Examining Authorship in Architecture Beyond Celebrity Designers

An article by Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi explores the concept of authorship in architecture, arguing it extends beyond star architects to represent a personal, non-neutral viewpoint that interprets reality. The piece discusses how authorship relates to recognizable styles of figures like Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Kazuyo Sejima, and Toyo Ito, creating market value through brand recognition. It contrasts this with traditional cultures where works were often unsigned, and examines philosophical perspectives from Kant and others who link art to individual genius. The article warns against reducing architecture to measurable performance criteria, citing examples like Walter Gropius's TAC collective and contemporary public building competitions that risk producing technically correct but expressionless structures. It concludes that architecture requires personal expression to transcend mere technique.