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.
Contents
- Most important works since 1980
- Most significant work of the 21st century
- Criticism
- Participants
- References
The survey asked two questions:
- What are the five most important buildings, bridges, or monuments constructed since 1980?
- 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. 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".
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:
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (completed 1997) in Bilbao, Spain by Frank Gehry (28 votes)
- Menil Collection (1987) in Houston, Texas by Renzo Piano (10 votes)
- Thermal Baths of Vals (1996) in Vals, Switzerland by Peter Zumthor (9 votes)
- Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Building (1985) in Hong Kong by Norman Foster (7 votes)
- Tied (6 votes):
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) in Washington, D.C. by Maya Lin (5 votes)
- Tied (4 votes):
- Tied (3 votes):
- 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:
- Beijing National Stadium by Herzog and de Meuron (7 votes)
- Saint-Pierre, Firminy by Le Corbusier (4 votes)
- Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas (3 votes)
- CCTV Headquarters by Rem Koolhaas (2 votes)
- 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. Commentators also noted that several of the architects surveyed (but not Gehry) "perhaps took the magazine’s title a little too seriously" and voted for their own buildings.
Participants
The following people replied to the survey: