Despite the examples in history of architecture, which rarely were connected with business or hardly found by financial initiatives, it seems hard to think of the same relationship today and the main reason is the drastic change of economic systems. Yuval Noah Harari in his book Sapiens: a brief history of humankind simply explains how the notion of money came into the world. He comprehensively draws the picture of an economic framework by introducing the power of imagination in human’s mind and the matter of trust which can run the wheels of the economy. In part of the book about barter, he writes: “An economy of favors and obligations doesn’t work when large numbers of strangers try to cooperate.”, “… barter is effective only when exchanging a limited range of products. It cannot form the basis for a complex economy.”[1] Which points to one of the reasons why there are no more examples of architecture regardless of financial concerns. In fact, architecture as a complex product, was not exchangeable because it was not easy to find out its value and the relative prices of dozens of commodities and exchange rates.
Moreover, the scale of societies was smaller, and business mainly meant to satisfy the basic needs. Thus, the type of relations, social conventions and lifestyle were more social-based than economic-based. There was a moment in history though when the economy and power merged. For simplifying the topic, I would separate these two concepts for now and focus on the economy.
Following the changes in the economic system, Harari describes money as “… a universal medium of exchange that enables people to convert almost everything into almost anything else.”[2], a dramatic change in economic mindset which makes it possible to value complicated products such as architecture. Today, any architectural realization means to consider its financial benefits as well; that is why the role of architecture to shape the future of the city and its citizens as individuals and collectives is even more important than before. As Jane Jacob puts it in Death and Life of Great American Cities, even small entrepreneurs such as a butcher shop or barber shop can affect their neighborhood proportionally. She writes “Stores, bars and restaurants, as the chief examples, work in several different and complex ways to abet sidewalk safety. First, they give people—both residents and strangers—concrete reasons for using the sidewalks on which these enterprises face. Second, they draw people along the sidewalks past places which have no attractions to public use in themselves but which become traveled and peopled as routes to somewhere else …. Third, storekeepers and other small businessmen are typically strong proponents of peace and order themselves; they hate broken windows and holdups; they hate having customers made nervous about safety. They are great street watchers and sidewalk guardians if present in sufficient numbers. Fourth, the activity generated by people on errands, or people aiming for food or drink, is itself an attraction to still other people.”[3]
Regarding the connection of architecture and society, comes up the matter of culture, a factor which gives yet another reason to existence of architecture with non-financial initiatives; a hut for clan of Gravettians for instance, was not only a residential place but also a gathering space in the winter which played the role of a quasi-ceremonial place where the stories and lore of that clan could be told. But the complexity of defining culture is getting more due to rapid technological developments,
The connection of Economy and Culture with the disciplinary of Architecture can be simplified in the following diagram where each point
The strength of each of these three concepts though should be considered which makes the diagram more flexible in a way that each one can push the others aside as the dominant factor.
Looking at the first branch of Starbucks in Milan (Italy) through the highlighted information in which architecture, economy and culture are framed, may help to understand the notion of the correlative structure.
After a long period of time, Starbucks opened its first branch in Milan. But the decision seems to be made on time and risky at the same time, since on the one hand, for a large-scale entrepreneur such as Starbucks—which already has its market and made its brand standout internationally—do not targeting some markets for a long time, might be a good strategy to keep the enthusiasm of costumers high through its international reputation if only they think of an outstanding plan to start and on the other, coffee is not a product that any non-Italian brand should think to produce in a country which is overwhelmed with and has a worldwide reputation how they roast and brew coffee—especially for one who had a big absence in the market. But before coming to the economic point of view, let’s see the architecture of Milan’s Roastery and its relation with the city. The decision of picking the old building of The Post Office in the city-center and trying to play with its interior seems smart because firstly, it skips the challenge of urban studies and thinking of a building which works properly with the historical context. Secondly, it has a reasonable sense of cautiousness about the city, its market and the possible feedbacks from people—which might be read as a sort of respect towards the city by the public now and Thirdly, the location is in one of the most crowded parts of Milan. Not to attach the brand of Starbucks on the facade and considering a reasonable size for the font of the brand—smaller than the font of POSTE— are other signs of the smart respect to Italian architecture. The interior design, on the one hand, is extremely aligned with the attitude of targeting popular culture; golden metal sheets which cover a big wall, luxurious false ceiling with lights shining on the reflective materials and little wooden stands, here and there, which are filled with Starbucks accessories, reminds you of jewelry shops but on the other side of the coin, an intelligent idea came with this branch of Starbucks which is mixing the industrial atmosphere of a roastery and a café; putting a machine inside a space and everything is different. Now it is not anymore only an American café in Italy, but it invites you to experience something new; a new layer of engagement is added which is smart enough to convince the application of luxurious tools and give the credit to the late entrepreneur. In fact, this is the outstanding plan to start because none of the Italian coffee makers has thought about presenting the process of production as a catalyst to boost its market. Even if we look at it from the economic point of view, it clarifies the reason of a luxurious café; because here the coffee is not the target of Starbucks for its market anymore, creating a touristic attraction is the goal. Unless 7.5 Euros for a cappuccino and croissant is insanely expensive either for Italians who consume an overdose of these two components almost for free per day or for tourists who can find the same—if not better—for almost half of that price. Thus, Milan’s Roastery is not a café, it is an exhibition; Even the name is shouting it. You go inside, walk and look around curiously and you will convince yourself at the end, to ignore 7.5 Euros like the first and last time having a coffee there.
Houman Riazi © 2017 - Milan, Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Economics is way complicated than the binary system which simplifies everything into zero and one; they are always various factors engaged in. The market area for instance, which is discussed in economics and is demonstrated by Hotelling Model, discusses factors such as location, transport cost (for people and product) and price (quality) of the products. In this framework, to maximize your market share, you have four options:
- Decreasing the transport cost (for people and product)
- Decreasing the price of the product
- Increasing the quality, keeping the same price
- change your location
All in all, Despite the complicated network of factors pushing the economic performance of Milan’s Roastery back, there is always a long line of enthusiastic Italians and tourists who are excited to be let in. The exhibition is calling for the tour and the long line—referring to the pop culture—is the sign of something interesting goes on inside that shining space and now a couple of more people are convinced to stay in the line and take a look, some of them Italian this time. Understanding the characteristics of Milan as a city growing in an international framework, with a strong industry and several international universities, is another smart study which pivots on a different cultural level as well as touristic features of Milan. The long lines of people may raise the mistaken impression that the market is working but it should not be forgotten that firstly, visiting inside is free and secondly, it needs more time to stabilize such a market which may reach its peak of demand in a short-term prospect but may also lose it even faster in a long-term prospect. Of course, the open-ending economic future of Milan’s Roastery leaves a lot of doubts for Starbucks but there is no doubt that it interlocks Architecture, economy, and culture in a common point as a building. In fact, It is a good mixture of architecture as an autonomous form and an instrument of culture; The way it targets pop culture and luxurious lifestyle—which is the idealistic goal of most societies—and how it uses related tools to own the market, not only reveals the cultural layers of its existence but also refers to the modern economic technics followed by modern economic systems which solute architecture and place a role for it in the play.
[1] Harari, Yuval Noah. 2014.
[2] Harari, Yuval Noah. 2014.
[3] Jacobs, Jane. 1993. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New
[4] Hays, K. Michael. 1984. Critical Architecture: Between Culture and Form. Perspecta. 1984, Vol. 21, pp. 14-29.
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