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Conceptualising the vertical landscape: The case of the International Finance Centre in the world's most vertical city
Author(s) -
Lam Phoenix W. Y.,
Graddol David
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12243
Subject(s) - indexicality , dialogical self , sociology , semiotics , horizontal and vertical , dimension (graph theory) , space (punctuation) , meaning (existential) , social stratification , epistemology , economic geography , aesthetics , linguistics , geography , social science , philosophy , mathematics , geodesy , pure mathematics
This article introduces the crucial yet much overlooked dimension of verticality to landscape‐related research through a case study of one of the most iconic skyscrapers in Hong Kong, the world's most vertical city. A tripartite analytic model is proposed to examine the dialogical interaction between the discursive and material landscapes in a vertical layout, while at the same time to explore the intricate interrelations among social actors, practices, functions of space, levels of access and forms and functions of semiotic resources, all within one single site of varying levels of verticality. In the process, the study reveals the vertical space as a highly stratified and hierarchical system, and underlines the value of taking a functional approach to verticality in order to deepen our understanding of its indexical social meaning and its role as an active agent both in reflecting and shaping social stratification in today's globalised and consumerist world.