Neoliberalism is a form of free market fundamentalism that effectively came to power at the turn of the 1980s with the election of such enthusiasts for Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Neo-liberal approach is basically about the economic agenda of the society, but with its consequences, the approach spreads all around the society. Moral values, social structure, and education are all affected by the neo-liberal perspective. The architecture discipline modified itself around those new world views. However, the amount of liberalization has always been an issue that discussions are going on. While privatizing is going on, should there be boundaries for sustaining social justice. Also, architects have different approaches in the context of ongoing discussions.
Patrik Schumacher, who leads the Zaha Hadid Architects, can be a good example. Architects seldom make the front pages of newspapers. Patrik Schumacher recently managed it, though, getting himself on to the cover of the Evening Standard after a speech in which he advocated privatizing all social housing and all public space – including Hyde Park – and espoused intensified gentrification of inner-city areas. His idea can be translated into a “radical free-market urbanism,” where all controls on flows must be removed, and “the market will discover the most productive mix and arrangement of land uses, a distribution that garners synergies and maximizes overall value. However, while maximizing the value market is not considered an architectural concern. The radical and good designs generally stay in the computer programs. Because while the building is implemented, cost-cutting methods such as using cheaper materials and limiting the construction time are used. Spencer claims this issue; in his article, he presents this architecture as seductively as it exists in the computer visuals, rather than in its usually tawdry reality. Schumacher and Hadid’s Riverside Transport Museum in Glasgow can be one of those examples. Except for its architectural properties, the building had problems with the economic precaucions applied during construction.
