Building Meaning

Abstract

This conceptual article seeks to demonstrate the pertinence of corporate architecture as an integrative tool in spatial marketing systems. Architecture is explored in a dialectical perspective, both as a functional built form and a symbolic vector of ideologies. Architecture intersects with micro-level and macro-level marketing systems, as it inherently projects corporate identity while referring to broader artistic, social and historical parameters. It is argued that these macromarketing dimensions and their meaning-generating potential add significant value to market exchanges. A special focus on corporate architecture in the banking sector shows the value of architectural narratives in changing marketing environments. The article makes two contributions to macromarketing research. It (1) firmly establishes corporate architecture within marketing systems and (2) shows how symbolic meaning can be derived from the macro-level environmental, historical and cultural properties of buildings.

Legitimation Processes for a Branch Museum Development in a Post-Industrial City: The Louvre-Lens Museum in France

“…The creation of a branch museum is a challenging urban project in terms of the diversity of actors involved and their diverging interests (e.g., local vs national). The limitations presented in the literature focus on the cultural (Linko 2020;Rodner and Preece 2016), economic (Mencarelli 2008) and spatial (Bargenda 2018;Grodach 2010) dimensions of branch museums. These limitations are well illustrated by the Guggenheim brand.…”

“…In the case of the Guggenheim museum project in Helsinki, the proposed location for the museum was perceived as a place with no need of urban regeneration and isolated from other cultural sites (Linko 2020). Moreover, space productions like architecture generate ideological meaning according to the cultural, social and historical contexts in which they are produced (Bargenda 2018). In her study of bank architecture, Bargenda (2018) shows how space productions interact with the macro-level context of the city and impact aesthetic, urban, social and ecological systems.…”

“…Moreover, space productions like architecture generate ideological meaning according to the cultural, social and historical contexts in which they are produced (Bargenda 2018). In her study of bank architecture, Bargenda (2018) shows how space productions interact with the macro-level context of the city and impact aesthetic, urban, social and ecological systems. The development of a branch museum in a city can generate spatial tensions, as exemplified by the phenomenon of gentrification (Grodach 2010).…”