From what was once mere shelter, architecture has shifted towards a display of one’s hierarchical standings. Throughout history, the victors tore down buildings and structures of the past to create ones that would praise and honor themselves. By using their wealth and power, history and culture are weaved into existence by the architects whom are subservient to the mighty’s whims and desires.

“Architecture is used by political leaders to seduce, to impress, and to intimidate” according to Deyan Sudjic in The Edifice Complex. Architecture is heavily influenced by the time period, location, and patron. Architecture is used to display status and affluence. For the powerful and wealthy, the appeal of architecture is like the appeal of playing god: to be able to create buildings, structures, and cities in one’s own image and to be able to shape the way people live. As seen through Dieter Rams, Michael Eisner, Georges Eugene Haussman, and others, architecture is a great way to appease one’s egotistical needs.

The grandeur of architecture tells people who to look up to, who to follow, and who to become. As Sudjic states, architecture is “dependent on the allocation of precious resources and scarce manpower.” From its initial design to its completion, a building reveals to everyone who is in charge and who is superior. Architects must comply with their patron’s desires and design to their liking and jobs are created for constructing the building. In the end, space and time are distorted to the patron’s liking. The building becomes a prominent structure in the land and shapes the way people must move and live because of it. Architecture is for the people on top to flaunt their successes, to leave their name in history, and to exhibit their authority.