How Do You Create An Iconic Building?

CLR interviews architect and author Charles Jencks, about his new book, The Iconic Building.

1 minute read

October 21, 2005, 9:00 AM PDT

By Brenda Meyer

"The iconic building shares certain aspects both with an iconic object, such as a Byzantine painting of Jesus, and the philosophical definition of an icon, that is, a sign with some factor in common with the thing it represents. On the one hand, to become iconic a building must provide a new and condensed image, be high in figural shape or gestalt, and stand out from the city. On the other hand, to become powerful it must be reminiscent in some ways of unlikely but important metaphors and be a symbol fit to be worshipped, a hard task in a secular society.

...The architectural fabric is the last thing the iconic architect considers, if at all; which is why society should demand more of them."

FULL STORY: An Interview With Architect Charles Jencks

Friday, October 21, 2005 in California Literary Review

Architecture United States

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