Who Da Tastemakers?

According to Forbes Magazine, these are the Top 10 Tastemakers -- those "most influencing our culture" -- in architecture (# press mentions -- perhaps a deciding factor in the creation of the list, it's not clear -- in parentheses):


Top L-R: David Adjaye (198), Enrique Norten (66), Norman Foster (496), Thom Mayne (91), James Corner (3)
Bottom L-R: Diller and Scofidio (60), Zaha Hadid (325), Robert Fox, Jr. (7), Sejima and Nishizawa (68), Ben Van Berkel (71)

According to the article, these ten "pioneer new building techniques, cross cultures and blur boundaries between architecture, art, landscape design and urban planning. They impact more then just aesthetics; they're changing the way we live." Citing United Nations' estimates that, "by 2015, there will be 21 megacities with populations over 10 million," the magazine gives architects the responsibility of: "managing this growth and finding innovative ways to maximize scarce space and resources."

Given that Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Daniel Libeskind, and Santiago Calatrava are mentioned in the article but aren't on the list, it appears that "starchitects" won't be the ones taking on this responsibility. It's the "not yet household names" that will (somehow) deal with this situation, even though architects -- at least in the United States -- account for a tiny fraction of what's built.

Regardless, the article accurately reflects the need for architects to redefine what they do: dealing with landscape and urban design as well as building design, dealing with social and political concerns as well as formal ones, thinking about their responsibilities in an increasingly crowded and environmentally damaged world. In many ways they hit the nail on the head, but does the list accurately reflect these concerns? To me, the list reflects the usual formal emphasis rather than the ones the magazine is calling for.

(via Archinect)