Analyzing Architecture as a Mediator of Meaning Production in the Relationship between Consumer Culture and Cultural Consumption in Public Buildings of Tehran

In recent decades, architectural and urban spaces—under the influence of late capitalism’s logic—have transformed into arenas for the production and display of symbolic values, with architecture playing an active role in the production of meaning. However, how the signs of consumer culture are converted into meaning within spatial experience remains underexplored. The central question is: How and through what dimensions does architecture mediate the relationship between consumer culture and cultural consumption in public spaces?

Employing logical argumentation alongside a multiple-case study strategy, this study synthesizes the sociology of consumption, cultural studies, and architectural theories to conceptualize meaning across three layers: semiotic, phenomenological, and spatial. Consequently, six dimensions of spatial meaning were identified: identity-related, social distinction, collective experience, performative (spectacle), memory-based, and atmospheric. Subsequently, six contemporary buildings in Tehran were selected via purposive sampling across two typologies: cultural spaces (Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iranian Artists Forum, and Book Garden) and leisure-consumption spaces (Iran Mall, Bam Land, and Tabiat Bridge). Data were collected through direct observation, documentary analysis, and spatial behavior analysis.

The findings reveal that architecture is not a static product, but a dynamic process of continuous reinterpretation wherein the signs of consumer culture are transformed into social meanings through spatial organization and users’ lived experiences. From this perspective, architecture operates as an active mediator in the production and reproduction of meaning in everyday urban life.