New York architect and Architizer co-founder Marc Kushner's new TED talk, "Why the buildings of the future will be shaped by … you," is essentially a crash course on the past 30 years of architecture. Kushner argues that public opinion is now a major factor that determines how buildings look and function. "We are living on the verge of the greatest revolution in architecture since the invention of concrete, steel, or the elevator and it's a media revolution," he says.
Kushner highlights a troubling statistic, that Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, and are thus greatly affected by architecture without even realizing it. Kushner talks the audience through brutalism in the '70s and the shift to neon, pastels, and Chippendale armoires turned skyscrapers in the '80s, before arriving at the day the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened in 1997.
The Guggenheim in Bilbao "fundamentally changed the world's relationship to architecture," a rare moment when academics, critics, and the public could agree that they all actually liked something. Kushner also notes Gehry became the first true starchitect, followed by some of our favorites, swoopy Zaha and controversial Libeskind.
His informative talk even manages to throw in several architecture jokes, mostly at the expense of brutalism and the '80s. Kushner is promoting his new TED book, The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings. Check out the talk below:
· Marc Kushner: Why the buildings of the future will be shaped by ... you [TED]
· All Marc Kushner posts [Curbed National]
· All Video Interlude posts [Curbed National]
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