Space branding history.

Jooyun Kim's
Spacebranding vol.23

"'The history of space branding' is the 'history of achieving a special purpose for the public with the impression of space'."

<Space is a 'brand experience'>

Wally Olins classified the four elements of a brand into 'product', 'environment', 'communication', and 'behavior'. According to his classification, the brand's product is the object, the environment is the space, communication is the way of communication, and the action is the behavior of a company or individual. He clarifies environmental factors as 'brand experience'.1)

Le Bon Marché is the world's first department store in the south of the Seine River in France. In 1883, Emile Zola described this department store as a "modern commerce cathedral built for customers" in her novel <Au Bonheur des Dames>. Marché became a standard case of commercial space composition and created a spatial atmosphere in Paris that could be described as "new" or "fashion."

Le Bon Marché(1869) from https://girlsguidetoparis.com/2012/09/20/purely-paris-happy-birthday-bon-marche/

The first department store, Marché, made customers experience a fascinating space. With that impression, the customer who experienced it continued to visit the department store. At the time, Bon Marché clearly identified its target customers as women. At that time, women had nowhere to go. Except at their home, at the house of their parents or friends, or at church.

At this time, Marché asked Gustave Eiffel, famous for designing the Eiffel Tower, to design the Crystal Hall, the centerpiece of the department store. The hall has a subtle harmony of soft white and green under bright lighting. At this department store, women could meet their friends, read newspapers, and choose gifts for someone in advance without having to buy anything. Women enjoyed a fresh and modern space and wanted to have a Parisienne image of themselves as 'modern and elegant women'.

Le Bon Marché from https://www.lvmh.fr/les-maisons/distribution-selective/le-bon-marche/

Kim Myeon, who works as a lifestyle creative director, says, "In the early days of modernization, we cannot help but be surprised by Bong Marche, who awakened people's desires for 'consumption', led new consumption patterns, and presented standards for large commercial spaces."2) Marché Department Store in Paris, acquired by LVMH in 1984, is still evolving the department store's "space experience-oriented" identity for Parisienne and Parisien through space.

Le Bon Marché, 14th century 19th century and ardeco-style glass roof from https://www.lvmh.fr/les-maisons/distribution-selective/le-bon-marche/

<The history of space branding>

The term space branding is a term suitable for modern commercial space. However, from the point of view that space branding is trying to achieve a special purpose to the public through the impression of space, its history is a very old and special way. Unlike the oriental idea that nature and humans are one, it is easy to find historical examples in the West, where nature was the object of conquest and overcoming.

Since modern times, power has been concentrated on capital, but the previous power has been in the state, ruler, religion, etc. Buildings or spaces were created by those in power to create the image of that power and to maintain power. The internal goal of maintaining power was achieved with an external image through an 'amazing' architectural shape. A brief look at such historical space branding is as follows.

‘The History of Space Branding’

"History that achieved a special purpose to the public through the impression of space"

Pyramids - Power of the Pharaohs

Colosseum - Rome's power shared with Citizens

Medieval Cathedral - The Pope's Authority

Venice - The wealth of the merchant nobility

Renaissance Architecture - The Scientific Revolution and The Reformation

Baroque - I am the state

Crystal Palace, Eiffel Tower - Technology is the national Power

Art Nouveau - Artistic Paris

Bauhaus School - The ideological and philosophical symbol of modern architecture

Skyscraper - The center of the new world, New York, Chicago

Mitterrand Grand Project - Reconstruction of Paris as the center of European culture and art

Millennium Project - Restoring national competitiveness through urban regeneration in underdeveloped areas in London, England

and after

Shanghai

Dubai

etc

The history of space branding continues.

<Ancient - pre-industrial revolution>

The huge Egyptian pyramids, which honor the pharaohs' dream of an immortal world, still symbolize the power of the pharaohs with an identity that has not changed for more than 4000 years. Rome set up a huge circular stadium, colosseum with political gestures that shared the power of rulers with citizens.

After Christianity became a diplomatic religion throughout Europe, the power of the unity of the church and state expressed its authority through the construction of huge and beautiful cathedrals, and in the Middle Ages, merchant nobles built an impressive trading city like Venice to power their wealth.

Venice, Italy, space branding ©Jooyun Kim

In the Renaissance, where the scientific revolution and religious reform began, spaces were created by large bankers such as the Medichi family in Florence to symbolize their majesty. They used classical architectural language reminiscent of the authority of the Greek and Roman eras to renew the authoritative image of Renaissance architecture.

When France emerged as the most powerful country in the 17th century, buildings symbolizing absolute monarchy were born, represented by the Palace of Versailles and the garden of Baroque. Unlike previous architecture, Baroque, where Louis XIV's words, "I am the state," were expressed as space, explored spatial images according to human movement. It created spatial impressions that change from time to time when people move in space.3) Catholic cathedrals seeking to further enhance their authority against power-symbolizing palaces and Protestants have elaborately developed this Baroque style.

France, Space branding, Palace of Versailles ©Jooyun Kim

<After the Industrial Revolution>

At the end of the 18th century, the worldview raised by the Bourgeois Revolution represented by the French Civil Revolution served as the trigger for the birth of modern architecture. At the same time, the engineering technology developed by the Industrial Revolution that started in England created new buildings that were different from the past. The starting point is the Crystal Palace, built in 1851 by Joseph Paxton.

British national space branding, The Crystal Palace at Sydenham (1854) from Wikipedia

The Crystal Palace is a building that announced the arrival of an era in which the technological prowess of the nation has become a competitive advantage among nations. In this building, Britain showed off its technological prowess by hosting the world's first international Expo called a world fair. After that, the hosting of the world fair becomes a competition between countries through architecture.

What kind of architectural aspect was shown at the Expo came to indicate the status of the country. The starting point is Crystal Palace where presented a transparent structure to the public in six months with pre-mass-produced elements made of glass and cast iron. This symbolized the endless possibilities and freedom of British capitalism and imperialism at the time.

The Expo held in Paris in 1900 created the symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. In Western Europe at the time, a new aesthetic consciousness that represented the Industrial Revolution and reflected mass production was explored, and one of them was Art Nouveau. Along with the Eiffel Tower, there is an image that symbolizes France, which is indispensable in French movies, and it is the entrance to the subway in Paris designed by Gymar Guimard.

Paris Metro Entrance designed by Hector Guimard ©Jooyun Kim

He used cast iron to combine the organic decorations and structures of plant vine images to create an artistic appearance of Paris as a beautiful subway entrance for the citizens of Paris. Its artistry resulted in the branding of Paris as a public design for the subway entrance canopy used by the public. A free and impressive architectural style never seen before became fashionable throughout Europe.

Among them, in Spain, Antonio Gaudi presented organic and surrealistic architecture such as North American sculptures to the public. This is architecture as a nationalistic image longing for the independence of Catalonia to the citizens of Barcelona, and the shape itself has a political meaning.

Space branding of Catalan longing for independence, Interior of Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família deisged by Gaudi ©Jooyun Kim

<Modern Times>

Industrialized Germany has grown into Europe's richest country. As a new concept for the iron, chemical, and electrical industries, Germany created a mechanical aesthetic architecture that symbolizes explicit, economical, and mechanical production, which became the starting point of the modern movement of architecture. Among them, the most well-known architecture to the public is the building of Walter Gropius' Design and Crafts College called 'Bauhaus'.

The architecture of Dessau Bauhaus University has become an ideological and philosophical symbol as an architecture representing modern architecture that combines new materials and technologies such as glass, iron, and reinforced concrete while being functional. Since then, German architecture has become a political tool of Nazi's new order, new world, and new human expression as a huge and magnificent building.

The development of a steel-armed architectural structure has created unimaginable skyscrapers. The cities branded with skyscrapers created by these engineering technologies are New York in Manhattan, and Chicago in the United States.

Chicago City from https://www.perillobmw.com/the-great-city-of-chicago-il/

<Presnt Times>

In the middle of the 20th century, French President Georges Pompidou built an art museum in Paris with aspirations to function as an international art center and that is the newly impressive Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris.

Francois Mitterrand President, who witnessed the loss of the status in politics, economy, and art, carried out architectural projects called Grand Projects with an ambitious plan to brand Paris as a cultural city. He dreamed of harmony between the past and the present through large-scale modern buildings in Paris, a city of history and tradition.

The architecture created in that way is included the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre's Glass Pyramid, the La Grande Arche de la Défense, the Institut de Monde Arabe, the Bastille Opera Theater, the Paris National Library, and the La Villette Park, currently representative of Paris. These buildings have become a must-visit landmark in Paris. As a result of space branding as a grand project, Paris, France, restored its position as the center of European culture and art.

Paris' space branding method, which impressively improved the image and competitiveness of the city in a short period of time as large-scale buildings, has since become a benchmarking target for many cities. London, England, launched the Millennium Committee in 1993 for the London Millennium Project to mark the new millennium of 2000.

As a result, the London Eye, Millennium Dome, and Millennium Bridge have become representative symbols of London, were born. Its purpose was to increase national competitiveness and London's urban competitiveness by urban regeneration in London, England. The city's space branding method centered on space has since spread to Shanghai and Dubai, and even today, it is a method that is effective for cities dreaming of competitiveness in the form of a new city, leading to the ongoing history.

<5 Summaries>

"'The history of space branding' is the 'history of achieving a special purpose for the public with the impression of space'."

“Historically, those in power have achieved their internal goal of maintaining power with their external image through ‘surprising’ architectural forms.”

"With the Grand Project, Paris, France, has restored its position as the center of culture and arts in Europe."

"The city's space branding method is still effective for cities dreaming of competitiveness in the form of a new city, and it continues into the ongoing history."

"Wally Olins clarifies environmental factors as 'brand experience'."

1) Wally Olins, On Brand, Thames & Hudson, 2003, pp. 178-181

2) 김면 지음, "파리, 에스파스", 허밍버드, 2014.6.2. 162-171쪽

3) Louise Hellman, Architecture for beginners, Writers&Readers, 1988, pp. 61

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