City of Fashion? Where’s the architecture?

Cesar Pelli’s project for the Citta della Moda in Milan brings to mind the following thoughts: While private entities seek to extend their control over urban space and public bodies surrender management to commercial concerns, the iconography of the public realm, its direct expression of meaning is increasingly replaced by commercial advertising as the overt ideological messages of the past evaporate. The spectacle of participation becomes all the more enticing, a participation that requires nothing more from the visitor than their cash. In this scenario architecture is reduced to the provision of floorplates and silhouettes which promote brand identity rather than a unique urban experience.

International Herald Tribune article