arcade distractions

In Paris, Benjamin recalls trade and traffic as two components of the street prior the advent of the arcades. The arcades are instrumental in separating traffic from trade and transforming trade in the arcades into a continuous ‘arousal of desires.’ This is very different from the earlier more informal commercial activity on the street. The arcade becomes an architectural interface that mediates the consumers interaction with commodities on display. Linear vaulted covered archways homogenize and streamline the variation that typically between adjacent vendors. The arcades offer a ‘uniform diversity’ which is a technique practitioners use today when designing malls and entertainment destinations, the consumer has options yet the larger brand maintains a strong identity. Displays of luxurious goods are also instrumental in visually arousing the consumer. The effort taken by vendors to create a fantastic spectacle becomes more important than the use or quality of commodities marketed. Watching-‘the state of distraction’ is the primary activity in the arcade versus the actual exchange of goods.