A Critique of the Logic of Consumption in Postmodern Architecture : the Museum as a Case Study

In constructing a distinctive polemic, postmodern architecture presented itself as a reaction to the modem movement, embodying both its negation and transcendence. In the ongoing debate over the definition of postmodernity as a cultural condition, the position of negation continues to come under severe criticism. This thesis attempts to understand constituents of the ideological discourse of postmodern architecture, approaching it from a perspective free from the notion of negation to modernism. Despite the atmosphere of difference that characterizes the contemporary debate over the definition of the postmodern condition, there is shared agreement on the primacy of Late Capitalist ideology in the formation of this condition, leading to a definition of postmodern culture as the 'consumer culture.' The writings of the French social theorist Jean Baudrillard present an analysis of the nature of consumption in this emerging cultural condition, claiming it as the "main climatizer of life and social relations." Building on the premise that architectural production is representative of the cultural discourse in which it is conceived, we will attempt to examine the influence of the logic of consumption on the architectural production of societies living in the postmodem condition under late, or monopoly capitalism. In so doing we will focus on the museum as an architectural type. Museums enjoy a significant potential for cultural representation. It is believed therefore that they are particularly sensitive to ideological changes in cultural conditions. As there can be no definitive understanding of Postmodernism while it is still in the making, the study will follow an operative rather than a historical model of criticism. Thesis Supervisor: Stanford Anderson Title: Professor of History and Architecture