Is the icon in architecture about to disappear?

Love them or loathe them, there are a series of buildings and structures that have become ‘iconic’ around the world - drawing visitors from far and wide and reshaping city skylines. Many argue that these totemic built forms are key to local regeneration as they attract people and money. This is not a wholly new phenomenon but recent success has led to a new wave of marketing language around buildings, where any small flourish of form on a block of flats instantly makes the building an ‘icon’ within its area. We have also seen the rise of the ‘starchiect' alongside the growth of iconic architecture, where the cult of personality has become another tool for selling architecture to tenants and the wider public.

In a world disrupted by pandemics, physical mobility is potentially set to change forever and seismic shifts in culture will inevitably lead to new perspectives. How will we use buildings in the future and what will be important to most people living in towns and cities? Perhaps a quieter preoccupation with interior space and a less assertive design sensibility will take precedence over dramatic external forms. Are we seeing an end to the era of the icon?

Speakers:

Tom Dyckhoff, Writer, Broadcaster, Historian (Chair)

Peter Wynne Rees CBE, Professor of Places & City Planning

Adam Nathaniel Furman, Artist and Designer

Amanda Baillieu, Journalist and founder of Archiboo

Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, WilkinsonEyre

Thom Mayne, founding partner of Morphosis