Starchitects Missing From Architecture's Biggest Trend

"If there is one big idea taking shape in the architecture and design world right now, it's a new strain of humanitarianism. Socially conscious and globally minded, the sensibility is best understood as a thread. It connects green architecture, disaster relief and antipoverty programs, which are engaging many of the profession's top talents - especially those younger than 40. It runs through blogs and message boards on the Internet. It ties together student projects all over the world."

"The leaders of this new movement, who tend to be rather bland as media personalities, are overshadowed by older architects and designers far less interested in sustainability or fighting poverty - and far more experienced at attracting attention and wielding celebrity."

"Rem Koolhaas has offered what seems like a dozen explanations - some of them rather convincing, actually - for his willingness to take commissions from the Tibet-paving, coal-belching Chinese government. Peter Eisenman has long been happy to play the charming villain for the green crowd. Zaha Hadid's buildings show a mesmerizing disdain for the idea that she bears responsibility for anything beyond the health of her own legacy."

"Among the green generation, who is heading up the charge? Well, nobody, really. This may be the first movement in architectural history whose followers are more famous than its leaders."

"The new ethos of responsibility often seems to have seeped so completely into the design schools, and many young designers seem to wear its mantle so easily, that the profession - and the planet - may change simply as a result of a massive philosophical shift."