Architecture of the New Capitalist Society

Throughout our Communication Studies, we have examined the capitalist economy through a critical lens and as a result, corporations always appear at the forefront of debate, blame, and power. From a neo-liberalist economic standpoint, the typical “prosumer” is encouraged to create consumer-generated content, but what happens when you put your creative labour to the test? York University consistently advocates, “this is your time”; in other words, students are responsible for their own success and are held liable for any failures or mishaps they may endure. While contemporary technologies have multiplied and democratized opportunities for musical creativity, intellectual property law has been used to repress our right to free speech, which is guaranteed under the first amendment (Demers 2006). Therefore, the industry’s effort at convincing people that file-sharing is equivalent to thievery have turned an increasing number of artists into intellectual property activists.

In other words, “Ordinarily, people think that wealth is increased and life is far more attractive and thrilling; for if this were not so, who would be drawn into New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia…”(Mumford). The development of skyscrapers was only introduced for cities to boast about the amount of money they have, so then people would be captivated by a city's image and heighten their reputation. A consequence of this action is the establishment of multiple skyscrapers creates a safety hazard for the public. Namely, if there was ever an earthquake that was strong enough to cause the skyscrapers to break apart, people’s lives would be in danger as the people would be trapped inside or the debris would be crashing down upon the streets (Twenties in Contemporary Commentary, The). Public services such as policemen or firefighters were not equipped or prepared to handle these types of situations, if one was ever to occur. Skyscrapers were not only a waste of money, but a result of this impractical building could harm the lives of citizens living in

In all, the elements that primarily distinguished architects from builders are mainly economic standing and rhetoric of taste and invention, and education. Due to this, Upton believed master builders were prosperous and were typically motivated by “social distinction as a component of their professional success. In like manner, rhetoric of taste and invention differentiated architects from builders in that “taste might be acquired through ‘toil and study’..., but not in drawing school” (Upton, 61). Moreover, the key factors that contributed to the increasing professionalization of architects in eighteenth-century America are. Education, coherence in work, and the ability to communicate. With education, many were introduced to a “liberal-arts education, and eventually by moving professional education to the university, architects hoped to shake off their pesky rivals”(Upton, 63 ). For the socialization aspect of increasing professionalization of architects in eighteenth-century America, the

We live in a world controlled by an invisible yet very present force that shapes the way we live our daily lives. With industry as its host and technology as the blood being pumped into its heart, it is a force powerful enough to bend politics to fit its needs. Capitalism; a method of industry where production and distribution are privately or corporately owned, its operation grows through profits, exploitation of labor, and extinguishing competition. During the Industrial Revolution technology was on the global stage. Factories and machines are built in existing cities producing and distributing mass goods on a global scale. Over time this fast production of goods would replace the old agricultural economy to a modern urban economy. Today the revolution is praised for creating a global trade market while surging us into a world of technology.

A designer based in New York called Andrew Shea, interestingly converses about the building responsibility and obligation that designers have in the book ‘Designing for Social Change’,

The World Trade Center stood to be built as a reflection of peace with a fierce ambition and disciplined achievement on a massive scale. The statement of these buildings was to construct an uplifting stamina of downtown Manhattan. Its purpose created both a negative and positive aspect in its construction to help those in need of it, but it also caused some damage in its creation. Its massive scale as buildings allowed the people of New York City to see it as a symbol of expansion in that particular area of Downtown Manhattan from it reign being the peace towers to the construction of the Freedom tower. The reasons as to why the Twin Towers was an expansion for downtown Manhattan it allowed the extended invitation for international trade and

“It is as if things generated other things in their own images by human intermediaries captivated with those possibilities of sequence and progression…” “In our terms each invention is a new serial position.” “Without change there is no history; without regularity there is no time” states Kubler. Goldhagen follows: “Modernist architects were also forging a common architectural culture, an enterprise that often engenders a spirit of cooperation, building upon what people share…” “[the modern movement] was now subjected to centrifugal rather than centripetal forces, It splintered into a number of more distinct and evolving discursive

“Would I want to conduct business in this building?” According to the article One World Trade Center Opens despite Chris Rock's Reluctance, comedian Chris Rock commented on the opening during an episode of “Saturday Night Live” that aired less than 36 hours prior to the opening of the tower. Rock stated “They should change the name from the Freedom Tower to the ‘Never Going in There Tower,’ because I’m never going in there. There is no circumstance that will ever get me in that building.” Rock expresses fears that are on a lot of people’s minds during this difficult time. An employee for the new business moving into the tower, publisher Condé Nast, remarked that he could “understand the fear behind it” and he went on to say that “If you live in fear, you can’t get anything done in your life” in an article entitled 1 World Trade Center, a Pillar of Resilience, Is Open for Business. Also in this article by the New York Times, this employee called the building “an inspiration” and said it was “cool” to have a place

Introduction- Formed in 1936, the American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) is one of the most successful and innovate firms to focus on high-end commercial building and lead the paradigm of the use of the modern international, or "glass box" style of skyscraper. Since its inception, the firm has designed and built several of the world's largest buildings including the John Hancock Center (1969), the Sears Tower (1973) and the Burj Khalifa (2010), currently the world's tallest building. The company has diversified and evolved and now offers services in Architecture, Building Services, Graphics, Digital and Interior Design, Structural and Civil Engineering, and most recently, Sustainable Design and Urban Planning (Adams). For many, in fact, SOM's postwar buildings are the essential building blocks to understand the modern movement in the United States.

Daniel Libeskind won the competition with his design. However, his designs for the One WTC were lacking in many ways. As a result, Larry Silverstein, the temporary owner of four World Trade Center buildings, pressed for architect, David Childs, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to take over the modifications on the One WTC plans. Because Silverstein was a businessman, his goal was to expedite the process, so there was a lot of political pressure on Childs. On the other hand, Governor Pataki desired to use the design to gain political power. In 2004, Childs’s design was estimated to contract 2 billion dollars of construction. Despite confirmation of the plans, New York Police Department (NYPD) reported security concerns in the design. Therefore, Childs was forced to modify his plans by a lot. Additionally, many other parties were involved in the process of rebuilding, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA); thus, Childs’s design suffered from the pressure to meet every party’s demand. Ultimately, building costs were exponentially heightened.

For whe“When the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 in Paris it, in a way, taunted American architects to build something taller. By the early twentieth century a skyscraper race was on” (Rosenberg 1). Smith and Raskob teamed up and were racing against Walter Chrysler (founder of the Chrysler Corporation) to build the tallest building. Being the envy of the city was not the only purpose of building such a fantastic building, but there was also a practical reason. Tenants were willing to pay higher rents in tall buildings. So, the owner of the tallest building collected the highest rents and became even wealthier (Mann 12).

In 1943 lawmakers had the idea of making world peace through trade and economic agreements. These towers were essentially a beam of light for the future of an uncertain New York economy. Although the idea of a financial center was conceived in the early 40s, Nelson and David Rockefeller didn’t pursue it until the early 1960s. The brothers sought a financial capital that companies around the world could trade and reach economic agreements through, as the name implied. This building would house banking, financial, insurance, transportation, and import and export companies, along with economic representatives of various foreign countries. The two brothers would continue to push for the project in the early 1960s, claiming that the project

Weston believed that ‘the stylistic postmodernism of the 1980’s (risk), had threatened to reduce architecture to a stylish fad.’ He believed that the risk architects felt upon themselves meant that ‘In its place it was argued the case for buildings that are monumental and anti-heroic, and grounded in the familiar routine and environments of daily life( Weston.R, 2011). Due to the amount of money and time needed to be invested into building architecture the industry can take astronomical hits during financial crisis such as the credit crunch in 2008. Risk plays a huge part in the way we build and create architecture. For the architect, a great deal of risk is encountered by intrusting the client to pay for our services. One London based boutique architecture practice described “our main threat is not being paid for the work we do- particularly the brief making part- but we never turn down unpaid work because It might lead to paid work in the future”(RIBA the future for architects, 2010). But it is not just the architects who feel the ‘risk’, it is also the clients who are effectively putting their money, land or property and quite often their reputations at stake, so there is a lot riding on the architects back to make the whole operation run smoothly.

Want to know a little known fact? Local government is one of the most influential factors in the American way of life, but it is not even mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Essentially the Constitution set up national and state governments but leaves local governments out creating a gray area. This area has been filled with many different methods and types of government. One of the ideas which pertains to filling this gray area is the Tiebout model. In essence this is a model of governance through capitalistic ideals. In the Tiebout model cities and metros are divided up into micro-jurisdiction entice or deter specific citizens based on the jurisdicition’s services and taxes. This train of thought assumes things about the people who live in these cities. These assumptions, applied to a simple majority, would surely ensure this methods success, but it may not be feasible. Because many dislike the Tiebout method revision can be made and there are numerous alternatives also.

Why do people want to build in the sky? Skyscrapers are the most iconic symbol of the city and are amazing landscapes created by humans who reach the clouds and ignore gravity. It implements human aspirations that we want to build a much higher level of buildings. There is no doubt that constructing tall buildings is not something new. The most important things while raising buildings higher are its structural design and life safety for people living or working inside the buildings. Today, as the building is touching to the sky, occupants of buildings are worried more and more about how safe the building is. The major concerns regarding tall building are unplanned fire and terrorist attack. The 43rd president George W. Bush quoted in results to 9/11, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve". As prospective engineers look to the future, we have the opportunity to learn the very lesson by understanding the collapse of the WTC Towers. In the years 9/11, the time after has arisen to learn and improve the design of future tall buildings against fire-induced collapse. The building we build inspires us and reflects on who we are.