Architecture, Capitalism, Space: A Sociology of the Atrium

In part due to its ostensibly non-material character, the atrium presents a challenging case for sociological analysts of architecture, At the same time though, critical sociology can nonetheless help; to explain some puzzling things concerning the atrium, an increasingly widespread element of the designed urban environment. Double height or greater vertical voids to be found dominating the the interiors of a wide range of building types, the atrium flourishes in those parts of cities where land value is highest; given that these 'empty spaces' could be filled with directly rentable space this is a somewhat curious affinity. Drawing primarily on the ideas of Henri Lefebvre and Walter Benjamin, this paper suggests that the global proliferation of the atrium grows from oblique attempts to generate combinations of material and symbolic surplus value. In fact, it is the voided character of the atrium that allows us to explain key elements of contemporary capitalist strategy with respect to revaluing space. In fact my argument here is that voids of open space such as the atrium can actually increase the value of objects, bodies, and practices that are assembled in and around them; pushing this further, ‘emptiness’ itself can underpin the creation and extraction of surplus value from architecture in the context of rentier capitalism. Defamiliarising the atrium, which is a distinctive and singular architectural feature of this moment, suggests a wider research agenda for those sociologists interested in critical analysis of the contradictory spaces that are produced when capital builds.