Corporate Towers and Symbolic Capital

K Dovey
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K Dovey: Department of Architecture and Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia

Environment and Planning B, 1992, vol. 19, issue 2, 173-188

Abstract: The meaning of the corporate office tower is explored within the framework of the production of symbolic capital. The method involves an interpretation of leasing advertisements—the field of discourse which envelops the decision to lease. The advertising is argued to be market sensitive and therefore to reflect the prevailing values of corporate culture. The aim is to unpack the myths and meanings that are used to generate symbolic capital through built form. The semantic themes outlined include distinction, authenticity, power, contextualism, and timelessness. The meanings of the location, the foyer, the view, and the interior settings are also discussed. Analysis of this field of discourse reveals these towers to be the popular architecture of a patriarchal corporate culture. It also reveals a number of contradictions underlying their production, such as ‘dominant contextualism’, ‘timeless fashion’ and ‘dynamic conservatism’. The towers are argued to be manifestations of the process Harvey calls creative destruction, a form of place destruction in which architectural practice is deeply implicated.

Date: 1992
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:19:y:1992:i:2:p:173-188

DOI: 10.1068/b190173

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