Conjuring Utopia’s Ghost

Building Meaning

“…Thus, the multimodal nature of buildings entails that they “enter the cultural sphere as real estate, as corporate image, and as architecture” (Martin 2010, p. xvii, emphasis in original). Beyond the fact that bank buildings generate rental assets (Leyshon and Thrift 2007), they symbolically communicate “safety” and “security” (McGoun 2004, p. 1104) and speak to the senses “in a way that the cerebral appeal of pure information cannot” (McGoun 2004, p. 1085).…”

“…Contemporary attitudes regarding money, respectability, security, and corporate aesthetics are reflected […]. Bank architecture thus communicates the importance of banks as institutions, assuring us of their stability, prosperity, and permanence and inviting us inside to do business” (Nisbet 1990, p. 8).As a material embodiment of the “phenomenology of capital” (Martin 2010, p. xvii.…”

“…Architecture therefore does not (or does not only) represent or ‘mirror’ late capitalism as its equivalent. It belongs to late capitalism” (Martin 2010, p. 106).Beyond the aesthetic properties of buildings, the location within the urban context holds signifying content. Within the urban development of Paris, the axis from the city center to the western suburbs structures the extension from the historic quarters to the business district of La Défense.…”

“…Architecture therefore does not (or does not only) represent or ‘mirror’ late capitalism as its equivalent. It belongs to late capitalism” (Martin 2010, p. 106).…”