Modernism / Postmodernism – A Crossroads
The Lloyds Building
“Blending modernist ideals with sympathy for the surroundings, the Lloyds’ insurance building is perhaps a post-modern masterpiece”
(http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/heritage/the-lloyds-building)
No applied decoration, and a definite element of simplification of form – not sure the ‘OU’ are correct here, but Rogers is ushering in the Postmodern… Has the Lloyds Building an element of Cyborg about it? Cyborg as receptor (Urry, Sheller) “which we sense place and movement, and construct emotional geographies”.
(http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/heritage/the-lloyds-building)
Is the Lloyds building the ‘Master Cyborg’ ? – collecting information, signals, disassembling and reassembling… 
But really, has this some truth? Currency transfer (and dealing), we know, are really only data (information) at this level of interaction! The Lloyds cyborg, plotting the downfall of global economies… LOL
Great questions, Phil. This is a whole new field to look at buildings that have emerged in the last twenty years and what they signify. In this case, where a building is specifically designed for a client, andit can reflect the actual business processes, and what it tries to project – its’ vision and ethos etc.
that photo makes it look like the building has a cyborg spine. now I’m nervous.
There was a good episode of ‘this american life’ about “the invention of money” – I like the intro story about the giant stones… http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/423/the-invention-of-money
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/15/131934618/the-island-of-stone-money