Designer names drive ‘starchitecture’ flipping

From the January issue: It’s been eight years since construction began on Richard Meier’s West Side residential towers, ushering in the era of the celebrity architect – or, as it is more popularly known – “starchitect.” Luxury buildings charge a premium for being associated with brand-name designers, and the buildings themselves are often known not by their address, but by their starchitects: the Annabelle Seldorf building, the Jean Nouvel building. “A big name associated with a building is, in theory, supposed to draw eyeballs to the project,” said Jonathan Miller, executive vice president and director of research for Radar Logic.