Crowdsourced and crowd-pleasing: the new architectural awards and the city

Abstract

A new system of architectural recognition, rooted in web-based design awards, is poised to impact city branding by redefining what constitutes popular architecture. This paper uses a qualitative discourse analysis of crowdsourced architecture awards, such as ArchDaily’s Building of the Year, to show how hierarchies of recognition are flattening, becoming more transnational and increasingly democratic. The production and consumption of recognition are tied to place branding by the idea of symbolic capital. It is argued that a shift is taking place in the fame that architects leverage to become the sought-after designers of our cities.

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the assistance of Molly Kostoff and Rocio Ramirez in initiating this research and the feedback received from Nadia Alaily-Mattar, Georgia Lindsay, Angela Loder, and the article’s reviewers.