The 10 Most Creative People in Architecture

Jun 2009

Cliff Kuang from Fast Company has ranked the 10 most creative people in architecture. That doesn’t mean they’re the best, just the most unusual and influential visions in the field.

Be sure to check the architect’s works published on ArchDaily!

The complete list after the break.

1. Will Alsop, ALSOP Architects

2. Yansong Ma ,MAD Architects – (projects on AD)

3. Insuk Cho and Kisu Park, MASS Studies – (projects on AD)

4. Rem Koolhaas, OMA – (projects on AD)

5. Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, MVRDV – (projects on AD)

6. Shigeru Ban, Shigeru Ban Architects – (projects on AD)

7. Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Meuron, Herzog & De Meuron – (projects on AD)

8. Thom Mayne, Morphosis Architects – (projects on AD)

9. Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects – (projects on AD)

10. Norman Foster, Foster + Partners – (projects on AD)

71 comments »

manuel peña says:

creatives or extravagant, i only agree with koolhaas, mvrvd, h&dm and foster , the others is just extravaganza

# June 12, 2009 at 12:26

OV says:

1. Who is Cliff Kuang?
2. What gives him the authority to make such a list?
(Sorry, being a freelance writer doesn’t cut it for me)
3. Amazing how architects from central and south america are not represented in his list. I think Mr. Kuang needs to do some more research.

Archdaily, I really enjoy coming to your site. You show an incredible amount of projects from around the world. However, I highly urge you to be more critical and rigorous on what you post.

# June 12, 2009 at 12:28

PanamArq says:

id say just 10 most unusual, i dont know about influential…

# June 12, 2009 at 12:32

Ade says:

i dont think it is that bad of a list

# June 12, 2009 at 12:36

also, don’t you think that Frank Gehry would be on a list like this?

Scottmft says:

I agree…Gehry is the man that opened up the floodgates…every building he does is sculptural and audacious but is still contextually driven is a huge achievement…i guess architecture is now just about image making…

# August 21, 2009 at 23:44

mathias says:

WHAT KIND OF USELESS RETARDED LIST IS THIS, BASED ON WHAT?

# June 12, 2009 at 12:55

hd says:

Thank you, Mathias, well said…. enough already…

# November 3, 2009 at 19:51

kc says:

how can someone be ‘most creative’? =/
none of these are breakthrough projects (if that is a measure of creativity) that change the way we see our world. The creative list should be of people we don’t really know yet.
and..somehow none of these projects are beautiful.

# June 12, 2009 at 13:05

Apparently beauty doesn’t exist anymore…i’ve heard it’s an archaic concept…

# August 21, 2009 at 23:52

Sofie says:

If you mean by “most creative” also “most innovative”, then I think Vincent Callebaut certainly deserves a place in the top 10! http://vincent.callebaut.org/projets-groupe-tout.html

(This top 10 is apparently only about famous architects, there are enough creative designers, who may not be famous yet.)

# June 12, 2009 at 13:07

_panza says:

alsopt, mvrdv, koolhaas, HdM and foster OK… but why Mass studies and not BIG (JDS)?? MAD is just a clone of Hadid

# June 12, 2009 at 13:12

bs says:

MVRDV,MAD, HdM and OMA is ok.. But I agree whith _Panza. Where’s BIG?

_And What is Foster doing on this list? _The good Sir. Norman Foster hasn’t designed anything good the last decade!

Come on this can be done much better!

# June 12, 2009 at 13:28

David Basulto [tricky] says:

Dear OV,

Fastcompany is the kind of magazine “clients” read. Trust me, they won´t read Domus, Abitare or Arch Record.

So, we think it is interesting what do the business people think when it comes to creative architects. At some point, is how the rest of the society see architects. And that is important, not just architects complimenting architects.

# June 12, 2009 at 13:36

MJ says:

OMA & MVRDV & H&dM & lots of garbage.

# June 12, 2009 at 13:38

nautilus says:

Renzo Piano?
Peter Zumthor?
Ando? Hopkins? Atelier 5?

# June 12, 2009 at 14:03

it says UNUSUAL nautilus, and read David’s comment that this is from a business magazine. I am sure that businessmen aren’t very interested in seeing Ando or Zumthor.

# June 12, 2009 at 14:06

Magnus says:

Alsop, unbeaten.

# June 12, 2009 at 14:12

joao says:

i’m really scared about the future of architecture.

“form no longer follows function. it follows image.” – Deyan Sudjic in ‘The Edfice Complex’

# June 12, 2009 at 15:04

definitely…we are awaiting a new definition…function isn’t as clear as it used to be and the formal possibilities are exploding…we need an architecture of the soul…but I’m not holding my breath…

# August 21, 2009 at 23:59

Luis says:

this is new and a great list:

http://www.davepigram.com/wiki/index.php?title=Links_-_Generative_Architecture

# June 12, 2009 at 15:15

and that competition too:

http://www.evolo-arch.com/

# June 12, 2009 at 15:20

this stuff is a fashion design

# June 12, 2009 at 15:21

alejandro says:

death to archifashion!

# June 12, 2009 at 16:33

Bassil says:

Frank gehry, daniel libeskind, Ben van Berkel should have made the list

Mr, Foster has no place here. I think he might be the best architect in the world right now but he just don’t belong on this List.

# June 12, 2009 at 17:41

sander says:

This list is more a list of architect’s that get projects with the budget to be extravaganza. The real creative architects are the one’s with small budgets and limited resources not firms like OMA who let there interns and junior architects come up with dozends of concepts and pick one of the with’s suites Rem idea’s best. No only firms who have the resources to develope only one idea can be seen as creative in mine opion.The rest is shooting with a shot gun from one meter distance and hoping jou get lucky.

# June 12, 2009 at 18:50

Astor says:

All these entries belongs to the past decade. Now architecture is about to embrace something simple and solid and i think lists like this should reflect that. Will Alsop has never been important, Shigeru Ban, Norman Foster is the Bill Gates od architecture and Zaha Hadid is a lost cause long ago. i can think of a few polish or greek offices more interesting than this whole list.

# June 12, 2009 at 18:54

don’t forget Spain…good groundswell there…

# August 21, 2009 at 23:47

panamArq says:

i just looked at Alsop’s Chips project, it is such a joke! what responsible architect puts letters on the facade of his building?? such bull…..

# June 12, 2009 at 19:19

16:08:78 says:

Well, Cliff Kuang from Fast Company YOU are WRONG!!!. You see Mr. Kuang doesn’t know a thing about how these firms run their CREATIVE THINKING. Certainly, in contemporary architecture it is not the task anymore of one illuminated man to come up with a great idea, instead the group of people who forms the whole firm undertakes this task. I find this to be true, and so I would suggest to change the name of this article to “The 10 most creative firms in contemporary architecture” to be more suitable for this content.

Even with this matter corrected, I wouldn’t find some of these firms to fit the theme of this article.

D.Cacho

# June 12, 2009 at 20:16

citi3000 says:

It’s just a mean trick. Cooking up a hype called “masters salad”,”master-mayonnaise” is needed to cover up the rotten lettuce.

This show sucks. hahaha.

# June 12, 2009 at 22:47

J says:

please tell what is the base of such a list?

# June 12, 2009 at 23:50

Henrique Gonçalves says:

What a stupid list, as if you make crazy things you’re creative.
There’s a lot of small details created and developed by architects like Chipperfield and Siza who shows an extraordinary creativity with a plus: works!

# June 13, 2009 at 00:34

DCV says:

I would add PLOT (JDS+BIG), UN Studio, FOA, and R&Sie

# June 13, 2009 at 00:36

@DCV,

Couldn´t agree more!!!! But it´s very biased, as I personally know half that list.

But also, I urge everyone to check out our AD Futures section. It´s a list of young practices that I´m pretty sure have the potential to be the next-big-thing in the architecture scene.

http://www.archdaily.com/category/ad-futures/

# June 13, 2009 at 00:41

archit student says:

How come no one talks about Toyo Ito?
He’s by far one of my favs.

Not to mention J Mayer H. and Emergent architects, Diller + Scofidio, Santiago Calatrava, UN Studio and Foreign Ofiice Architects (FOA)
though one may criticize my recommendation but their designs are very innovative!!

I don’t think this list is that bad anyway, it’s just that the ones that i talk about i personally think they are under-rated. Mr. Foster certainly doesn’t belong here cos his work is so good that we take them as prototypical pieces, can’t be creative in this sense. haha

# June 13, 2009 at 01:11

M. says:

I’m with OV 100% here.

# June 13, 2009 at 05:41

this thread just shows us that it is impossible to choose someone “most creative”. firstly, they should have said what it means to them.

middle: agree (they worked both in OMA), but, still they are one of the most creative persons around, because their style is based more on creativity and ideas than visual appearance.

# June 13, 2009 at 06:07

Rafa says:

This list is far from complete and Frank Gehry doesn’t deserve to be in it either. Why is MAD on that list? There should definitely be lists of architects of different generations.

Sofie: Vincent Callebaut’s work is all student work so he doesn’t really count if we’re talking about creative working professionals.

# June 13, 2009 at 13:56

rocky says:

1,How stupid a list like this?!
2,Is MAD have anything that original? They should be listed as Zahz hadid legacy.

# June 13, 2009 at 15:45

1,The most un-creative thing is to do a list like this.
2,Is MAD have anything that original? They should be listed as Zahz hadid legacy.

# June 13, 2009 at 15:46

WAyne says:

Steven Holl should be on the list, each project is a about new ideas not repetition

# June 13, 2009 at 21:12

JuanLuisBurke says:

List sucks.

# June 13, 2009 at 22:09

bello says:

The list title is confusing. Should we assume that Kuang knows all of the major practicing architects on a personal level and has chosen the top ten most creative people in architecture? Also, How is it that the most creative people in architecture are all figure heads of major firms?
I would appreciate a list that includes names like Edwin Chan or Patrick Schumacher.

# June 13, 2009 at 22:12

LCLEE says:

疯了

# June 14, 2009 at 00:03

mn x says:

i am missing from this list.

# June 14, 2009 at 02:52

围观群众 says:

这谁弄的现场？一地的鸡蛋汤儿？
小马们又耐不住寂寞穷折腾自己了吧。群众觉悟都提高了，得注意斗争的新办法。或者顺应流行趋势，找点其它的招儿，弄点苦剧？不要非往大师那靠，容易露怯。那几个孩子，走了啊，跟哥哥回家了。

# June 14, 2009 at 08:37

david bers says:

fast company, and everyone else here, should focus energy on the most creative clients, not architects. this info is trash to the world.

# June 14, 2009 at 10:22

Robert says:

Based on Davids comments it is like moths drawn to the flame. The businessmen compiling the list are drawn to pretty pictures. These architects are drawn to the businessmen by big budgets.

Hence no Zumthor because he doesn’t move in these circles.

Also is sustainable design a parameter for the choice. Not much of that here.

# June 14, 2009 at 11:04

A list of most creative architecture clients (enlightened, progressive…) would inspire, educate, and show how architects can make money, add joy, and contribute in ways others don’t.
Architecture by it’s very definition is an act of creation, creative, and any architect would balk at the idea that they are less creative than the next guy. Even bad architects think they are creative, so stop wimpering that you are not on the list.
Architecture has finite, definable parameters, formal and theoretical vocabularies. Yes, yes, yes, sustainability is good, and so is the exploration of new materials, or old material, the creative use of classicism, or not, or being contextual, or not, beautiful, or not.
Fast company has brilliantly exposed how culturally illiterate even a progressive magazine can be, as well as showing here how blinded by raw emotion architects are on the topic, and helpless to change this climate. One way is to stop making architectural discourse elitist (Nicolai). The “green” architecture movement has an amazing PR machine. What will it take to get the USA exited about the other 99%; the value and potential of our art?

# June 14, 2009 at 12:46

Elizabeth says:

From the perspective of what clients think, such an ignorant list is really informative and revealing – thanks for posting it here! I read ArchDaily for many reasons; I love to stay informed on as many aspects of architecture as possible in a 24 hour day.

This article is valuable – it shows what we are working with, when it comes to educating clients with budgets. And it IS our responsibility to educate them.

Working for Architecture for Humanity, our clients build whole schools for the price of a luxury bathroom, and that makes for a very different kind of creativity – how to create elegant solutions with available technology and materials. But what typical businessman is interested in that?

# June 14, 2009 at 18:35

hug says:

Foster creative??!!!! That’s a real news!!

# June 15, 2009 at 08:00

the dude says:

this is the most stupid list ever…

# June 15, 2009 at 08:07

eliz:
What you do is important, and noble, but It’s fast company’s list, a list of businessmen, not yours. It would be interesting to find out who the clients are who stretch further. And these are not clients with budgets at all. Far from it.

The sucky thing is that the only value they will understand is the cache of hiring someone from the list, or some obscure japanese firm named M.O.O.C.O.W.

1 american firm, pathetic.

yeh, I’m bitter.

# June 15, 2009 at 09:57

Zaki says:

Sofie: If you mean by “most creative” also “most innovative”, then I think Vincent Callebaut certainly deserves a place in the top 10!
http://vincent.callebaut.org/projets-groupe-tout.html

Wow! I’ve never seen his projects. Outstanding! :D

# June 15, 2009 at 11:58

Vincent Callebaut is definitely the most creative but I believe his works are design school or fictitious projects so you really can’t compare actual built work with his.

# June 15, 2009 at 12:38

Annie says:

I would find et VERY hard to list the ten most creative architects.
But I would definitely put the Danish studio PLOT and BIG in the top!

Well, interesting reading though.

# June 18, 2009 at 17:16

Maybe we can say that these designers are just creative with there big budgets? :)

# June 19, 2009 at 13:41

Chris Craw AIA says:

Great imaginations, get real though. It’s not architecture unless it is habitable.

# June 26, 2009 at 11:32

daniel says:

chill.. come out with your own list then.. I bet every one here would still think disagree.. fact is you can’t rank creativity.. its not quantifiable in any sense.. can’t we just appreciate good ideas as it comes along?

# June 27, 2009 at 01:31

perhaps blind people and architects can imagine what I mean.
sorry if I offended you..

# June 29, 2009 at 17:38

Dove says:

peter zumthor would be on my list.

# June 29, 2009 at 18:31

@Astor
any chance you could give me the name of any good polish and/or greek offices that you can think of? i’ve just completed my first year at university and i’m eager to look into polish or greek architects. cheers.

# June 29, 2009 at 18:54

ANGEL says: