Beauty and the Market: Categories of beauty and the dynamics of innovation and evaluation

Beauty, and how we think of what is beautiful, is rarely connected to the creation and evolution of markets. My current research examines how the most profane and ugly material—reinforced concrete—moved from sewage systems, sidewalks and ports to the primary building material for the most esteemed cultural buildings and sources of tradition—churches and parliament buildings. For this transition to occur, the innovation of reinforced concrete was re-evaluation and reconceptualized, shifting the definition of beauty and enabling the creation of new market for cement producers and concrete specialty providers.