Brandscapes

The principle behind this book is that buildings aren't just buildings, but rather iconic symbols that reflect who we are as people, cities and economies-in that sense, they represent a "brand" of sorts. Carrying that logic several steps short of its logical conclusion, architect and writer Klingmann looks at the "brandscapes" that cityscapes have become: "As a strategic tool for eliciting a relevant experience, architecture has an immediate impact on social relations and economic transactions... What counts in a building is not so much how it looks but how it comes to life for people." The problem with these and other statements throughout is that they come off as either vague or self-evident (perhaps as a result of her immersion in the subject-she's the founder of a New York agency "for architecture and brand building"). There is no doubt that Klingmann has passion and knowledge to spare, and that the general idea behind the book is valid, but esoteric, faux-academic writing ("The equation of Experience = Drama + Diversity + Detail can be discerned in the Parthenon almost as clearly as it can in contemporary commercial structures") too often substitutes for well-developed argument and clear-headed analysis