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World Architecture Survey

{{Short description|Contemporary architecture survey}}

The World Architecture Survey was conducted in 2010 by Vanity Fair, to determine the most important works of contemporary architecture. 52 leading architects, teachers, and critics, including several Pritzker Prize winners and deans of major architecture schools were asked for their opinion.

The survey asked two questions:{{cite news |title=Vanity Fair's World Architecture Survey: the Complete Results |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-list-201008 |accessdate=22 July 2010 |newspaper=Vanity Fair |date=30 June 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108161337/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-list-201008 |archivedate=November 8, 2014 }}

  1. What are the five most important buildings, bridges, or monuments constructed since 1980?
  2. What is the greatest work of architecture thus far in the 21st century?

While the range of responses was very broad, more than half of the experts surveyed named the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry as one of the most important works since 1980. The Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest stadium) in Beijing by Herzog and de Meuron was the building most often cited, by seven respondents, as the most significant structure of the 21st century so far.[http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-slideshow-201008?currentPage=13 Architecture’s Modern Marvels] Counted by architect, works by Frank Gehry received the most votes, followed by those of Rem Koolhaas. The result of the survey led Vanity Fair to label Gehry as "the most important architect of our age".{{cite news|last=Tyrnauer|first=Matt|title=Architecture in the Age of Gehry|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-201008?currentPage=all|accessdate=22 July 2010|newspaper=Vanity Fair|date=30 June 2010}}

Results

=Most important works since 1980=

The respondents named a total of 132 different structures when asked to indicate the five most important buildings, monuments, and bridges completed since 1980. The top 21 were:{{cite news|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-slideshow-201008|title=Architecture's Modern Marvels|accessdate=22 July 2010|newspaper=Vanity Fair|date=June 30, 2010}}

  1. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (completed 1997) in Bilbao, Spain by Frank Gehry (28 votes)
  2. Menil Collection (1987) in Houston, Texas by Renzo Piano (10 votes)
  3. Thermal Baths of Vals (1996) in Vals, Switzerland by Peter Zumthor (9 votes)
  4. Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Building (1985) in Hong Kong by Norman Foster (7 votes)
  5. Tied (6 votes):
  6. :Seattle Central Library (2004) in Seattle by Rem Koolhaas
  7. :Sendai Mediatheque (2001) in Sendai, Japan by Toyo Ito
  8. :Neue Staatsgalerie (1984) in Stuttgart, Germany by James Stirling
  9. :Church of the Light (1989) in Osaka, Japan by Tadao Ando
  10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) in Washington, D.C. by Maya Lin (5 votes)
  11. Tied (4 votes):
  12. :Millau Viaduct (2004) in France by Norman Foster
  13. :Jewish Museum, Berlin (1998) in Berlin by Daniel Libeskind
  14. Tied (3 votes):
  15. :Lloyd’s Building (1984) in London by Richard Rogers
  16. :Beijing National Stadium (2008) in Beijing by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron
  17. :CCTV Building (under construction {{as of|2010|lc=on}}) in Beijing by Rem Koolhaas
  18. :Casa da Musica (2005) in Porto, Portugal by Rem Koolhaas
  19. :Cartier Foundation (1994) in Paris by Jean Nouvel
  20. :BMW Welt (2007) in Munich by COOP Himmelblau
  21. :Addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum (2007) in Kansas City, Missouri by Steven Holl
  22. :Cooper Union building (2009) in New York by Thom Mayne
  23. :Parc de la Villette (1984) in Paris by Bernard Tschumi
  24. :Yokohama International Passenger Terminal (2002) at Ōsanbashi Pier in Yokohama, Japan by Foreign Office Architects
  25. Saint-Pierre church, Firminy (2006) in Firminy, France by Le Corbusier (2 votes)

=Most significant work of the 21st century=

The buildings most often named as the greatest work of architecture thus far in the 21st century were:

  1. Beijing National Stadium by Herzog and de Meuron (7 votes)
  2. Saint-Pierre, Firminy by Le Corbusier (4 votes)
  3. Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas (3 votes)
  4. CCTV Headquarters by Rem Koolhaas (2 votes)
  5. Tied with one vote each: Sendai Mediatheque (Toyo Ito), Millau Viaduct (Norman Foster), Casa da Musica (Rem Koolhaas), Cartier Foundation (Jean Nouvel), BMW Welt (COOP Himmelblau)

Criticism

Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Blair Kamin criticized the "self-aggrandizing" survey for not including any green buildings.{{cite news|last=Kamin|first=Blair|title=The blind spot in Vanity Fair's world architecture survey: green design |url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/07/the-blind-spot-in-vanity-fairs-world-architecture-survey.html|accessdate=22 July 2010|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=July 21, 2010}} In response, Lance Hosey of Architect magazine conducted an alternate survey of leading green building experts and found that no buildings appeared on both lists, suggesting that standards of "good design" and "green design" are misaligned.{{cite news|last=Hosey|first=Lance|title=The G List |url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/the-g-list_o|accessdate=28 July 2010|magazine=Architect|date=July 27, 2010}} Commentators also noted that several of the architects surveyed (but not Gehry){{cite web|last=Ng|first=David|title=Frank Gehry's Bilbao museum tops Vanity Fair architecture list|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/frank-gehrys-bilbao-museum-tops-vanity-fair-architecture-list.html|work=Culture Monster|publisher=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=22 July 2010|date=June 30, 2010}} "perhaps took the magazine’s title a little too seriously" and voted for their own buildings.{{cite news|last=Winston|first=Anna|title=Vanity Fair reveals vanity voting behind list of best modern buildings|url=http://www.bdonline.co.uk/vanity-fair-reveals-vanity-voting-behind-list-of-best-modern-buildings/5002211.blog|accessdate=22 July 2010|newspaper=Building Design|date=5 July 2010}}{{cite news|last=Glick Kudler |first=Adrian|title=Bilbao Wins, But Which Architects Nominated Themselves to Vanity Fair List?|url=http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/bilbao_wins_but_which_architects_nominated_themselves_to_vanity_fair_list.php|accessdate=22 July 2010|newspaper=Curbed|date=June 30, 2010}}

Participants

The following people replied to the survey:

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See also

References

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Category:Architecture lists

Category:Vanity Fair (magazine)

Category:2010