Architecture as a tool of financial power

Abstract

This essay aims to define the role of architecture as a bridge between spatialization and financialization processes which had characterized the neoliberal expansion of the economy during the last decades. According to the significant impact financialization had since the 1980s, architectural forms and spaces of financial power became a tool for celebrating a new social paradigm, so which are the main elements characterizing the use of these instruments? The research method of this essay discusses, on one hand, the role of international economic and political actors and, on the other hand, the function of architecture typologies, collective imaginaries and media spectacularization in design-making. Finally, through the analysis of the connections among architectural, urban and social aspects, the author argues that contemporary architecture has begun a tool for supporting and giving consensus to financial investments into the real estate market worldwide in order to realize great urban transformations.