Shrink and Shine

Abstract

The phenomenon of’ shrinking cities’ is not merely the result of disappearing jobs and people - but also the obstinacy of the existing urban fabric. While the evolution of industry - from a Fordist production era model to a globalised service model - has affected this situation, it is exacerbated by the unending objective of architectural production as a modernist paradigm of standardised provision of seemingly flexible but anonymous space. Potential clients and builders - e.g. property owners, real estate dealers, town councils or project developers - purport to think globally, but when it comes to the physical manifestation of their businesses, they are unable to leave behind the ingrained concepts of permanence and particularity in their buildings’ purposes and usage.