Design

Umberto Echoes­ Signs of the Times

• Byline:RICHARD R. VUYLSTEKE
• Publication Date:05/01/1993

Looking for a fashionable place to live? Or maybe another investment? A Taipei developer puts up a somewhat bizarre eye-catching structure, and succeeds in attracting a large crowd.

"Signs." writes Umberto Eco. "are not only words, or im­ages: they can also be forms of social behavior, political acts, artificial landscapes." Although Eco may be known best for his novel. The Name of the Rose, his prime field of endeavor is semiology, the study of the signs that people use to describe the world and to communicate with each other.

As academic discipline, semiology can be pretty arcane, but its goal is quite simple: to decipher, analyze, and criticize the "messages" that surround us all—be they products of political or economic power, religion or entertainment, psychology or aesthetics. In Taiwan, these signs or messages are going through a period of warp-speed change.

Only six years ago, the government began encouraging three major social and political developments: democratization, liberalization, and internationalization. Unlike many political acts or decisions that are announced as polysyllabic poli­cies, these have actually been translated into reality. In fact, they have so thoroughly permeated every aspect of life that sometimes it appears as though social behavior in Taiwan has broken away from its deep Chinese roots.

True? The changes are indeed sweep­ing. But by analyzing—or deciphering—a specific kind of event in today's society, it can be seen that while the signs of the times are very different on the surface, they are still tied to tradition.

Take a look, for example, at the ways apartments of soon-to-be constructed high-rise buildings are advertised. Over the past few years, a predictable pattern of steps has evolved in the process of turning a vacant lot or fallow rice paddy into a soaring, modem building. Midpoint in the process is the creation of astounding artificial landscapes.

The first sign of a planned addition to the skyline is the erection of a large bill­board stretched over a framework of bam­boo scaffolding. The circumference of the construction site is then demarcated by a low fence or hastily planted rows of bushes. Next, from stacks of plywood, buckets of paint, and bags of cement and plaster of Paris, workmen assemble an in­tricate sales room. These seemingly ubiquitous temporary structures are marvels to behold, a combination of theater set and architectural psychedelic.

Despite the intensely idiosyncratic designs of these structures, they fall in recognizable categories. For the past year or so, art deco has been especially popu­lar with sales offices formed of striking geometrical designs, bold colors, and lots of plastic and glass. Previously, European motifs were more common with the stately, symmetrical lines of neoclassical styles counterpointed by a profusion of Greco-Roman statuary. The latest trend is to adapt styles from traditional Egyptian or Chinese architecture.

While impressive by day, such sites are designed primarily for nighttime viewing, when most potential buyers are off work and have time to consider real estate investments. Lighting has thus de­veloped into a fine craft, one that turns real estate sales pitches into son et lumère shows, such as tourists might expect to see at the Acropolis or the Pyramids.

Buyers consider their dream homes­ Sales sites always display a scale model of the planned building.

The goal is to create an atmosphere, a complex set of signs that will not only at­tract buyers' attention, but also promise them an alternative reality: Instead of living in buildings covered with the boring beige tile so typical of Taiwan high-rises, buy a dream apartment in a building that offers a bold and contemporary look. Here is a life­ style that is exotic, fashionable, and interna­tional—a way to transcend provincialism.

But there is more to the "messages" that come from a real estate sales site, a cultural dimension that helps explain their popularity and success. The noisy crowds, garish colors, flashing lights, and raucous music create an atmosphere of je-nao that "hot and noisy" sea of activity so common in Chinese temple festivals.

Apartment sales, like festivals, must begin on an auspicious day, selected after consulting the Chinese lunar calendar and temple gods. Fireworks signal the begin­ning of the event, and crowds of people are drawn to the site by popular forms of entertainment. At festivals, people come to see performances of Chinese opera on stages erected in the temple courtyard. At real estate sites, they see shows by popu­lar singers and movie stars, strip shows or demonstrations of motorcycle stunts. Large crowds indicate good luck, and apartment sales are likely to be brisk if an auspicious mood is established.

Today's hucksterism follows traditional patterns—Here, TV and movie stars create a "hot and noisy" atmosphere for an auspicious sales site opening.

Chinese temples have a large pantheon of gods, and it is common to find many al­tars where people can go, individually and in small groups, to offer incense and pray for good health and fortune. But, today, the God of Prosperity can also be found at real estate sites. Good fortune can come from speculation in real estate. And inside the brilliantly colored sales buildings are col­lections of tables. Like small altars, manned by real estate agents waiting to respond to supplicant apartment buyers.

So what are the signs here? No matter how bizarre real estate hucksterism may seem on the surface, it remains tied firmly to the familiar. The message is that people can be modern, international consumers and traditional Chinese at the same time. Change there is, but also continuity.