This provocative piece delineates a crisis in contemporary architectural practice by posing a question no critic has bothered to ask: Are “superstars” Frank Gehry and Diller+Scofidio actually practicing architecture? Eicher, a New York-based architect, offers a painstaking, deeply considered argument for saying “no,” and laments what that discrepancy is doing to the discipline he loves.
Clay Eicher practices architecture in New York City. He is currently working on a book about the role and concept of detail in modern architecture.