The History of Postmodern Architecture

Jayne Merkel, architectural historian and critic, locates the moment in American architectural history when less ceased to be more and inspiration was found in yesterday’s buildings. “Postmodernism reached its apotheosis around 1987, the year of Tom Wolfe’s novel ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ and Oliver Stone’s movie ‘Wall Street,’ in which Michael Douglas’ character, Gordon Gekko, uttered the line that symbolized the decade: ‘Greed is good.’ Though it turned out not to be so good for Gekko, a desperate desire for more of everything led to out-of-control consumption that bloated home sizes, deflated savings accounts, and distorted the American economy for the next 20 years.”