From the 1930s, Olivetti, the manufacturer of business products, was
widely regarded as the pioneer of corporate architecture. During the
1990s, the concept became firmly established as a basic component of a
corporate identity. Architecture and design are used to control the
interior and exterior image of company headquarters and office
buildings, to production sites and store interiors. Corporate
architecture includes both individual projects ranging from high rises
to trade fair booths, as well as company-wide design schemes such as
that of the Apple stores around the world. The vitalizing and expressive
power of architecture as a ‘business card made of stone’ intends to
reflect the self-image of a company and a brand’s identity with the aim
of expressing the corporate philosophy through architectural symbolism
and constructional cultural qualities. Representing very different
approaches, the examples from around the world gathered in this book
present the whole scope of this extensive topic.
