From the editor

摘要

If the rise and fall of icon architecture has taught us anything, it's that shifts in architectural taste are as much market-led as linked to fashion. When property developers were interested in nipping buildings for profit, the sparkle dust of starchitecture was the order of the day. Since the recession, a new austerity in design has been mooted, said to emerge from a growing distaste for bankers' fat wallets and luxe living. But what I found out at MIPIM last week was that a hunger for the White Collar Factory (AJ 15.09.11), and its long life and loose fit, is more likely being driven by the continued lack of liquidity in the market.