The documentary, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (2010) is an x-ray film about one of the best architects of the second half of the 20th century. It was a time multiplied by ideals. There were even those who saw a beach under the tiles of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, it was May, it was Paris; and it was 1968. Norman and Wendy Cheesman (architect and his first wife, who would die of cancer in 1989) founded Foster Associates in London, a year earlier. As Norman himself remembered there were only two problems: “One. We didn't have work. And two: There were no associates.”This era already belongs to the architectural history books. For some time now, a select group of professionals have enjoyed the perks of the wizards of steel and concrete. Foster is one of them. But this status as masters is also part of the drawings of Alberto Campo Baeza, RCR, Carme Pinós, Richard Rogers (died in 2021), Zaha Hadid (whose studio continues to design, despite the disappearance of the architect) and Frank Gehry. The questions are as simple and the answers, at the same time, as complex as a hopscotch sketched almost without chalk. Does the construction of a building because of a myth raise the prices of adjacent properties? Does it increase the cost of businesses? Does it gentrify? There are responses that come and go, that deny and admit. Voices loaded with prestige. “The work of a renowned architect can have a significant impact on real estate prices in the area,” emphasize via email, RCR (Rafael Aranda, Ramón Villalta and Carme Pigem) Pritzker Prize winner (the most prestigious award in its discipline). in 2017. They arise on both sides of the main beam. “When a prominent project is built, it attracts the attention and interest of buyers and investors, which increases demand and, therefore, prices. This can be beneficial for some because it could revitalize an area and improve original infrastructure. However, it also has possible negative effects, such as gentrification,” they summarize. What is impossible to doubt is the “gift” of a handful of architects. “Everything inspires me. «Sometimes I think I see things that other people don't see,» Foster says in the documentary. But, we keep looking for the answer. “It will depend on the situation of that neighborhood before the intervention,” says Elena Lacilla, director of the master's degree in Real Estate at the University of Navarra. In Bilbao, the area was redeveloped and the Guggenheim Museum (5,959 euros for sale per square meter and 18.94 for rent, according to data as of October 2024 from Fotocasa) was the visible icon. Prices went up. However, at the other end, in the old town, in a very degraded neighborhood (El Raval, 4,435 euros compared to 23.48), in Barcelona, Richard Meier's museum was built (Macba, Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona ), and a plaza was designed to accommodate the work. It never took off. “Despite the very high architectural value of the building, it has not managed to generate sufficient attraction,” describes the professor. So? Back to the initial questions. “It depends not so much on the quality of the architectural project but on the magnitude of the urban intervention in the area,” observes Elena Lacilla. For example, the rehabilitation of the 22@ business area (5,607 and 23.32 euros) in the Catalan capital has raised prices. Although also because it was a very extensive space in the city, the narrative can be read in reverse, just as Leonardo da Vinci wrote. Sant Cugat dèl Vallés (5,348 square meters against 19.19 euros) is a municipality near Barcelona. Its expansion was based on green areas and buildability coefficients well below average. If in a “normal” situation 50 homes could have been built, 25 were allowed. The houses rose in price. Behind it there was a “political will” to “attract” a specific type of residents. Eldorado dwells in balance and listening. “I doubt that the new Bernabéu and all the inconvenience it generates have had a positive influence on prices,” admits Ignacio Alcalde, architect-urban planner at City Focus. And he adds: “Nor has this been the case with Santiago Calatrava's Centollu (the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions in Oviedo). “A mammoth out of scale and out of context in a residential environment that seems to invade the nearby homes.” And, in addition, it has taken some 16,000 square meters of public land hostage.
Background matters
End of the journey? No. Start. The architect Sigfrido Herráez, dean of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM), draws his particular bisector, and connects the points in a critical way as well. “If Rafael de la Hoz designs a promotion in Los Berrocales [sureste de Madrid, en adquisición 4.228 euros y en renta 18,63] Nearby homes will not be revalued. The price is set by the lack of supply, and people are not aware of who draws it.” By allusions: De la Hoz is Carlos Lamela's brother-in-law. “The renowned architect does not influence prices or anything really. “Everything depends on the product (read, building) and, ultimately, the client who promotes it,” they analyze from their studio. And remember that the developer Aedas Homes formulated a survey on LinkedIn asking: Would you pay more for your house because it had been built by a star architect? The answer was: no. Transforming the paragraphs into a game of real estate matrioshkas, Arturo Berned, architect, sculptor and urban planner, who worked for years at Estudio Lamela, composes a social vision before reaching the numbers. “What a good building designed by a good architect first achieves is educating citizens about the importance of things well done, and they begin to become more aware of their surroundings: this is already positive. A good building, moreover, like a bad one, alters the space around it, making it better or worse.” Although it rules out a price-call effect. We see that the pieces on the board move without finding a specific position. The verb that marks the opening with white is “it depends.” The semantics, we have seen, by Elena Lacilla. More words. “The buyer should not focus so much on the name of the architect, they should go further and look at the product, that it is well designed, that it is practical. And this does not depend so much on the pedigree of the professional, but on the success of the project. That really revalues any area,” says Rubén Cózar, residential director at Foro Consultores Inmobiliarios. Even so, it is strange that in this world, which sometimes finds beaches under the tiles, the weight of the talent of a great architect is so light.
Balance without gentrifying
It is one of the most prestigious landscaping and urban planning studios in the world. West 8. In Spain they created Madrid Río (3,447 euros per square meter for sale, and 19.60 for rent, according to Fotocasa for 2024). Around the world, their projects occur in well-conceived locations such as the Houston Botanical Garden (Texas) or Governors Island (New York), where they transformed a former military base into a leisure space for New Yorkers. Daniel Vasini, creative director of the firm, proposes an analysis from the field. “Intuition suggests that a great architect contributes to raising prices. But it is not like that. Artists, for example, as is the case in Soho, are agents of change, and undeniable architects, think of Renzo Piano or Norman Foster, they leave spaces for entrepreneurs in their buildings.” And he adds: “It is about generating changes, but to improve. That is, finding a balance, although without gentrifying,” he says.