The icon project : architecture, cities, and capitalist globalization / Leslie Sklair.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sklair, Leslie, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture and globalization.

Architecture--Economic aspects.

Globalization--Economic aspects.

Capitalism--Social aspects.

Architecture.

Physical Description:

xiii, 329 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017]

Summary:

"A pioneering look at the ways in which contemporary architecture serves the interests of the capitalist class, from global North to South and through to the petro-cities of the Gulf States In the last quarter century, a new form of iconic architecture has appeared throughout the world's major cities. Typically designed by globe-trotting "starchitects" or by a few large transnational architectural firms, these projects are almost always driven by private interests. In The Icon Project, sociologist Leslie Sklair focuses on ways in which capitalist globalization is produced and represented all over the world, especially in globalizing cities. Sklair traces how the iconic buildings of our era-elaborate shopping malls, spectacular museums and vast urban megaprojects-constitute the triumphal "Icon Project" of contemporary global capitalism, promoting increasing inequality and hyperconsumerism. He sets out to explain how the architecture industry organizes the social production and marketing of iconic structures and how corporations increasingly dominate the built environment and promote the trend towards globalizing, consumerist cities. The Icon Project, Sklair argues, is a weapon in the struggle to solidify capitalist hegemony as well as reinforce transnational capitalist control of where we live, what we consume, and how we think"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note:

INTRODUCTION

The argument

Sources

Structure of the book

CHAPTER 1

ICONIC ARCHITECTURE AND CAPITALIST GLOBALIZATION

Architecture, Power, Aesthetics

The Icon: history and theory of an idea

Iconic for when

Iconic for whom

Iconic for where

CHAPTER 2

TWO TYPES OF ICONIC ARCHITECTURE: UNIQUE AND TYPICAL

The rise of iconic architecture

Iconicity claims of top firms

Starchitects and signature architects

Architecture theme parks and other iconic projects

CHAPTER 3

THE ARCHITECTURE INDUSTRY AND TYPICAL ICONS

The sociology of architecture

The architecture industry in the new millennium

Successful typical icons

Celebrity infrastructure

CHAPTER 4

CORPORATE STARCHITECTS AND UNIQUE ICONS

Frank Lloyd Wright and the FLW industry

Le Corbusier and the Corb industry

The rise of the starchitects

Frank Gehry

Norman Foster

Rem Koolhaas

Zaha Hadid

CHAPTER 5

THE POLITICS OF ICONIC ARCHITECTURE

Architectural iconicity and identities

Politics and the architecture of transnational social spaces

Iconic architecture in urban megaprojects

Paris

China

CHAPTER 6

ARCHITECTS AS PROFESSIONALS AND IDEOLOGUES

The criticality debate

Third World Modernism and postcolonialisms

Postcolonialist understandings of architecture

Disney, China, and India

Sustainability, human rights, and the architect's place in society

CHAPTER 7

ARCHITECTURE AND THE CULTURE-IDEOLOGY OF CONSUMERISM

Consumerist space in the city of capitalist globalization

Architecture, consumerism, and the media

Iconic architecture and shopping

Performance spaces

Displacement

CHAPTER 8

ARCHITECTURE, CITIES AND ALTERNATIVE GLOBALIZATIONS

APPENDIX Interview codes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780190464189

0190464186

OCLC:

956501982