Talking Iconic

It seems every new building these days is required to be ‘iconic’. We probably don’t mean sacred, or worthy of veneration. We probably mean architecture that is designed to be really good and very significant. Good as in reflecting the best we can do; and significant as in making places that people want to be – places that matter.

We should heed the proverbial warning be careful what you wish for when we use terms like iconic or ‘world class’. If we need to use inverted commas then we probably don’t mean it.

But sometimes we mean what we say. The Oratorio at Saint Joseph’s Academy in Kilmarnock is an example of a space that is both well designed and sacred. It is a significant new building with true civic presence and an authentic iconic feature at its heart.

History teaches us that design becomes iconic when it truly reflects both the values of its time and yet remains relevant today. Well designed schools that work well for the communities they nurture: now that seems like a worthwhile redefinition of iconic.