Architecture as consumer space

Abstract

The thought of Merleau-Ponty, Silverman, Marx and Marcuse is a valuable repository of insights that may function as guidelines for ascertaining what would count as truly ‘human’ space – that is, a space that does not alienate one from being human. Close attention is given to certain aspects of the work of each of these thinkers with a view to delineating the structure of what is to count as such a human space in all its variegatedness. Such spatial alienation could occur in various ways, such as through the space of apartheid, of prisoner-of-war camps, of monodimensional functionalism, and so on. The argument of this paper is that consumer capitalist space, too, tends to impoverish multi-dimensional human space, even to reduce it to one of alienation. The film, Dawn of the Dead, is used to demonstrate how this kind of reductive space turns people into ‘consumers’ or zombies, with special attention to the ‘shopping mall’. A different, more ‘human’ kind of shopping space, interwoven with qualitatively different spatial possibilities, is conceivable, however, and in conclusion, this is explored by examining the architectural work of Erik Grobler, against the backdrop of the philosophers’ work that frames the discussion.

Die denke van Merleau-Ponty, Silverman, Marx en Marcuse is waardevol vir sover dit riglyne verskaf vir die vasstelling van wat as waarlik ‘menslike’ ruimte sal geld – met ander woorde, ruimte wat ’n mens nie van jou menswees vervreem nie. Daar word noukeurig aandag geskenk aan sekere aspekte van hierdie denkers se werk met die oog daarop om die aard en struktuur bloot te lê van ‘menslike’ ruimte in al die geskakeerdheid daarvan. Sodanige ruimtelike vervreemding kan op verskeie maniere plaasvind, soos deur die ruimte van apartheid, van gevangenekampe en van monodimensionele funksionalisme. Die argument in hierdie artikel is dat verbruiker-kapitalistiese ruimte eweneens geneig is om multidimensionele, ‘menslike’ ruimte te verarm en tot een van vervreemding te reduseer. Daar word kortliks aan die film, Dawn of the Dead, veral die plek van die winkelkompleks daarin, aandag gegee om te illustreer hoe hierdie soort reduktiewe ruimte mense in ‘verbruikers’ of zombies verander. ’n Ander, meer menslike sort winkelruimte is egter voorstelbaar – een wat geïntegreer is met kwalitatief-verskillende ruimtelike moontlikhede, en ten slotte word laasgenoemde ondersoek met verwysing na die argitektoniese werk van Erik Grobler, teen die agtergrond van die filosofiese denke wat hierdie bespreking gerig het.