Architecture and Tourism Perception, Performance and Place

The past two centuries have witnessed an increase in the commodification of tourist sites across the world. Everything from historical monuments to exotic holiday destinations has been redesigned and packaged for mass consumption. As a result, the histories of specific sites have been re-conceptualized. Some have been preserved and celebrated, while others have been left to decay. In this process, buildings, cities and entire countries have been remapped by tourism initiatives to serve political, cultural, economic and scholarly goals. Considering these profound transformations, Architecture and Tourism examines the reciprocal relationship between the modern practice of tourism and the built environment. It shows how photography, film and souvenirs have been deployed to help mediate and mythologize specific sites. It also explores how tourist itineraries, behavior and literature are institutionalized for popular consumption in order to support larger cultural objectives. Drawing on case studies in Cuba, Ghana, Greece, France, Italy, Libya, Mauritius, Spain and the United States, Architecture and Tourism explores the touristic experience, representation and meaning of place within distinct cultural contexts. From the former sites of the slave trade on the Ghanaian coast to the urban renewal of Old Havana, from the honeymoon resorts in the Poconos to the postmodern spectacle of Bilbao, from the world's fairs of the 1930s to the colonialist encounters in Italian Libya, each chapter provides a provocative insight into the practice of tourism and the conception of place.

D. Medina Lasansky is Assistant Professor, History of Architecture and Urbanism, Architecture Department, Cornell University. Brian McLaren is Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Washington.