Mute Icons: And Other Dichotomies in the Real in Architecture - Spina Marcelo - Bog

Mute Icons' challenges fixed aesthetic notions of beauty in architecture as both, disciplinary discourse and a spatial practice within the public realm. No longer concerned with narrative excesses or with the "shock and awe" of sensation making; the mute icon becomes intriguing in its deceptive indifference towards context, perplexing in its unmitigated apathy towards the body. Dwelling in the paradox between silence and sign and aiming to debunk a false dichotomy between critical discourse, a pursue of formal novelty and the attainment of social ethics, 'Mute Icons' reaffirms the cultural need and socio-political relevance of the architectural image, suggesting a much-needed resolution to the present but incorrect antagonism between formal innovation, social responsibility and economic austerity. This book aspires to stimulate authentic speculations on the real building, public space and landscape