Architecture

Types of Global Architecture Practice

Currently, two major types of architectural practices are usually described as being global. The better known of these are the high-profile practices of famous Western architects, particularly those located in Europe. These architects are often and increasingly invited to build iconic structures around the world, particularly in the rapidly emerging markets of East Asia, the Gulf, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Often referred to as [Page 81]“star-chitects,” the practitioners include architects such as Rem Koolhaas (of OMA, the Netherlands), Jean Nouvel (France), Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (Switzerland), Renzo Piano (France and Italy), Norman Foster (United Kingdom), and Frank Gehry (United States). The iconicity of the architecture associated with star-chitects is a key element of their global demand. Civic agencies and public sector agencies are the usual patrons of star-chitecture.

Figure 1 The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. This iconic concert hall, designed by the famous global architect Frank Gehry, is known as one of the most acoustically superior concert halls in the world.;

Source: Photo by Evan Janke.

Star-chitecture is also sometimes described as the Bilbao effect, a reference to the tremendous global attention focused on Bilbao, a small town in Spain, simply as a consequence of the Guggenheim Museum, which was built there by the U.S.-based architect Frank Gehry in 1997. This building, because of the iconicity of its architecture, made Bilbao a tourist and mercantile destination that transformed the economy of the town. This building's success opened the floodgates for iconic architecture worldwide as part of the accepted business practice of an urban economy trying to establish its place in globalization. As a consequence, the Guggenheim Bilbao was the building most frequently named in the 2010 World Architecture Survey of architecture experts as one of the most important buildings completed since 1980.

The second type of global architectural practice can be identified as that being done in the large, corporate architectural firms, an increasing portion of whose work is based outside the Western world. Firms such as Callison, NBBJ, SOM, KPF, Ellerbe Becket—all of which are primarily based outside the United States—maintain corporate offices in the major financial centers of the world, such as London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mumbai (besides their offices in the United States and Europe). Most of these firms specialize in several building types, such as hospitality, health, infrastructure, sports, and retail, and rely on efficiency and the signature branding of their work as their key marketing strategy. Their expertise is sought by clients who have projects that are financed by privatized capital infrastructures, including public-private partnerships, with specific investment expectations. Increasingly, architecture and design firms around the world are modeling themselves on major Western global corporate practices.

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