UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Architecture in the Experience Economy: the Catalog Showroom and Best Products Company a Di
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Architecture in the Experience Economy: The Catalog Showroom and Best Products Company A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture by Christina Bernadette Gray 2019 © Copyright by Christina Bernadette Gray 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Architecture in the Experience Economy: The Catalog Showroom and Best Products Company by Christina Bernadette Gray Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Sylvia Lavin, Chair Although it is often assumed that production must logically precede consumption, the development of postmodern architecture complicates this narrative. The development of postmodern architecture undermined established structures by centralizing the role of consumption and the consumer. This dissertation examines ways in which various conservative trends pushed the consumer closer toward production. These changes ushered in the experience economy of which Best Products Company and the broader catalog showroom phenomena were particularly emblematic. Drawing on these changes within the history of retail architecture, this dissertation sets out to explore how architecture emerged into the postmodern period as a box, a malleable shell that was increasingly being invaded and overturned by a powerful consumer. ii This dissertation of Christina Bernadette Gray is approved. Dana Cuff Michael Osman Debora Silverman Sylvia Lavin, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. xvii Biographical Sketch .......................................................................................................................... xix INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Vertical Disintegration ..................................................................................................................... 2 Economic Deregulation ................................................................................................................... 3 Experience Environment .................................................................................................................. 3 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 5 Structure of the Dissertation ............................................................................................................ 9 BEST PRODUCTS COMPANY: A PRIMER ............................................................................ 13 BRICKS AND MORTAR: A PREAMBLE ................................................................................. 23 SITE ................................................................................................................................................. 24 Mortar ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Epoxy Mortars .................................................................................................................................. 28 The Client and Financing ................................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 1 Policy ............................................................................................................................................... 32 Experience Economy ........................................................................................................................ 34 Economic Deregulation .................................................................................................................... 39 Resale Price Maintenance Policy ..................................................................................................... 43 Best Products and Policy .................................................................................................................. 45 Rise of the Catalog Showroom ........................................................................................................ 47 Wholesaler Status ............................................................................................................................. 49 Diamonds ......................................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 2 Service ............................................................................................................................................. 56 Rise of the Prosumer ........................................................................................................................ 58 Deregulation of the Architecture Profession .................................................................................... 64 The Service Profession ..................................................................................................................... 68 Best Products and Client Empowerment ......................................................................................... 72 Lewises and the Exchange of Goods and Services .......................................................................... 80 Self-Service in the Best Products Showrooms ................................................................................. 87 Best Products Showroom Design ..................................................................................................... 90 CHAPTER 3 Inventory ......................................................................................................................................... 97 Inventory Management .................................................................................................................... 98 Best Products’ Inventory Control .................................................................................................... 103 Inventory Apparatus in the Showroom ............................................................................................ 114 Best Products’ Art Inventory ........................................................................................................... 121 iv CHAPTER 4 Collecting ........................................................................................................................................ 130 Collecting Practices .......................................................................................................................... 131 Deregulation and Collecting Habits ................................................................................................. 133 Tax Incentives .................................................................................................................................. 135 Best Products and Decorative Art .................................................................................................... 138 Expanding Realm of Collectibles: Art Nouveau and Art Deco ....................................................... 144 Best Products Headquarters, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates .................................................. 150 Retail Design, The Hunt ................................................................................................................... 156 Best Products Showrooms, A No Frills Aesthetic ........................................................................... 158 “Merchandise the Box” .................................................................................................................... 159 EPILOGUE ..................................................................................................................................... 163 Figures .............................................................................................................................................. 165 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................... 311 v LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION Figure 0.0 Sydney Lewis Jr., Susan Lewis, Sydney Lewis, Andrew Lewis and Frances Lewis. 1963. From: Best Times newsletter, Vol. 7, No 11 (October 1982), Best Products Archive, Folder 883, Series 5.2. Figure 0.1 Frances Lewis. From: Best Times newsletter, Vol. 5, No 4 (April 1980), Best Products Archive, Folder 878, Series 5.2. Figure 0.2 Dora Lewis, Sydney Lewis, Frances Lewis and Andrew Lewis. From: Best Times newsletter, Vol. 6, No 3 (March 1981), Best Products Archive, Folder 880, Series 5.2. Figure 0.3 Original Best Products Marshall Street Showroom. From: Best Products 25th Anniversary Report (1982), Best Products Archive, Folder 961, Series 5.3. Figure 0.4 View of backside of original Best Products Marshall Street Showroom, Richmond, Virginia, in 2015. Photo by Christina Gray, 2015. Figure 0.5 Best Products showroom, Durham, North Carolina. Unknown date. From: Best Products