A constellation of stars: what a local newspaper talks about when it talks about star architecture

ABSTRACT

Despite the broadly held assumption that having an iconic building designed by a celebrity architect can effectively rebrand a place, draw tourists, and stimulate economic activity, star architecture does more than just contribute to the economic fortunes of regional cities. Iconic projects also emerge from and reflect the discourses, desires, and identities of city dwellers in the places they are built. In this paper, we use newspaper coverage of five iconic or star architecture buildings in Denver, Colorado, USA, to expose how architecture contributes to local discourses. What emerges is a complex picture of how local press engage with star architecture projects. Star architecture buildings do more than just contribute to the economic fortunes of a city or region: they also contribute to the mental map of a place, become contributors to city identity, and create opportunities for conversations about culture and architecture, including the basis for comparisons with other cities.

KEYWORDS:

• Iconic architecture
• media and architecture
• Urban Intertextuality
• Denver
• Colorado
• USA
• Bilbao Effect

Acknowledgements

Data collection for project was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Thank you to Olivia Herbert and Anna Sparlin.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.