(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2015-12-18) Gorostiza, Jorge
The term star system, which has been applied to a few famous architects for some time, comes from the movie star system created by large film studios. This is why this paper beings with the first movie “star”, Florence Lawrence, and then analyzes the popularity of architects in different media. It initially analyzes fiction films narrating the story of real architects. Then, it focuses on the appearance of architects in other media, such us the cover of popular magazines like Time, American post-age stamps, Google doodles and advertisements with pictures of architects. Star architects also have a theme park, Vitra, with buildings that most of them created. The following section focuses on awards, such as the Pritzker award, that launch architects to fame. The last section is about one of the most famous starchitects in the world, Frank O. Gehry, his own heroic legend, his appearances in two animated series, Arthur and The Simpsons, and his leading role in the hagiographic documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry, directed by Sidney Pollack. The paper ends with Florence Lawrence’s tragic end and her fall into oblivion.
