"The speculator in real estate is enemy number one of the architect," Alvar Aalto once wrote, providing a cutting bit of Nordic candor on the love/hate relationship between developer and designer. But whether for love or money, when U.S. property markets collapsed in the early 1990s, many blue-chip American architecture firms were able to parlay their name recognition and experience into major commissions abroad. While the newness of working overseas has worn off, Asia remains a lucrative market, as does Latin America to a lesser extent. After more than a decade of redefining the skylines of cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Kuala Lumpur, the Asian architectural market shows no signs of drying up despite the recent threat of SARS. Indeed, many architects expect even more work as planning for the Beijing 2008 Olympics begins in earnest. "I predict that the Chinese commercial development market will be strong for at least another 10 years," says Stan Laegreid, partner of Callison, a Seattle-based global architectural firm known for designing mixed-use complexes throughout Asia. "Continued development will be a huge commitment by the Communist Party."
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