A Cultural Reading of Architecture. Frank Gehry's 'Maggie's Centre' in Dundee, Scotland

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1, TU Dortmund (British Cultural Studies), course: British Cultural Studies - Architecture, language: English, abstract: The cancer care unit 'Maggie's Centre' in Dundee was the first British building to be designed by the world-famous architect Frank Gehry. The building, inaugurated in 2003, is situated on a hill of the outskirts of the Scottish city Dundee. The postmodern architect Gehry tried to let form support and complement the function in order to make this unit for cancer patients as liveable and comfortable as possible. As a result, the inclusion of aesthetics as well as social meaning make the building a great object for a cultural reading. First of all, I will supply a brief overview of important architectural features of the 'Maggie's Centre'. Subsequently, these features will be used to attempt a cultural reading of the building.