To determine relative popularity and brand value of starchitects, we use the STAR™ (v0.2) model developed by an architectural data team from MIT.
Developed by the data team at Monograph, the STAR™ system looks at a series of variables to determine the relative popularity and value of an architect's brand. Whether you're a client looking to bring on a talented architect or a student building your education, the value of a starchitect's brand in business and academia has been fairly opaque. The Starchitect ranking system is the beginnings of a data-centric take on architectural brand value.
Notable missing variables include books and their impact and project impact. Also we are only ranking single "named" architects as opposed to teams like SANAA, MVRDV, Herzog de Meuron, and Snøhetta. Future versions of the algorithm will take these variables and offices into account.