Eyes, Which Do Not See: Liners, Airplanes, Automobiles

Abstract

This article situates the contemporary position of architecture within a more general analysis of the transformation of commodities from tradabie objects to the commodified experiences of subjects. To understand this paradigmatic shift from the material properties of the object to the effects it generates for the subject, a conceptual analogy to Le Corbusier's book Towards a New Architecture is proposed. In the chapter “Liners, Airplanes, Automobiles,” Le Corbusier explores the programmatic and aesthetic attributes of contemporary commodities and their conditional relationship to the economic, social, and technological forces that formed the zeitgeist of the modern era. The article investigates how the very same products discussed in Le Corbusier's manifesto still apply to architectural discourse today, yet with other prefixes and other possible conclusions that pertain to the information age. Departing from the premise that architecture is a cultural commodity that supports and substantiates aspects of late capitalist commodity production, current consumer trends are examined in order to speculate on the potential of architecture to act as a catalyst for new experiences and perceptions.