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Architecture Commons

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SelectedWorks

2007

Planning and Architectural Theory

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Architecture

Entertainment-Retail Centres In Hong Kong And Los Angeles: Trends And Lessons, Clara Irazabal, Surajit Chakravarty Jan 2007

Entertainment-Retail Centres In Hong Kong And Los Angeles: Trends And Lessons, Clara Irazabal, Surajit Chakravarty

Clara Irazabal

This paper examines the evolution and recent trends in the design of Entertainment Retail Centres (ERCs) in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Most of the literature on spaces of consumption and leisure deals with economic reasons for the development of these spaces, and with the social, cultural, and political implications of the phenomenon. There are limitations to this approach that this study addresses. First, there has been a lack of attention to processes of globalization in the analysis of these spaces. Furthermore, a largely US-centred approach has left out an understanding of the significance of the ERC phenomenon in other …


Kitsch Is Dead, Long Live Kitsch: The Production Of Hyperkitsch In Las Vegas, Clara Irazabal Jan 2007

Kitsch Is Dead, Long Live Kitsch: The Production Of Hyperkitsch In Las Vegas, Clara Irazabal

Clara Irazabal

This study investigates the production ofhyperreality and kitsch in the latest generation of hotel-casino developments in Las Vegas. In these environments, visual imagery is manipulated for the creation of spectacle and a sense of alienation from time and reality. This suspension of real time and space is aimed at both facilitating the production of a simulated environment as "natural" and producing ideal sites for pleasure and consumption. Building upon the concepts of hyperreality and kitsch, this study proposes the framework of hyperkitsch to understand Las Vegas ' contribution to contemporary urbanization. Through four case studies, this paper suggests that the …