Spaces of commerce: A historiographic introduction to certain architectures of capitalism

Commercial buildings, long understudied by architectural historians, have become a subject of broad scholarly interest due to two important approaches: the study of consumer culture and theories of civil society. The historiography of consumption affords business architecture a pivotal role in the development of contemporary capitalism; the idea of civil society suggests that the built environment has significantly shaped the practice of democracy. Together, these approaches offer a strong historiographic and theoretical foundation for the continued study of spaces of commerce.