The Seagram Building

Term Paper # 101229

Architecture > Buildings

An analysis of the Seagram Building as a symbol of American capitalism.

2,666 words () | 10 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper critically examines the Seagram Building in terms of not only its aesthetic and technological factors but also with a particular emphasis upon its economic-political and social-cultural context. As is seen, the prominence of the Seagram Building lies as much in its extraordinary design as for the fact that it symbolized American corporate power in an era when the hegemony of American capitalism was unrivalled in the non-Communist world.

Outline:
Introduction
The Seagram Building and the Bronfman Family
The Seagram Building and the Prestige of Design
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Prior to the Seagram Building, the emphasis in American corporate architecture was generally on cost and function. Aesthetic values were a secondary concern, and the idea of creating a "signature" building was not part of the corporate mentality of the period. The Bronfmans would change all of this with the Seagram Building. Thus, in order to understand why the Seagram Building was built, we must understand that agenda of the Bronfman in funding the creation of a building that was intentionally designed to make a dramatic statement in the capital city of global capitalism."

Sample of Sources Used:

Anonymous. "Shrinking Skyscrapers: High Costs Keep New Ones Under '20s Peaks." The Wall Street Journal. July 1, 1959.
Curtis, William. Modern Architecture Since 1900 Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Frampton, Kenneth. "Mies van der Rohe: Avant Garde and Continuity." In Course Reader. 159-208. Horsley, Carter. "Midtown Book: The Seagram Building."Retrieved: December 5, 2006. http://www.thecityreview.com/park375.html
Krinsky, Carol. Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988.
Lasker, David. "Present at the Creation." Canadian Interiors, 40.3 (2003), 61-64.