Modern day iconic buildings – What really makes them iconic?

No standard definition exists for an “iconic building”, maybe one thing which is common with all of these iconic structures is that none of them was built with a purpose to serve as an iconic building. Pretty drivel, you must have said, but then it’s hard to find any other similarity between a list that comprises of buildings like Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Burj ul Arab, Statue of Liberty, Seattle Space Needle, colosseum or Empire State building.

Not all of them are exceptionally tall (e.g. Taj Mahal, Opera House), not all of them are incredibly large (e.g. white house), and neither do they can be classified as the most beautifully designed buildings. So what really makes them iconic? It is probably, the unique design, concept, symbolic value and also the time when they were built, which makes them iconic.

It’s best that we explore these building on a case by case basis rather than discussing them as a group.

Eiffel Tower:

It’s hard to imagine, how a structure that was criticized in the harshest manner by the experts and artists of its time, and which was set to be dismantled soon after it has served its basic purpose (Exposition Universelle) is now regarded as the most recognized structure of the world. The tower, which was once considered a blot on the landscape of Paris, is now visited by millions and millions of people every year, because they think it is one of the most beautiful man made structure.

Sydney Opera House:

Sydney Opera House took almost 16 years in its completion and suffered numerous setbacks during the course of this time. With all kind of problems including skyrocketing cost, project getting politicized, changes made in the original design, Jorn Utzon (the original architect) resign, the building turned out to be worth all the efforts, once it was completed. Situated on the Sydney Harbor, this master piece has an outstanding design, no wonder Jorn Utzon won Pritzker Prize, the most celebrated award for any architecture.

Burj Ul Arab:

The most recent addition into the list of iconic buildings of the world is probably Burj Ul Arab in Dubai, the second tallest hotel in the world. Built entirely on 920 feet of reclaimed land, Burj Ul Arab is masterfully built to look like a sail of Arabian Dhow, simple yet elegant. Simplicity ends at the basic design though, as the interior gets as opulent as it can get in any world class hotel.

Empire State Building:

The Empire State building is one of the most adored landmarks in United States of America. Built in the era of Great Depression, it was completed in a remarkable time span of less than 2 years. It continued to be the world’s tallest building for many years and still holds 15^th place on the list of world’s tallest buildings. It was also the first building having more than one hundred floors.