The politics of design: architecture, tall buildings and the skyline of central London

Charney, Igal

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00741.x

Cited by 51 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…There has been a particular focus on the translation of design and planning ideas into new spatial, cultural, institutional and legal settings (Blok 2014;Guggenheim and Söderström 2010;Söderström and Geertman 2013;Tait and Jensen 2007) and on the ways in which globalized design and planning ideas have been harnessed to local urban politics (Grubbauer 2014;Kaika 2010). It has been shown that public and private clients seek out international firms -whether they be designfocused signature architects or large full-service firms -because they think that their experience and prestige will facilitate the development of a project, channel public debates and smooth the planning approval process (Charney 2007a;McNeill 2007). In other words, employing a large firm with international experience and a global presence in design and planning is essentially a risk-minimizing strategy, much as it is for any other business service.…”

Section: Circulating Knowledge In the Production Of The Built Environmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…service firms operate with substantially different logics and client bases (Gutman 1988;McNeill 2009), the reasons for contracting elite firms are similar. In the eyes of local governments and private investors, the involvement of these firms, particularly those of celebrity architects, guarantees public attention, facilitates planning approval and serves as a risk minimization strategy (Charney 2007a;McNeill 2007;Olds 1997). Consequently, in examinations of urban policy mobility, architects and planning professionals figure as prime examples of 'transfer agents' (McCann and Ward 2012: 46).…”

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Circulating knowledge, marketization and norm‐making: international developers and construction firms in Eastern Europe since 2000

Grubbauer

2015

Global Networks

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In this article, I explore how international actors in the development of real estate projects affect building practices in local markets. The focus is on the dynamics of interaction and exchange of knowledge between the disciplines of architecture and construction. Using the German ECE group and its expansion in the region as a case study, I look at shopping centre development in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the past two decades. I seek to show that the implementation of globally circulated design and planning solutions relies heavily on the particular construction practices and technologies available in a local market. I also argue that the role of marketization in diffusing building practices in the construction sector is as powerful as the work of global architects. Nonetheless, judging from the existing links and feedback between architectural practices and the construction industry, there is a definite need for further research to bridge the gap between analysis of knowledge mobility within the field of urban studies on the one hand and construction studies research on the other.

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Section: Circulating Knowledge In the Production Of The Built Environmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Circulating knowledge, marketization and norm‐making: international developers and construction firms in Eastern Europe since 2000

Grubbauer

2015

Global Networks

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“…To overcome simplification and to gain analytical depth, we should make the context and specifics explicit. This articulation acknowledges that design/aesthetics, politics and economics are not discrete elements but are intertwined, and the boundaries between them are changing, porous and elusive (McNeill ; Charney ). Above all, these qualities make exceptional and closely watched supertall skyscrapers such as Petronas Towers, Burj Khalifa, the Shard and One WTC into valuable lenses through which it is possible to monitor, interpret and analyse the process of urban redevelopment.…”

Section: The Logic Of Skyscrapersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming a tower: how did the One World Trade Center eclipse the Freedom Tower?

Charney

2014

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This article explores the transformation of a world‐famous supertall skyscraper in Lower Manhattan. Due to unique circumstances and wide exposure via the media, the case of the Freedom Tower/One World Trade Center makes possible looking at the intricacies that remain largely out of the public eye in less‐publicised projects. Dictated by powerful real‐estate interests, the initial vision of rebuilding was to replicate the bulk of commercial space. Next, in the stormy planning stages, rhetoric of architecture and design was intended to alleviate antagonism towards rebuilding a commercial superblock. Finally, as construction progressed, financial calculations began to occupy a critical role in the rebuilding process, giving the impression of a standard and, at the same time, a distinctive corporate tower. The case of this supertall does not simply conform to the standard logic of skyscrapers; instead, with state intervention and prolonged development, the interpretation of supertalls questions the logic of high‐rises we have known so far. A better understanding of these mushrooming towers requires looking beyond simplistic explanations and stressing the textures that generate and uphold such structures.

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“…It has been shown that, beyond merely providing an aesthetic spectacle, these architectural projects are deeply political. The involvement of celebrity architects enhances planning approval processes and secures public acceptance (McNeill, 2002; 2007; Charney, ), facilitates the implementation of large‐scale urban development schemes by justifying their ‘condition of exceptionality’ (Swyngedouw et al ., : 264) and also serves political projects of nation‐building, as evident in the case of Asian cities (Bunnell, ; Ong, ). Essentially, architectural iconicity can be understood as ‘a resource in struggles for meaning and, by implication, for power’ (Sklair, : 22) which is (to varying degrees) increasingly driven by corporate interests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Architecture, Economic Imaginaries and Urban Politics: The Office Tower as Socially Classifying Device

Grubbauer

2013

Int J Urban Regional Res

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In recent studies on the role of architecture in urban restructuring, city marketing and the related struggles for meaning, there has been a focus on high‐profile architects and iconic architecture. In this article I wish to examine architecture and building types as ‘socially signifying devices’, in order to take more everyday buildings and their images into account as well. Using Vienna as a case study, I explore how the commercial office tower is utilized to represent the internationalization of the local economy and render new urban political‐economic strategies socially meaningful. This is done by examining recent shifts in urban policy, and the means, channels and practices of discursive and visual representation of the local office architecture. Connecting the concept of economic imaginaries from cultural political economy (CPE) with a sociological approach to building types, I argue that economic imaginaries gain in plausibility if they are discursively and visually anchored in urban space. However, it is also shown that this kind of spatialization of new economic imaginaries is constructed on a selective visual representation of buildings: the assignment of international economic activities to local office towers is revealed to be only partially true in the case of Vienna.

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The politics of design: architecture, tall buildings and the skyline of central London

Cited by 51 publications

References 25 publications

Circulating knowledge, marketization and norm‐making: international developers and construction firms in Eastern Europe since 2000

Circulating knowledge, marketization and norm‐making: international developers and construction firms in Eastern Europe since 2000

Transforming a tower: how did the One World Trade Center eclipse the Freedom Tower?

Architecture, Economic Imaginaries and Urban Politics: The Office Tower as Socially Classifying Device

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