Architectural Pac-Man

Urban Konsumterror is a critique of the condition of architecture in the contemporary city. The use of signature architecture to draw in tourist dollars is nothing more than a game of architectural Pac-Man. Signature architecture begins by consuming the museum: in order to build more and more, funds for exhibits or even routine maintenance are cannibalized. When buildings fall apart as a result, they can be torn down and new ones can be built. Cities also become consumed. When you say “Bilbao,” you refer to a building by Frank Gehry. The city’s identity no longer matters. All imaginative and financial capacity for real urban interventions is consumed by signature architecture.

The End of the Game