Death of the gravity defying iconic building

The last two decades has seen a rise of world-renowned architects build more and more iconic buildings that defy any conventional thinking and appear more as sculpture than architecture, massaging the developers' and the architects' egos. While revered and admired, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Santiago Calatrava and other expressionistic architects have created some remarkable and truly beautiful icons, not unlike Frank Lloyd Wrights' Guggenheim museum in New York City.

The world is now struggling with a new economic reality and the criteria for designing these icons appears to be at odds with the once in a  lifetime recession that has the world reeling. Concurrently there is a greater understanding and  awareness of the damage our buildings do to our planet. These iconic projects are grand and exciting and they have become possible because of the technologies available to us, something unthinkable even 25 years ago. The new softwares such as Catia allow designers and manufacturers to create complex shapes that cantilever,  twist, curve, rotate, pivot and balance like dancers; the buildings defy logic and gravity. 

I believe that the era of expensive, skin and structures is approaching an end. The cost of resources to generate such structures is not only becoming prohibitive but also shameful. In a world where the realization and movement is to act more in harmony with nature,  and create buildings that adhere to "sustainable" principles and exhibit "biomimicry" to help reduce its impact on our planet. The icon building with its focus on sculputure is fading. and a new aesthetic rooted in humanism, sustainability, and contectualism is emerging. These buildings will be judged by a different set of standards and priorities. The desire for aesthetics while still strong will not become overwhelming.