Architektur für den Handel

For around one hundred and fifty years we have been confronted with the architectural type of the department store and its diverse variants in decisive form - decisive because of its impact on our everyday lives. The present monograph does not set out to discuss exhaustively all the issues arising in this context; instead it selects exemplary aspects, explores their historical roots, and examines their significance for present-day users. "From the storefront to the cathedral of consumption", "Department stores as a consequence of industrialization", "The origins of the department store in Germany", "Forerunners of a modern-department store architecture", "From the suburban to the urban shopping centre: examples of the Rhodes Kellermann Wawrowsky architecture group" - these are just a few of the chapters in the book. Over and over the central question presents itself: how does commercial architecture react to social, economic, and technological change and what does this mean, in turn, for its users, for the development of the city?
The texts, historically well-founded and yet also offering a critical analysis of current conditions, and the rich pictorial material (historical photographs, culture-historical documents, plans, and photos of recent and contemporary buildings), make this volume an important tool for architects and town planners and at the same time a stimulating picture book for all those interested in cultural and social history.