# The essence of the stock market is speculation

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2013-10-10

architecture, china, design, office-for-metropolitan-architecture, oma, rem-koolhaas, shenzhen, shenzhen-stock-exchange, uncategorized

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Dutch architecture firm [OMA](http://www.oma.eu/) (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) has a subtle way of being incredibly subversive in their architecture.

The recently completed 1.9 million square foot [Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE)](http://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/08/oma-completes-shenzhen-stock-exchange/) building is presently making the rounds online and I personally find it incredibly striking. It has the same timelessness about it that makes me love Mies’ [Toronto Dominion Centre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto-Dominion_Centre).

But it wasn’t until I read [the description on OMA’s website](http://www.oma.com/projects/2006/shenzhen-stock-exchange) that I decided to blog about it. Here’s the first paragraph:

_"For millennia, the solid building stands on a solid base; it is an image that has survived modernity. Typically, the base anchors a structure and connects it emphatically to the ground. The essence of the stock market is speculation: it is based on capital, not gravity._

_All of these factors suggest an architectural invention: our project is a building with a floating base. As if it is lifted by the same speculative euphoria that drives the market, the former base has crept up the tower to become a raised podium.”_

It’s a powerful, yet potentially controversial, symbol, as one could argue that efficient markets _should_, at least in theory, operate not on ramped speculation but upon fundamental values. However, if markets are an expectations game, perhaps you could simply argue that the building symbolizes a perceived bright future.

Either way, very interesting.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/the-essence-of-the-stock-market-is-speculation)*