Spaces of Exchange-from bazaars to shopping malls
Zoeanna Upadhyay.
Some of the most ancient spaces of exchange were gatherings that fostered the exchange of not just commodities but intangible concepts like culture and civilization. In Australian Aboriginal culture, for example, different tribes came together to trade commodities like the Bunya nut. This gathering was also where different tribes and communities could come together, celebrate and be together.
Often, we also see that these sites of exchange were also closely linked to other kinds of activities. The example of the island of Delos, illustrates this concept. Due to its strategic position, it functioned as a major port and center of commercial activity after 167 BC. Rich merchants, traders, bankers and ship owners settled there and the island became a multicultural hub where different communities of people could settle. People from all over the world-built churches, temples and synagogues making it a religious center as well.
This also shows how different sites like those of ritual and settlement are closely linked to exchange. Trade and commerce in the region basically created a confluence of different kinds of interactions where different cultures, ideas and civilizations could come together and merge.
These exchanges were globalized during the industrial revolution. Roads, canals, and railways made it possible to connect even remote areas; making it possible for new industries to emerge.
According to David Chaney, the rapid urbanization and modernization created a culture of consumerism that led to the development of new kinds of shopping complexes like arcades, department stores and malls. Similar to ancient sites of exchange, these sites weren’t just built commodities but rather to encourage people to linger, to congregate and interact in certain situations. There was also an experimentation with materials and definitions of architecture. Some structures, like Cedric Prices Fun palace-which provided a model for the 1976 Centre Pompidou in Paris-created an immersive experience for the visitor. The framework was visible externally, and the structure itself was socially interactive and responsive to the needs of people.
References
Marcello, F., 2020, ' Exchange 1,2,3,4', Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 14th of April 2020
Benjamin, W., ‘Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century Expose ’ in The Arcades Project, https://archive.org/stream/BenjaminWalterTheArcadesProject/Benjamin_Walter_The_Arca des_Project_djvu.txt.
Mathews, S. (2005), ‘The Fun Palace: Cedric Price’s experiment in architecture and technology’, Technoetic Arts 3:2, pp. 73–91, doi: 10.1386/tear.3.2.73/1
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