News from a post-iconic world
Josep Lluís Mateo, ETH
In the past, buildings and other constructions representing singular moments for the community were called monuments. Their origin was expression of power, celebration of ritual or collective affirmation. In the contemporary world, a project that aspires to be exceptionally expressive is commonly called an Icon. This book claims that star-architects and their “iconic” architecture are no longer valid today, as these projects are all driven by marketing machineries. Architecture should re-emerge as a credible artefact and fulfill the transcendent demands of our time. The publication begins with a series of general texts on themes that vary but all share a common critical look at the role of the iconic on the recent architecture scene.
With contributions of
Yannis Aesopos, Pier Vittorio Aureli, Isabel Concheiro, Sabine Von Fischer, Naoto Fukasawa, Hans Ibelings, Krunoslav Ivanisin, Alicia Guerrero Yeste, Fredy Massad, Daniel Kiss, Josep Lluís Mateo, Jasper Morrison, Agustí Obiol, Florian Sauter, Peter Sloterdijk, Elías Torres Tur, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto.
