The Year's Top Architecture Controversies

Who wants to read about the best buildings of the year when you can read about the most controversial? Architizer will guide you through the year's best in copycats, criticism, and crybabies.

2 minute read

December 24, 2012, 11:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


From protests over the change of leadership at Princeton University's School of Architecture, to conservative critics of a presidential memorial, to the scores of Brutalist buildings under threat of demolition, Architizer has assembled the "Top 10 Architecture Controversies Of 2012."

A sample from this year's hall of shame:

Copycats:

"In October,  Pharrell Williams and  architect Chad Oppenheim released drawings for their  ”Ice Cream City,” a new urban fun center in Miami’s rundown Overtown neighborhood. But one of Ice Cream City’s buildings — a large box housing a Target — looked a little too familiar: specifically,  like  Jakob+MacFarlane‘s Orange Cube in Lyon, France.  Both designs were  bright orange, had a web-like scrim, and featured a large hole cut from one corner. Oops!"

Criticism:

"Philip Nobel loves a controversy. The critic’s latest attention-getting act, a massive takedown of the “starchitect,” published in Metropolis. Nobel lambasted everyone from Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid to Daniel Libeskind and Morphosis’s Thom Mayne. But his biggest target: Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Nobel devoted 720 words to the High Line architects, whose work he  described as 'sloppy, pretentious, derivative.' Meeee-ow."

Crybabies:

"Zaha Hadid‘s splashy natatorium got a lot of flack when the Guardian reported that the Aquatics Center’s bulging ceiling would prevent many ticket-holders from seeing the 10-meter diving events, resulting in possibly thousands of refunded tickets...It wasn’t the starchitect’s first gripe with the London Olympics: Apparently,  the committee hadn’t invited her to any of the events, including the opening and closing ceremonies."

Monday, December 17, 2012 in Architizer

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