Today's students of architecture are emerging into a fractured climate of varying design approaches and changeable fashions. They are keen to question the dominant commercial paradigm and the 'architect as superstar' typecast. Many want to produce work that goes beyond CAD-driven images in an exploration of a more thoughtful, ethically aware architecture. Having recently completed my BA at Sheffield, and as a writer for the RIBA student newsletter, I've come across a series of recurring concerns among young architects. There is an overwhelming apprehension about the rise of, as friend of mine said, 'the starchitect celebrity designer drafted in to produce a design icon'. Peter Morrison of RMJM's recent comments on 'architects as stylists' shows this worry is not confined to students. Such a trend might raise public awareness of The Architect, but it is questionable whether this is constructive or beneficial.
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