked up the ranks to gain starchitect status are beginning to question whether there may be fools gold at the end of the rainbow.Remember the old adage "Be careful what you wish for...". As one journalist p...

50. chill out on your famous/oeidopus complex
2008-05-09 17:46:00
Dear Cat,No personal offence taken.I am just very happy to get feedback.Actually, your comment falls into the most common category of responses to this blog.I think that most people believe fame is something that comes to those who work hard, do good design, are talented and have a bit of luck.In my experience this is true but missing a very critical ingredient.That ingredient is called "working on cultivating fame for yourself"I wished we lived in a great meritocracy where architects are recognized purely on the basis of their work, but this is just not reality. Once in a blue moon a lucky chap will win a competition and get instant recognition. But if he/she does not cultivate their fame they will loose it. For the rest of us, its a goal that is cultivated and worked on over a lifetime like any other career path.My hopes with this blog is to open people up to this idea. Fame is an achievable goal that must be tampered with talent, work, a bit of luck, etc, etc,. To focus on fame a...
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49. Young Architects Now Means "Young"
2008-05-01 19:59:00
This was just too good to pass up. We have been talking about this stuff all along and then came this. We have said don't wait. The age of "The Lone Genius" architect is gone we are now in the era of the united team , go out and work for a famous architect and most importantly Rem Koolhaas has wings. Well this just confirms it. If you can't take if from us take it from Icon:Is it just us or is the young architect a very different beast these days? For the first time, "young" actually means young, but "architect" may no longer mean architect. This is our list of the most significant rising practices. Like all list stories, you'll disagree with some of it, but that's half the fun. The first thing to mention is that the "young architect" is definitely younger than he or she used to be. We borrowed the convention of using 40 as our cut-off point, but at least half of the people on this list are 35 or under - and one of them is a 33-year-old overseeing a practice with 75 staff. ...
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48. Be Open & Coachable
2008-04-22 23:09:00
Some time ago I visited a friend in architecture school at his studio there. While he was showing me around, and I noticed something rather strange. Some of the students' drafting boards were covered up like they had secret plans of Fort Knox under them.I asked him "what was that about?"He told me "they covered them up because they did not want anyone to steal their ideas"I thought "Gollum!"Do you remember Gollum from the movie The Lord of the Rings?He was this guy that became possessed with a magical golden ring. He called it "My precious" and did almost anything to protect and keep it. In the end of the movie he became a sorry creature.When you guard your idea out of competitive aims, your idea develops only with you. And when this happens, you become myopic. If you are like most human beings you will have blind spots [stupid obvious mistakes right in front of you, that you fail to notice because you are so close to your project]. You fall in love with your project, and your judg...
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47. Pay Attention to your Clothes
2008-04-19 18:22:00
The relationship between fashion and architecture is not a particularly oblique one. Both are based on structure, shape and prettying up basic necessities - clothes and shelter. The relationship between fashion and architects is less discussed. Yet even a glance at your garden-variety modern architect proves this is a group who are just as style-conscious as fashion designers. Hadley Freeman dissects their fashion choicesLe Corbusier and Walter Gropius established the look that has become Modern Architect Chic. Here we see the I-don?t-work-in-a-proper- office jackets and the I?m-a-bit-artistic bow ties that originated with this duo. Gropius?s bow tie is a little floppier than one would expect from the founder of Bauhaus (right), but Le Corbusier?s pulled-together look is surely what one would expect of a man who used to design whole cities for a gigglePeter Eisenman is quite possibly my favourite of the lot. With the tie, the braces and, of course, the circular glasses, Eisenman's ...
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46. Life lessons from "The Godfather of Fame" Phillip Johnson
2008-04-09 17:30:00
Sometimes referred to as the Paris Hilton of architecture, Phillip Johnson was one of the most divisive architects of the 20th Century. He took on contrarian views and said taboo things that would outrage other architects thus making him even more famous.I believe he was the one that said we architects are whores. If you are a non-architect reading this blog I will let you know that most architects believe in Architecture like most people believe in God. We take it very seriously, to the point of fanaticism most of the time.So when PJ said this, we blew our tops, including yours truly. I have always despised him and in a lot of ways, I still do. He represented everything empty and shallow and demeaning to my holy profession. In retrospect though, I think PJ is just as good as he is evil. He was right, and he was wrong (as he would say), he was human.He mastered the art of fame not just for himself but he was the godfather to others.Love him or hate him he deserves at least 15 minute...
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45. Warning #2: Beware of the absurd (John Silber)
2008-04-04 17:06:00
Consider this part 2 of the last post on "Warning ..." From time to time I receive messages from disgruntled anti-starchitecture readers that referenced the book "Architecture of the Absurd : How "Genius" Disfigured a Practical Art". They use it as the bible to decry any talk of fame. At first hearing about it I thought it sounded a little silly; "When was architecture ever a practical art?" was my reaction. I decided to actually read it anyway. After going through the first few chapters, I was a genuinely amused; I couldn't tell if the author was actually real or television character. The arguments sounded as though Archie Bunker decided to write a book on architecture. Then another image came to mind: That episode on the TV program 60 minutes where Morley Safer took a bunch of school children to a contemporary art museum. He pointed to an abstract Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting and asked one of the kids "can you do that?" the kid fired back a resounding "yeah!" with a confid...
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44. Warning: Architecture is Politics, so be Good
2008-03-28 20:23:00
Being an architect is not very different from being a politician if you think about it.Both are always responsible to a constituency if only on a moral level. In the politician's case its the general public in the area that they represent. In the architects case its the public who use the building and will interact with it even if they just walk by it.Both are dependent on and oftentimes instruments of the rich & powerful. For architects we are dependent wholy on our clients for our income. While politicians get paid for their services as elected officials they usually dont get elected without the contributions of wealthy donors.We are both criticized for being sellouts, whores, puppets of the rich, and so on when we fail to protect the public against the profit motivated interests of the rich developers. Its a tough place to be, having to choose between your career and the interest of the common good. For some it is an easier choice than for others. For architects like David C...
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43. Make the Most of Your Business Card
2008-03-21 10:09:00
Everyone knows Networking Rule Numero Uno ? Don't go out without your business card ? although I'm constantly amazed by how many people don't bring their cards to professional events. (Some kind of self-sabotage, I think.) Your card plays a major role in your prospect's first impression of you, and you don't often get more than one chance.David Salanitro, owner of San Francisco-based, Oh Boy, A Design Company, has an interesting take on business cards. He believes they're essential, yet disposable, and he spreads his around like paper samples. "They're not keepers. They're scraps of paper that you throw at people. Their purpose is to create a first impression, over and over, to be there at the right moment, not to be kept as an heirloom." Here are a few tips from Salanitro for making the most of your business cards:1. Hand them to people when you meet them for the first time. They'll remember your name better if they see it. Develop this as a reflex and don't be shy if the...
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42. What is architecture?
2008-03-15 15:27:00
This week I went through a selection of interviews by some famous and slightly famous architects. As I read, I looked at how they defined architecture during the course of these interviews. Below are some excerpts from those interviews where they answer the question "What is architecture?" . Though they are all taken out of context, it gives a candid insight into how they think about architecture and what they believe it to be.LEBBEUS WOODSI think architecture is about ideas in the first place. You don?t get to design until you have an idea. That idea has to be somewhat comprehensive. There?s always a client asking for a building. If you?re an architect, you?ll design the building. But if you?re a dutiful architect, you first have to question why the building is required. The architect has to take responsibility to participate in the rationale of the building and not just to design. The architect can either say we don?t need this building and walk away, or maybe we need a different ...
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41. Take a lesson from Lebbeus Woods
2008-03-05 05:03:00
There are two types of old people in this world. There are the ones that always seem to say: I am too old for this shit. They wave their canes at technology and look at younger folks like they came from mars. They talk about the past like it was the golden age and they demand respect because they feel entitled to it. I wont mention any names, but we all know someone like this in our lives.Then there are the ones that really believes in their hearts that they are younger than any 5 year old. They will out run you and out wit you in a heart beat. They are people like John McCain (this is not an endorsement in any way shape or form), Malcom Forbes, and Louis Kahn who became the Louis Kahn we all new when he was in his 50's. (pretty eclectic list aye?) I have to grudgingly also admit my mother-in-law is one of those people, she is old but she can wield her lap top almost as good an any 20 year old.This brings me to Lebbeus Woods . I happened to look at his website the other day and was ...
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40. You gotta wanna be like YOU
2008-03-02 05:27:00
Do you remember that movie the mask?Jim Carry tries on this mask and he becomes a crazy exaggeration of himself with supernatural powers. The concept of the mask is that it pulls out certain aspects of a its wearer's personality and amplifies it to the max. So if you try it on, and I tried it on, or anyone else on the planet for that matter tried it on, you would always get a different super hero.In becoming a famous architect or famous at anything for that matter, the people who are most successful are the ones that seem to have found this secret mask. And they have kept it hidden until now. Well I have found it and I will share it with you. but don't tell anyone else.The problem with most architects is that they want to become Le Corbusier, or Loius Kahn or Mies or whoever. So they go out and get their glasses, they trace their work, and even try to copy their mannerisms. The only way to become either of these people is to have their parents make you and even that's a long sho...
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39. Learn "entertainment charisma" from Frank Gehry
2008-02-24 03:37:00
The funny thing about Frank Gehry and about most famous architects for that matter, is that they have a certain way of being entertaining in their own way. Even Wright, while drowning you in his hubris, had a thing about him that made you want to listen to him even if your jaw fell open at the size of his ego. Louis Kahn kind of invented his own language and presented the stupid mundane stuff that most architects worked with everyday in an engaging way. In this clip Gehry tries to down play that kind of showmanship by saying that they are just trying to make themselves seem like "the good guys". While this is certainly true it is part of their entertainment charisma. Frank can point the finger because his entertainment charisma is his dry humour and blunt frankness (no pun intended). One could argue that he too is doing this to look like one of the good guys.The point being is you need to develop an entertainment charisma of your own that make you look good.
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38. Schmooze or you Looze
2008-02-15 23:16:00
One of the critical traits that distinguishes a Famous Architect from the architects that designs boring stuff and bitch about it for a living, is that famous Architects are at home both in the office and in the spotlight. If you are a master in the studio but have a social IQ of zero, chances are you will never be a famous architect. You might as well trade in the black get up for something a little more colorful. Otherwise you look like a confused undertaker. Sorry to be so blunt.If you think for one second that schmoozing and socializing is a distraction from your work as an architect or that you are too noble to get involved in such a contrived activity. Then I suggest you stop reading right now. In fact let me help you find your way out. Click here to exit blog.If you are headed for the road to stardom read on.Consider this, if you don't schmooze you at least stand a great chance of missing out on all the back-door opportunities and potential opportunities that you would not h...

37. Famous Architects are Super Action Heros!
2008-02-09 17:35:00
A great epoch has begun.There exists a new spirit.Starchitecture & modern technology, overwhelming us like a flood which rolls on towards its destined end, has furnished us with new tools adapted to this new epoch, animated by a new spirit.Famous architects rightfully take their place beside batman, superman, and yes Micheal Jordan!Jason Bourne is fiction Rem Koolhaas is reality!click here and watch Rem run!NOTES ON BECOMING A FAMOUS ARCHITECTFreeing Minds Since August 2007
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36. "Starchitect" a definition
2008-02-01 14:14:00
Since this is a blog about becoming a Famous Architect, it is worth taking a closer look at another word that has been sprouting in the [cult]ure of architecture that describes what we are talking about:Starchitect starchitect noun [C] /st(r)ktekt/a very famous architect, especially one who has designed a well-known building in the recent past.starchitecture noun [U]a style of building design which has become particularly famous.starchitectural adjective starchitecturally adverbDo you have a favourite building? If you do, and your choice is a product of 21st-century architecture, then the chances are it was designed by a starchitect. A blend of the words star and architect, starchitect is a recent coinage used to describe a famous architect who has been responsible for the design of an iconic 21st-century building. This is typically some kind of public building which attracts a degree of media interest, and thereby imparts a sort of celebrity status to it...
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35. B.I.O. like B.I.G.
2008-01-25 19:32:00
What a fantastically marvelous time we live in; hundreds of architects vie for their 15 minuites of fame every day.This onslaught leaves some of us bewildered -- developing effective ways to break through the deluge and rise to famousness. I, however, see this as an incredible moment. Since accomplishing this feat has become more difficult over the years, many architects do not even bother to make a serious effort, or worse yet, they do not do it at all.What better moment could progressively-minded architects ask for?With this tremendous moment comes a massive responsibility. When a brand concept gets through the clutter, the architect must not only uphold it at every contact with his customers, but it must also surpass that promise -- every time, by every image, by every method, by every system. Indeed, if a positive brand impression is not made at every contact, the odds of the architect's concept effectively getting through to that prospect again are greatly diminished, and what...

34. Look At Your Results & Adjust Your Approach
2008-01-17 19:36:00
So from the last 2 posts you have descided what you wanted to be famous for and took some action towards it.Did your actions take you closer or further away from your objective?If you?re closer to your goal, keep going! Refine your process, eliminate unnecessary steps, but keep doing what you?re doing! If the actions you?ve taken have put you further from your desired result, change them!After you?ve gone for it, though, you need to?Look at your resultsOr, as Tony Robbins puts it, ?notice your result?. If your goal is to get to Paris from Australia, heading south doesn?t quite cut it, does it? Examine the results of your actions, then?Adjust Your approach.Just look at these two masters at work: Frank & Hillary. Hillary is not an architect but you'll get the idea alright.Frank Gehry Knew what he wanted to be famous for: designing buildingsStarting off as a mildly successful architect but with limited commissions he knew that course was not going to lead him to fame. So heTook ac...
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33. Take Action!
2008-01-12 19:29:00
In the previous post we discussed making a clear goal and making in very specific. So now you know where your target is. But in order to hit it, you have to? Take Action Having a specific goal is all well and good, but it?s not enough. In order to achieve your goals, or get what you want, you have to take action toward their achievement. Massive action! If you want something, go after it! Don?t paddle around. Go for it with a vengeance!This reminds me of a page in a Dr Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place?for people just waiting.Waiting for a train to goor a bus to come, or a plane to goor the mail to come, or the rain to goor the phone to ring, or the snow to snowor waiting around for a Yes or Noor waiting for their hair to grow.Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kiteor waiting around for Friday nightor waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jakeor a pot to boil, or a Bet...

32. Know What you Want to be Famous for
2008-01-04 17:15:00
As an experiment and in keeping in the spirit of New Year's wises, we are conducting an experiment in goal setting (wishes with deadlines). Much of what you will find here is based on "The Ultimate Success Formula" popularized by success coach Anthony Robbins. This is a simple sequence of actions for achieving a goal. They are as follows:Know what you wantTake action toward itExamine the results of your actionAdjust your approachOver the next four weeks, starting today, we are challenging you to set a goal and follow through with these steps. You probably wont be famous in 4 weeks but don't be discouraged. You will probably be in better shape for the years to come. This week begins with the first step:Know What You Want Before you take off on your journey, you have to know where you want to end up.What kind of results do you want?You?ll find that the less wishy-washy you are about your destination, the better your chance of arriving there. You can?t just say things like, ?I want ...
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31. Get The Publicity You Need
2007-12-26 22:14:00
Claire Whitaker spent five years as president of The Kreisberg Group, a New York P.R. firm whose clients were architects, as well as institutions with architectural ambitions. But in December, she closed the doors to the firm founded by Luisa Kreisberg in 1984, choosing to go to work for Santiago Calatrava, one of the firm's star clients. Since Calatrava hardly needs help gaining name recognition, Whitaker will be able to focus on managing his image and helping to run his business (now largely based in Manhattan). Which means that tips for getting young architects press are no longer her stock in trade. So on her last day at Kreisberg's offices in Chelsea, she sat down (on the only thing left, a computer) to talk about how architects without Pritzker Prizes on their résumés can become better known.One thing young architects can't do, of course, is hire firms like Kreisberg, which can charge $5,000 per month or more for representation. That's the catch-22: Only the most successfu...
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30. Who will define "good architecture" in your work?
2007-12-23 11:45:00
This post is based on the premise that what the client and general public's view of what is good architecture, is often times not the same as what the famous architect view of what is good architecture.In becoming a famous architect you will inevitable have to make a choice in which constituent your design will pander to. Otherwise you can place your design somewhere between these two polarities.Daniel Lebiskind tends to side with the idea of making architecture that communicates with the public, while Peter Eisenman tends towards communicating to the architectural elite.This debate played out between the two at the end of the World Trade Center competition which Lebiskind won.Eisenman's team, was a member of one of seven semi-finalist in the competition. His team, which included Richard Meier & Partners, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates and Steven Holl Architects, proposed creating a five-building matrix arranged at a 90-degree angle and connected by three aerial bridges."The...
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29. Take a lesson from Thom Mayne
2007-12-14 20:25:00
Notes:Architecture is a public act: What is architecture really? It is taking our world view, how we exist, how we deal with each other in a civil society, and it concretizes it, it make it permanent, It makes it evident. The social act and the aesthetic act comes togetherArchitecture can only finally be about our social space: connections between people, a social space, a public space, the connective tissue.The development of a young architect as you mature moves from something that is conceptual to something that is more connected to the realities of our political, cultural, social, economic world. As it increases in scale specifically your strategies your tactics your methodologies has to become more resilient more compatible with the vast contingencies that all architects have to deal with.Architectue as an art form is different from painting, sculpture, litterature, and music in that it is inescapably connected to reality; it requires huge investments and includes an agreement ...
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28. Say you are an architect
2007-12-08 00:21:00
ALSO SEE THESE RELATED NOTES FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS:17. Blow your own horn!19. Promote your name or loose your fame.From an AIA recruitment flyer via http://lifewithoutbuildings.net/
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27. Brand Your Self
2007-11-30 22:23:00
Branding is one of the most important aspects of becoming a famous architect. A good branding strategy gives you a leg up on the Hobsian Battlefield.What exactly is branding you ask?It is your promise to your potential clients and others what to expect from you. It is based on how you perceive your self, really who you are, and want to be.The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:* Delivers your design philosophy clearly* Confirms your credibility* Connects your target prospects emotionally* Motivates potential clients & the public* Creates a loyal followingThe foundation of your brand is your mystique: Your architectural style or philosophy, the types of projects that you go after or attract, your persona, your pre...
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26. Fake It 'Til You Make It !
2007-11-15 14:41:00
This is an open appeal to those of you who have gone on job interviews and said that you knew much more about .... lets say AutoCad, than you actually do. After you got the job, you went home with a book and studied the basics. When you went to work, you really learned how to do it on the job.That's called faking it till you make it for beginners!What I am saying here is to take this to a whole other level. To become the Famous Architect, you will need to create an illusion and mystique so grand that the whole world looking will believe you. You need to become a kind of a magician-al-a-con-man.To illustrate my point, take a look at this clip from Catch Me if You Can. This is based on a real life magician-al-a-con-man. His formula: Study the industry, learn all the lingo, the body language, the attitudes, all the trappings and outward appearances like an actor preparing for a role. Study, study, study and then put on the performance of a lifetime.In this clip below, look at how he...
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25.Take a lesson from Paris Hilton
2007-11-06 20:59:00
Interview: Alex Bogusky, an ad guy who definitely doesn't shy away from controversy.He often touts a maxim: "Our basic philosophy is we're going to take a brand and make it famous."Bogusky is chief creative officer of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a Miami- and Boulder, Colorado-based ad agency that has made a name for itself with its unique, irreverent style. Its portfolio includes TV spots like Volkswagen's "unpimp your ride" campaign as well as more unorthodox Internet campaigns like the Burger King faux tabloid drama about "The King" and his affair with model Brooke Burke. The magazine Creativity once called CP+B "the most polarizing ad agency on the planet." It has drawn big clients like Nike and Domino's but has also been savaged for its digital resurrection of the late popcorn icon Orville Redenbacher and for a commercial that featured a suicidal man who decided not to jump off a building after learning there are three Volkswagens priced under $17,000. The automaker later pull...
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24. Marry an Architect
2007-11-04 23:02:00
WHEN Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio joined a team of architects to design a master plan for a temporary exposition on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, the couple, husband and wife, soon discovered that they had a major disagreement with the others over a pavilion. Ms. Diller and Mr. Scofidio wanted to build right on the water; the rest of the group thought it was too risky. In the end the couple splintered off from the team and developed a water-soluble structure — a swirl of fog, mist and water — that seemed to hover above the lake’s surface like a cloud. Their design carried the day. “Ric’s and my typical alignment produces a power bloc,� Ms. Diller said. While every married couple’s dynamic might be considered unique, Ms. Diller and Mr. Scofidio are representative of a broad trend of husband-and-wife collaboration that is changing the traditional definition of architecture partnerships. The list of couples is growing, as architects break off from big firms...
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