As we celebrate its 130th birthday, we look at the copycats inspired by the Eiffel Tower
"Beyond its strictly Parisian statement, it touches the most general human image-repertoire: its simple, primary shape confers upon it the vocation of an infinite cipher ... [Gustave] Eiffel saw his Tower in the form of a serious object, rational, useful; men return it to him in the form of a great baroque dream which quite naturally touches on the borders of the irrational."
- Roland Barthes, “The Eiffel Tower,” 1964
Who would have guessed that the Eiffel Tower, a widely despised structure at the time of its completion exactly 130 years ago, would not only become an icon, but the icon of icons? Did its image become so pervasive in the modern era because it is not a sacred monument, as Roland Barthes had observed, but rather a secular one? Is it because it signaled the escalation of the Industrial Revolution, both in its simplicity and its ingenuity of structural form?
Whatever the reason, the iconic structure has inspired over 30 imitators spread across the globe of varying scales ...
Shane Reiner-Roth via Archinect - News http://bit.ly/2OmhTrO
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