The collapse of faith in top-down planning (the sort that made Le Corbusier infamous and Cabrini Green a catastrophe) has been followed by a renewed interest in the self-generating wisdom and self-directed shrewdness of the streets. In Starchitects Can't Compete, Afaina de Jong—former assistant to famed architect Rem Koolhaas—investigates what it means for the streets, and not disconnected planners, to direct the life and death of the world's cities. Fusing photography with a terse, manifesto-like text, the book drives home the reality that you can't beat the street.
About the Author
Afaina de Jong, a self-proclaimed architect-at-large, believes in architecture that goes beyond just making buildings. She has worked with the likes of AMO-OMA/Rem Koolhaas, 2×4, and the Hakuhodo think tank HILL to translate street culture and urban lifestyles into urbanism and architecture. De Jong is a contributing editor for MARK Magazine; BLVD Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Promising Women of 2007.
