ABSTRACT
To Baudrillard, architecture of whatever scale is filled with objects, which makes any previous categorization of space irrelevant. This is the case with Parly 2, which, at the time Baudrillard writes, was possibly the most advanced shopping mall in Europe. Showcasing the ‘American way of life’, Parly 2 replaces nature in a way that he claims destroys the past and present of a centuries-old relationship with the landscape, thus instilling new rituals and meanings in consumer society. The ambience now expands to the point of erasing what used to be attached to the historical city centre: a sense of belonging and intimacy that became the specific remit of architecture to communicate. Embarking on a genealogical analysis of this architectural typology, comprising universal exhibitions, arcades, department stores and le drugstore, Chapter 3 illustrates how contemporary consumerism supports the satellization of shopping facilities. Located near Versailles and the royal palace of Louis XIV, Parly 2 relies on the semiotic abstraction produced by its advertisement campaign meant to instil in the consumer’s mind a non-existent link between the housing project around the shopping mall and the residence of the Sun King. This aspect is achieved through the notion of second-order signification.
