[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap]s reported on dezeen, David Adjaye has expressed his concern about the effects money is having on the practice of architecture. He sounded a warning about “billion pound projects perverting architecture”, citing that architects should be champions for the cities within which they build their projects.
In his keynote speech at the recently concluded World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam, Adjaye was quoted as saying that architecture should be the “arbiter of ideas”. He argued that architects have a responsibility to make sure their buildings give back to the people that use them, rather than simply fulfilling a client’s brief.
“Today’s projects are driven by elitism that is to do with hyper-commercial liberalism and who controls money. Money has totally corrupted the ability to make a meaningful form,…It’s all about money now. Architecture in the west is absurdly expensive – projects cost billions and it’s crazy…..Architecture is able to become a form that is able to push a certain sort of justice into the equation…I think that architects are responsible in the way that they work for a client, but they also work for a city, they’re always indebted to making sure the city is giving the best back to its constituents.”
You can read the rest of the story on dezeen.
