The Role of Consumerism in American Architecture

Author: John Chase
Year: 1991 (Journal of Architectural Education 44(4))
Source type: article
Raw file: raw/articles/chase-1991-role-of-consumerism-american-architecture.md

Summary

Chase argues that consumerism is "the single most important social and economic organizing force" shaping American building production, and that this "consumerist architecture" — the themed shopping mall, the fast-food chain, the speculative office envelope — has been neglected by criticism focused on "high art" architecture. He analyzes consumerism as the synergistic interaction of mass production and consumption, distinguishes primary and secondary consumerist buildings, and situates commercial vernacular in the American roadside/suburban landscape, arguing overarchingly that consumerist architecture communicates directly with the public and fulfills many traditional functions of art.

Key Claims

• Consumerism as organizing force: consumerism "is a key aspect affecting the production of buildings," dealing in "direct, rather than abstract, symbolism," and thus falling outside the self-referential realm of avant-garde/high-art architecture and its critics.
• Primary vs. secondary consumerist buildings: primary consumerist buildings (amusement parks, themed shopping centers, casinos) are integral to the experience of consuming; secondary consumerist buildings (corporate office parks, speculative offices) enhance a housed business's image more generally. The speculative office is "the cheapest possible envelope" — a "styled container" like Kiernan's "packaging."
• Commercial vernacular vs. consumerist: commercial vernacular deliberately "pretends to be almost anything other than what it actually is" (Spanish tile, Tudor, colonial guises as costumes); consumerist architecture (e.g. Baskin-Robbins vs. the independent ice-cream stand) is part of a corporate marketing strategy. Both are part of a commercial vernacular rooted in the culture of the highway (J.B. Jackson, Charles Moore).
• Consumerism, identity and fantasy: "the citizen of today's consumer society" composes personal identity "item by item"; shopping is a quasi-religious act that "dissolves ego boundaries"; "make-believe and altered identity is part of what these buildings are selling." Charles Moore's "you have to pay for the public life."
• Against high-art architecture: the vanguard (incl. Deconstruction) is self-referential and "freezes the vanguard from any accountability to society," while consumerist architecture "has always been comfortable with the use of nonironic and literal ornament"; "content is frequently as or more important than form." "Consumerist architecture also undeniably simplifies and limits cultural meaning."
• Star architects and the market: architects "have been turned into famous people in order to make them more fitting objects of publicity"; with Zukin, large-scale developments require superstar architects to recoup value from large-scale investment.

Connections

Concepts: Everyday Architecture · Consumerism · Iconic Architecture
Authors: John Chase
Debates: Spectacle vs. Function
Related source notes: The 'Bread & Butter' of Architecture

Direct Quotes

"[C]onsumerism is the single most important social and economic organizing force in the United States today, if not the world."

"Commercial vernacular architecture usually pretends to be almost anything other than what it actually is: Spanish tile, Tudor half-timbering, and colonial American fanlights are guises slipped onto structures like Halloween costumes."

"[T]he essence of this commodity fetishism is that human relations come to be mediated through objects." (John Hewitt, as quoted)

"[A]rchitects [have been] turned into famous people in order to make them more fitting objects of publicity."

Open Questions

• Is consumerist architecture a critical resource (it "fulfills more of the traditional function of art than any other category of architecture") or simply a mirror of commodified cultural values?
• How do Chase's primary/secondary consumerist categories map onto the icon/object axis in the financialized metropolis?