The majority of emerging and established architectural superstars from the last decade have been primarily concerned with the creation of fluid and / or fragmented architectural forms which act as much as large scale evocative sculptures as functional infrastructure. The likes of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Ben van Berkel have excited the profession and layperson alike with fantastical, gravity defying structures of concrete, steel, stone and glass with a focus more on modes, genres, discourse and forms, rather than the more traditional ideas of culture, society, authorship and content. The underlying argument being that architecture in general, but more specifically large scale public projects, no longer play the role of functional edifice, but instead have become art in themselves; essentially a new form of public sculpture.

There are a few issues with this type of architecture; foremost being prohibitive cost. Essentially the complexity of the forms demands prohibitively expensive construction methodology that effectively guarantees this is not a type of architecture that will ever be available to the average house owner. Add to this the phenomenal embodied energy in the materials and the inefficiency of the building forms from an ecological point of view (vague orientation, limited control of sun and wind) and we see that this type of architecture is, in the main, both elitist and environmentally irresponsible.