As part of our review of 2024, Dezeen digital editor Rupert Bickersteth rounds up the year’s most hotly debated stories, from Jaguar’s rebrand to the latest from Thomas Heatherwick’s Humanise campaign.
Millions of you read Dezeen each year and tens of thousands of comments are left under stories debating and discussing the finer details of a project, an opinion or interview, or the news itself.
Two ongoing stories dominated the debate this year: plans for America’s tallest tower in Oklahoma and the Neom news coming out of Saudi Arabia.
Away from the news, Dezeen’s original opinion pieces sparked lively debate amongst readers, including an article by Catherine Slessor about starchitects retiring gracefully – or refusing to, as the case may be.
Check out our weekly Comments Update rounding up the best of the debate and subscribe to our Dezeen Debate newsletter, which highlights the hottest discussions happening each week.
Read on for the 10 most hotly debated Dezeen stories of the year:
“Completely delusional” – plans for the USA’s tallest tower in Oklahoma
We first reported on plans for a supertall skyscraper in Oklahoma in January. The project went on to secure full funding and receive approval for “unlimited height”, making it set to be the tallest building in the US when complete.
Readers left nearly 400 comments under the news as it developed across the year, including concerns in early December about the tower’s impact on the safety of flights, which were submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Dezeen readers decried the project, named Legends Tower, as a “white elephant” and “completely delusional – especially for Oklahoma” but the architects, in an interview with Dezeen, said that they “didn’t want it to be crazy or gaudy”.
Read all Dezeen’s stories on Legends Tower ›
“Puzzling” – Studio Libeskind’s social housing for seniors
Also igniting the comments section was architecture firm Studio Libeskind’s The Atrium at Sumner Houses project, an afforable housing block with 190 apartments for seniors in Brooklyn, New York.
The full-height central atrium, which gives the building its name, was what most enflamed commenters, with one capturing the majority of reactions, good or bad, by posting “this project induced a visceral reaction in me”.
Both sides of the debate called it alternatively a “gorgeous prison” but also “a remarkable and surprisingly friendly” piece of residential architecture.
Many found it plain “puzzling” and responded with questions, asking “apart from some quirky angles, where’s the liveability, the joy, planting, human scale?”
What do you think? Join the debate in the comments section ›
“Screw eco-friendly” – climate action and the Paris Olympic Village air-conditioning debacle
Dezeen’s regular opinion writer Smith Mordak drew focus onto climate issues arising from the Paris 2024 Olympics and the temperature of the athletes’ accommodation.
The athletes’ village was built to be cooled via a geothermal cooling system, so long as occupants followed simple rules such as keeping window-blinds shut during the day.
Faith in this technology wavered, and many teams, including those from Britain, Japan and the US, elected to buy portable air-conditioning units, demonstrating – Mordak argued – the scale of the challenge we face in gaining acceptance for sustainable building technologies.
Their hypothesis was arguably proved right in the comments section, with one reader posting “screw eco-friendly, I would rather not roast”, while others argued that “air-conditioning is very sustainable when nuclear- or solar-powered, and modern units don’t emit harmful chemicals”.
In a more measured comment, which other readers upvoted, it was suggested that “the question we need to ask is not just how do we live with compromise, but how do we find solutions that are truly acceptable?”
Read Smith Mordak’s opinion piece ›
“Heatherwick is the Gaudi of today” – Heatherwick Studio designs first building in South America
If there is one name on Dezeen that sends readers running to the comment section, it is Thomas Heatherwick. Whether he is designing gin bottles, South Korean shopping centres or putting tress on things, it provokes hot debate.
We covered 11 Heatherwick stories in 2024 that garnered more than 600 comments between them. The two most explosively debated were the latest from his Humanise campaign and the unveiling of his designs for a university in Bogotá, featuring undulating columns informed by indigenous weaving practices.
The colourful renders of the latter prompted one commenter to call the designer “the Gaudi of today”, while others found them “embarrassing and gimmicky”.
When not piling in on his designs, commenters were elsewhere keen to discuss Heatherwick’s Humanise campaign, which this year published “boring” versions of historic UK landmarks including Buckingham Palace and Edinburgh Castle.
It triggered one of Dezeen readers’ favourite debates in the comments: modernism versus classicism.
A more compelling exercise would be to generate classical versions of brutalist buildings,” argued a commenter, with another agreeing that “replacing historic buildings with carefully selected modernist tropes with no reference to culture, history or society is just plain silly.
Others were less polite!
Check out the Heatherwick debate in the comments section ›
“Nothing about this screams luxury British car” – Jaguar unveils rebrand
The most talked-about rebrand of the year generated hundreds of comments across our coverage, with our design readers mostly concerned about the “awful mixture of upper and lower case letters”.
When Jaguar then revealed its electric concept car at Miami art week, there was an equal provocation among Dezeen readers, one of whom thought “Jaguar should be applauded for trying something different”.
Elsewhere, readers also enjoyed commenting on another car company’s rebranding exercise as Audi ditched its signature logo of four interlocking rings for a new range of electric vehicles in China. Did you know the number four is considered bad luck in China?
Read Dezeen’s coverage of the Jaguar rebrand and concept car reveal ›
“Just another line in the sand” – Neom scales back plans for The Line in Saudi Arabia
One of the biggest stories of the last few years continued to make headlines in 2024. In February aerial photos revealed work progressing on The Line megacity, being developed by Neom in Saudi Arabia.
Commenters dismissed the progress, commenting “it’s longer, but still no concrete poured”. One person even said they were “just here to view the delightfully entertaining comments”.
Then, in April, it was revealed the original number of residents planned for the project by 2030 would be reduced. The scaling-back was because Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund hadn’t approved Neom’s budget.
Readers rushed to the comments section to express their lack of surprise at the news. “Just another line in the sand,” quipped one, while another joked “not the line then, just a dash”.
A more serious commenter posted: “Neom will stand as a monumental and uncompleted folly to Saudi hubris”.
Read all the latest news about The Line ›
“Why would one stop if they are enjoying what they are doing?” – the phenomenon of ageing starchitects
Another opinion piece that sparked the ire of the majority of commenters came from Dezeen contributor Catherine Slessor, who wrote a signature tirade about architecture’s famous figures working well into their old age and not knowing when to stop.
Commenters broadly contested Slessor’s argument, asking “why would one stop if they are enjoying what they are doing?” and “if the guy wants to keep working and clients want to keep hiring him then who are you to dictate what he can and can’t do?”
While many readers thought the gist of the article was ageist, one balanced commenter contributed to the debate: “it isn’t ageist to say these people should retire, it’s logistics. If they haven’t cultivated their own replacements by now, they’ve failed their organisations, and failed as mentors to the next generations.”
What do you think? Join the discussion in the comments section ›
“Beyond gorgeous… can it be realised?” – Neri Oxman unveils skyscraper plans that are AI-optimised for planting
More than 50 readers took the to comment section to debate plans from design studio Oxman for a system called “ecological programming” to optimise green architecture, demonstrated with conceptual plans for a skyscraper with multiple planted platforms.
Many readers thought it showed a fundamental lack of understanding of root systems, commenting “it takes 10 seconds to check the depth of earth needed for a tree to thrive” and wondering “why don’t we just make it a park?”
Others thought it proved a good example of why the profession might resist the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), calling the project “some dystopian AI monument”.
Read about Neri Oxman’s conceptual skyscraper AI-optimised for planting ›
“What is considered beautiful to one may be ugly to another” – Chris Pratt demolishes 1950s Craig Ellwood house in LA
Readers were largely unimpressed by news that the actor Chris Pratt had torn down a home by mid-century architect Craig Ellwood in LA. Commenters punned on the actor’s last name and decried the behaviour of “uncultured vandals”.
Prompted by the news, conservation group Docomomo, speaking to Dezeen, said unprotected modernist houses are at risk of demolition as land often holds greater value than architectural heritage.
Not everyone agreed in the comment section ,with one commenter counter-arguing: “I don’t see many century modern-style homes being built today. The fad was very niche in its day, and not what most people want now. What is considered beautiful to one may be ugly to another. They wanted the property, but not the house. It’s their right to demolish it if they wish.”
Where do you stand on architectural preservation? Join the debate ›
“Not one of Ando’s best works” – Ye strips Tadao Ando beach house in Malibu
In a somewhat similar story, news broke in June that the musician Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, had removed the windows and gutted the interior of a concrete home in Malibu by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Commenters were unimpressed, calling it “an act of disgraceful waste”.
Others joked that “the house has vastly improved” and that it “is not one of Ando’s best works”.
Other Ando projects Dezeen reported on in 2024 included plans for Armani Beach Residences at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, and he joined the growing trend of architects designing luxury watches with a snake-like design for Bulgari’s Serpenti range.
Dezeen Debate
To get the week’s most hotly debated stories straight to your inbox, subscribe to Dezeen Debate. Read the latest edition today.
