Epilogue: Public Speaking and the City of the Future

Abstract

Potsdamer Platz, Ground Zero, Kartal-Pendik, Fiera Milano, City in the Desert. These iconic names denote a series of masterplans for the (re)development of global cities produced by ‘starchitects’ such as Renzo Piano, Daniel Libeskind, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas. In his opening address to the 1908 Architecture Congress in Vienna, Otto Wagner expressed disquiet at the power that developers were increasingly able to wield over architects (Hevesi 1986: 293–4). A century later, it seems that global city developments rise or fall on their ability to brand themselves through association with a big name architect. Offering provocative and ambitious visions for new urban formations, these architects assume a role akin to that of the Loosian ‘Uber-architect’. Like this figure, and the early twentieth century architects it inspired, they occupy this position thanks not only to their flair in fashioning the built environment, but also to the result of their ability to contribute to the discursive construction of the city by appearing in public on the global stage; if Loos was at home on the European express train, these contemporary architects make their home on intercontinental flights. A number of these ‘starchitects’ first made their mark through writing and speaking about architecture and the city, rather than through their contributions to the built environment.