Are politics and economics engines for artistic and architectural changes? The research project "The Value of Surface" at ETH Zurich, led by Philip Ursprung, explored this question. The term "value" is considered here both in economic contexts and as an idea of quality in art and architecture. Where can we observe comparabilities, for example, between early industrial capitalism, the Crystal Palace in London, Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick, and the corporeal presence of a white whale? Or to what extent did the consequences of the Bologna Reform shape the structure of the School of Architecture in Nantes by Lacaton & Vassal? From a distinctly subjective perspective, Philip Ursprung illustrates connections between economics, architecture, and art in his 14 essays produced as part of the project.