Interfaces. Die Banklobby in der amerikanischen Nachkriegsmoderne

Abstract

This article investigates the architectural changes of the lobby – considered as a technology of mediation – within bank buildings in the post-war United States. It focuses on two phenomena that transformed the design of bank buildings and appeared simultaneously: firstly the pre-automation of the bank-customer contact through the use of mechanical devices and secondly the expansion of the banking lobby from a rather secluded to an open and informal interior design, offering a more personal setting. In both cases, the interplay between architecture, furnishings, technical equipment and trained bank employees form an ‹interface› reconfiguring the relations between the bank and the public.