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No Frills and Bare Life : Cheapness and Democracy
Author(s) -
ZaeraPolo Alejandro
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
architectural design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.128
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1554-2769
pISSN - 0003-8504
DOI - 10.1002/ad.1439
Subject(s) - vision , democratization , aside , urbanization , democracy , architecture , advertising , political science , media studies , economy , sociology , political economy , economics , law , business , art , visual arts , economic growth , politics , literature , anthropology
Alejandro Zaera‐Polo looks at the implication of ‘cheapness’ pursued by some of today's most successful companies, which deliver no‐frills services and products to the biggest number of customers possible. This is a strategy perhaps best exemplified by EasyJet and IKEA. Setting aside the impact on global warming, what implications does this approach have for democratisation and urbanisation? And what can architecture, in particular, learn from it at time when it is turning its back on its aspirations for the iconic and the grand visions of the first decade of this century.