The Public and/or Private Nature of Commercial Space in History: From Antiquity to the Present

Abstract

The author of the article draws attention to the formation and development of consumption culture and its embodiment in architectural forms. The development of the consumer space and the retail space as its form developed in parallel throughout the history. The purpose of the article is to analyze the dynamics of organizational methods of the trading space from antiquity to the present day. The study is based on the wave theory presented in the works of E. Toffler, Yu. M. Lotman, where history is represented as a pendulum motion. However, each of the oscillations of the pendulum appears at a new point. The author examines the evolution of the retail space, starting from antiquity and one of its forms: the retail space or market. This type of space combined many functions: trade, political and religious. It was a type of public space accessible to everyone. The sellers and buyers in market conditions could also constantly change their roles. The spread of shops and stalls in the Middle Ages and at the beginning of modern times represented the movement of trade into private space, organized according to the principle of the public. It combined a place of residence and a place of work. The movement of trade inward meant a change: in the past, goods came to the consumer, but now the buyer went to get the goods. To a large extent, trade in small shops was monofunctional. The second half of the 19th century gave rise to two forms of retail space: a street (passage) and a building. In terms of architecture, they replaced palaces and temples, had a very simple structure, used a large amount of glass, iron, and light. They were the first to use gas heating and elevators. These spaces were private but functioned according to the principle of a public space: open to everyone. The twentieth century introduced malls and supermarkets that combined many different functions: trade, entertainment, food service, credit institution, pharmacy, etc. As a result, we can conclude that the development of retail space throughout history proceeded according to the principle of a pendulum: from the free public space of the market, with its multifunctionality through the closed private space of shops and small shops with their monofunctional purpose, to the private-public or quasi-public space of modern malls and supermarkets, but on a different level.