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THE TRANSITION OF THE OLYMPIC CITY FROM VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF COUBERTIN’S MODERN IDEAL TO CITY REPRESENTATIONS AS FASHIONABLE IMAGES (THE TRANSITIONAL ROLE OF OLYMPIC DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE REPRESENTATION OF THE OLYMPIC CITY’S VISUAL IDENTITY FROM THE MODERN TO THE POSTMODERN ERA) by STEPHANY TZANOUDAKI (BA Hons, MPhil) Thesis submitted to the Edinburgh College of Art in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 14-09-2011 I declare that this thesis has been composed by myself, Stephany Tzanoudaki, and it is my own work. The work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification except as specified. The thesis’ appendix includes four papers, composed by myself and published by other institutions, which have been reproduced with the permission of the publishers. © STEPHANY TZANOUDAKI 14-09-2011 ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the visual representation of the Olympic city, the city that hosts the Summer Olympic Games, reflecting the city’s urban, cultural and social identity. The study is based on the assumption that what is visually experienced as an Olympic city is not a mirror representation of its urban and social condition, but a constructed identity of it. The main argument of this thesis is that the Olympic city always had a representational role to play, with a choice about which picture of its reality should be shown and which should be hidden. The thesis also analyses the role of design and architecture in the visual representation of the Olympic city and in the creation of an identity –a visual identity for it. It argues that this identity often reflects an eclectic, idealised or fashionable image of the host city. The Olympic city is an idea that developed from Pierre De Coubertin’s modern ideals in relation to the Olympic Games revival; he wished to create a cross-cultural event by offering the opportunity to host the Games to different cities. Another core argument of this thesis is that the Olympic city as a visual representation has a transitional character. It has changed from representing Coubertin’s modern ideals, often identified with cities’ and nations’ utopian plans towards modern development (modern era), to represent cities as fashionable images that can be visually consumed and branded on a global scale (postmodern era). The examination of the Olympic city’s transitional character as a visual representation aims for a better understanding of the role in the design and architecture in the Olympic city project, considering the social practices and effects of their role, visually representing the urban space, the culture and society of the host city. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All these years, working and researching to complete my Doctor of Philosophy, have been hard but very enjoyable, at the same time. I have had great support throughout, both from the Edinburgh College of Art, the Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne and from friends and family. I would like to take the opportunity to give a special thank you to Dr Penny Travlou, who supervised my work, to Dr Hilary Carlisle, who was my second supervisor and to Dr Sophia Lycouris and Dr Matthew Rampley for their stimulating discussions on my subject during these years. I would also like to give a big thank you to my husband Jamie Anderson and to my family for their encouragement and support. I would like to stress my appreciation to the Olympic Studies Centre (Nuria Puig, the Archives department and the library) and the Olympic Research Council, for giving me the opportunity to find invaluable information on my subject. Finally I would like to thank Christina Oliver, who during the last months has been offering me a great help with the editing of my work. TABLE OF CONTENTS ILLUSTRATION REFERENCES p.6 PREFACE p.9 CHAPTER 1 – Introduction 1.1. Thematic Area and Key Arguments p.12 1.1.1 The Research Subject. p.12 1.1.2 Aims and Objectives. p.19 1.2 The Historical and Ideological Framework of the Olympic City Development. p.22 1.2.1 The Connection between the Olympic City and the Modern Olympia. p.24 1.2.2 The Connection of the Olympic Games with the Social and Cultural Climate of the Nineteenth century. p.27 1.2.3 From the Representation of a Utopian Idea to the Celebration of a Global and Mega-Event. p.30 1.2.3.1 The Turning of the Olympic Games into a Spectacle. p.31 1.2.3.2 The Commercialisation of the Olympic Games. p.32 1.2.3.3 The Olympic Games Globalisation. p.33 1.2.4 The Changing Role of the Olympic Architecture and Design. p.34 1.3 Content Structure p.39 CHAPTER 2 - Review of Theoretical Literature Introduction p.42 2.1 The Multidisciplinary Examination of the Olympic City Subject. p.47 2.2 Different Thematic Groups involved in the Examination of the Olympic City Subject. p.51 2.2.1 Literature based on the Examination of the Ideological Framework of the Olympic City and Coubertin’s Aesthetic Ideas. p.51 1 2.2.2 Studies based on Stages of the Olympic Games Development and the Olympic City Evolution. p.55 2.2.3 Research based on the Examination of the Olympic city as the Host of a Hallmark or a Mega-event. p.62 2.2.4 Research based on the Examination of the Olympic City as the Host of a Media Event. p.67 2.2.5 The Olympic City as a Legacy. p.69 Conclusion p.72 CHAPTER 3 - Research Methodologies and Theoretical Perspectives of the Study Introduction p.74 3.1 Methodological Tools and Techniques. p.75 3.1.1 Archival Research and Secondary Data Gathering. p.75 3.1.2 My ‘Research Journey’ to the Field of Study. p.81 3.2 Theoretical Perspectives in Relation to the Meanings of the ‘Modern’ and the ‘Postmodern’ p.87 3.2.1 Modern Era: Theoretical Perspectives and Approaches to the Subject of Study. p.90 3.2.1.1 Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century Utopian Theories. p.90 3.2.1.2 Theories related to the Enchantment of the ‘Collective Conscience’. p.93 3.2.1.3 David Harvey’s Idea of ‘Creative Destruction’. p.93 3.2.1.4 Giannis Giannitsiotis’ Idea of ‘Constructed Visibility’. p.94 3.2.1.5 Walter Benjamin’s Idea of ‘Phantasmagoria’. p.95 3.2.1.6 Selection of Case Studies in relation to the ‘Findings of the Modern Era’. p.97 3.2.2 Postmodern Era: Theoretical Perspectives and Approaches of the Subject of Study. p.100 3.2.2.1 A Crisis of Utopian Ideas and Visions. p.102 2 3.2.2.2 Fragmentation and the Experience of Spaces as Heterotopias. p.103 3.2.2.3 Ephemeralisation and Instantaneity. p.106 3.2.2.4 Simulation and the Creation of an Uncertainty between the Real and the Unreal. p.107 3.2.2.5 Corporate identities based on a Stylistic ‘Pastiche’ of Represented Images and Symbols. p.108 3.2.2.6 Global Icons in Architecture, Place Imaging and the Creation of ‘Brandscapes’. p.108 3.2.2.7 Selection of Case Studies in relation to the ‘Findings of the Postmodern Era’. p.109 Conclusion p.110 CHAPTER 4 – Findings of the Modern Era in the Representation of the Olympic City’s Visual Identity Introduction p.112 4.1 The Visual Identity of the Olympic City of Athens 1896 p.114 Introduction p.114 4.1.1 The Urban and Social Identity of Modern Athens in the Late Nineteenth Century. p.115 4.1.2 The Association of the Olympic City with the Ideas of Neo- Hellenism and Philhellenism. p.120 4.1.3 The Creation of a Modern Identity of Athens 1896 based on a ‘Topos of Architectural and Sculptural Ruins’. p.122 4.1.4 The Olympic City Visual Identity Based on ‘Constructed Visibility’. p.124 4.1.5 The Olympic City of Athens 1896 and its Identity of Phantasmagoria. p.130 Conclusion p.134 4.2 The Visual Identity of the Olympic City of Paris 1900 Introduction p.135 3 4.2.1 The Visual Representation of Paris, as the ‘Capital of the Nineteenth Century’. p.136 4.2.2 The Visual Identity of Paris as host of the 1900 International Exposition and of the 1900 Olympic Games. p.140 4.2.3 The Conflict between two Visual Identities. p.143 Conclusion p.147 4.3 The Visual identity of the Olympic City of Berlin 1936 Introduction p.147 4.3.1 The Creation of a Cultural Identity Based On the Nazi Ideology. p.149 4.3.2 The Nazi Ideology and the Enchantment of the Masses. p.152 4.3.3 German Neoclassicism in Relation to the Idea of ‘Creative Destruction’.