Source: NYT

I must admit, I have really enjoyed the burst of creativity in new architectural design as it relates to residential housing. It became all the rave during the later years of the recent housing boom. Some architects were name-brands before this trend but others have been marketed so heavily by developers that they become famous by their recent works.

I was reading the article [Miami Is All About Its Celebrity Architects [NYT]](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/arts/design/30buil.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) this weekend and it occured to me:

* Isn’t this the same Miami while gushing about its architecture that has a massive oversupply of new condos coming online over the next year?

* Isn’t this simply a game of oneupmanship? Increased competition has raised the stakes for differentiation rather than some clever awareness of changing lifestyles?

With all the _Starchitect_ developments in the major metro markets (and its all virtually the same players in the major markets), honestly, how many have been runaway hits in the past 3 years? …Sold out quickly or at least faster than the norm?

Have developers simply been caught up in the hype? Can we mark the beginning of the end of the boom when their use became popularized (say mid-2004)?

I wonder.

Here’s a few of Starchitect articles of interest:[Celebrity Architects: Behind the Curtain Wall [The Real Deal]](http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/January_2005/1105451472.php)[Should colleges hire star architects? [Chronicle]](http://chronicle.com/forums/colloquy/read.php?f=1&i=4775&t=4775)[Condo Couture [NY Mag]](http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/architecture/10183/index.html)[Playing the Fame Game [LA Dwtn]](http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2005/11/21/news/opinion/edit02.txt)