Exhibition: The Rise of Wall Street

23 Wall Street, JP Morgan Building (built during the construction peak: 1928-1931)


Fortune Magazine, Wall Street 1930


Theodore Muller, New York et Brooklyn: Vue Prise au dessus de la batterie; c. 1850.


Skidmore Owings Merrill design project for Stock exchange high-rise, 2000




While downloading slowly The Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps, I came across the ongoing exhibition in Skyscraper Museum, New York, showing the historical development of New York's financial district.
In the introductory words you can find on the website it is said that: "The exhibit explores how high stakes in architecture paralleled financial speculation at the heart of the capital of capitalism." Enough said for those that are still questioning in which way Architecture is carrying the capitalism's torch. Speaking of which, this animation of Madelon Vriesendorp's illustrations for Delirious New York (Koolhaas' praise of Manhattan) may look less a statement and more a funny comment to it.
For those of us across the pond - the website displaying pictures of: models, drawings and documentary photos, is quite informative. However, the atmosphere of the uncertain '30s after the Great Crash is probably the best described again by building actions of constructing and deconstructing the towers of Manhattan.

fishing the press on Billingsgate

by Matthew Lindop








The latest news say the porters of historical Billingsgate market, dating from 1327, handed in the petition to the Mayor of London against City of London Corporation's intention to withdraw the old byelaws. The intention to introduce new bye-laws, their union,Unite, claims, would 'destroy this important market'.

Although the porters are supported by some important figures as Ken Livingstone and Harry Redknapp, City of London seems determined about its future, ensuring the new bye laws are only opening greater job opportunities, and the old ones are revoked for not being modern enough (dating from Victorian times). The new ones are defended as more competitive. Knowing the market has already been relocated from the historical building (built in 1876 by John Mowlem, designed by Sir Horace Jones) to the building complex close to Canary Wharf in 1982, the changes are clearerly the reflection of Corporation's demand for catching up with the sign of the times.

Fashion of Occupation

Lehman Brothers tower, London, 2008


Lehman Brothers, New York


Ex Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Severin "Dick" Fuld

Lehman Brothers' employees may have hurriedly moved out from bank's property two years ago in Canary Wharf, but, art pieces from their corporate collection are only to be seen on 29 September at an PWC administrated auction called "Lehman Brohters: Artwork and Ephemera". In August in New York a similar event included Damien Hurst's and Takashi Murakami's works, while for the forthcoming London one PWC hopes to raise £2m.

Apart from this clutching at straws, their old building itself in London, will probably serve for another investment bank's headquarters. JP Morgan Chase & Co. decided to move in, as they said, perfectly designed building with the facilities such a bank needs, instead of financing to build a new one (abandoning the previous 1.5 bn project). Lehmans' estate has been opened in 2004, by Mr Gordon Brown himself, expressing the highest hopes in the financial sector's I will not speculate here if this indirectly shows that JP's senior advisor himself, former UK prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, at least at that point finds a common ground with his successor.

Considering tightening up the belt in the building sector, giving up on corporational architectural landmarks or flashy new sustainable eco design seems to be a trend lately. Maybe the vintage look, and architects' dream of reusable, flexible office space has finally entered the City's fashion as another Sustainable. It certainly still shows a sustainability in expansion, just with a different orchestration.

I am curious to see if Madonna's and Guy Ritchie's charity will help the bankrupt bank in couple of days.