Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
symbol buildings
English answer:
Architecture profession slang for, mainly public, buildings that are 'intended' to be symbolic.
Added to glossary by
nyamuk
Nov 14, 2003 07:48
20 yrs ago
English term
United Kingdom
Elegant precision - published writer
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, English, Portuguese to English
symbol buildings
English
Art/Literary
Architecture
architecture
"...within architecture, by constructing an entire city in the middle of scrubland, formed by symbol buildings in which the original influence of Le Corbusier was by now very remote."
This is part of an article on Brazilian architecture, translated from Portuguese. The original Portuguese phrase is edifícios-símbolo which translates literally as 'symbol-buildings' or 'symbol buildings'. I have found some references for this phrase in English, but most of them seem to originate from China. Is anyone familiar with this concept in English? And could anyone confirm if they think it should be hyphenated or not.
Thanks everyone!
This is part of an article on Brazilian architecture, translated from Portuguese. The original Portuguese phrase is edifícios-símbolo which translates literally as 'symbol-buildings' or 'symbol buildings'. I have found some references for this phrase in English, but most of them seem to originate from China. Is anyone familiar with this concept in English? And could anyone confirm if they think it should be hyphenated or not.
Thanks everyone!
Responses
+4
40 mins
Selected
Symbolic buildings
It sounds like they are talking about Brazilia or other landscapes that are very artificial. It could be a cynical play on 'seminal buildings' which is to say that these buildings have no significance in spite of outward appearances. Its really hard to get the tenor of the article from such a small snippet. Without knowing more its very hard to tell.
Architects often make a point of speaking and writing in an obscure style which they either establish in the course of their writing, or by adopting the pretense of their affinity group.
Assuming, however that this is description not overly affected by a style or a clique of some sort, I would say that the word is Symbolic Buildings. churches, governments buildings, maybe even Wal-Mart or CarreFour.
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Note added at 10 hrs 34 mins (2003-11-14 18:23:34 GMT)
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After a few phone calls it has come to my attention that \'symbol buildings\' is a kind of architectural shop talk, professional slang. The reader would have to be familiar with studio architecture, and the question remains, is this what the author meant?
Architects often make a point of speaking and writing in an obscure style which they either establish in the course of their writing, or by adopting the pretense of their affinity group.
Assuming, however that this is description not overly affected by a style or a clique of some sort, I would say that the word is Symbolic Buildings. churches, governments buildings, maybe even Wal-Mart or CarreFour.
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Note added at 10 hrs 34 mins (2003-11-14 18:23:34 GMT)
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After a few phone calls it has come to my attention that \'symbol buildings\' is a kind of architectural shop talk, professional slang. The reader would have to be familiar with studio architecture, and the question remains, is this what the author meant?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Gayle Wallimann
: architecture.about.com/ - 30k
6 mins
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| agree |
Gordon Darroch (X)
12 mins
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| agree |
DGK T-I
: "St.Helens Council - Town Planning > Built Environment" http://www.sthelens.gov.uk/departments\stratplan.nsf/mainsec... ("symbolic buildings such as the Beecham Tower and offices, Pilkington’s former head office at Grove Street and...")
6 hrs
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| agree |
Christopher Crockett
: Perhaps "symbolic buildings" --in quotes ?
6 hrs
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only if "symbolic building" is a trademark term or if the original author outwardly self concious in their use of language
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I really want to award points to David and Christopher as well for all their insightful comments but have given the points to Nyamuk for being the first to really tackle my query about the existence or not of symbol buildings in English.
Thanks again to all."
4 mins
Manuel Plaza
Spain
Spain
Spain
20 years in international programs
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: French to Spanish, English to Spanish
Charactristic buildings (see ref)
[PDF] SPECIAL SYMBOL BUILDINGS
Formato de archivo: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Versión en HTML
Page 1. SPC10-1/50 000 SPECIAL SYMBOL BUILDINGS FEATURE DEFINITION July 20, 2001
Church A building where Christians go to worship Coast Guard station A building ...
maps.nrcan.gc.ca/cartospecs/PdfFiles/ SpecialSymbolBuildingsDefinitions001221E50.pdf
Formato de archivo: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Versión en HTML
Page 1. SPC10-1/50 000 SPECIAL SYMBOL BUILDINGS FEATURE DEFINITION July 20, 2001
Church A building where Christians go to worship Coast Guard station A building ...
maps.nrcan.gc.ca/cartospecs/PdfFiles/ SpecialSymbolBuildingsDefinitions001221E50.pdf
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Christopher Crockett
: Mmmmm.... "characteristic" of *what*, exactly?
7 hrs
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+2
41 mins
landmark buildings
I agree that 'symbol building' would turn up more frequently on Google outside China if it was usual architectural English. Most other Google hits are for building symbols in mapping and other software.
'Landmark building' is widely used, though perhaps with not exactly the same meaning as your Portuguese term.
'Landmark building' is widely used, though perhaps with not exactly the same meaning as your Portuguese term.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Nancy Arrowsmith
5 hrs
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| agree |
senin
5 hrs
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| neutral |
nyamuk
: A landmark on a map and an architectural landmark are two different things. In architecture it implies that the building is significant which seems not to be the case above.
8 hrs
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+1
7 hrs
Christopher Crockett
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
M.A., Ph.D. Historian/Art Historian
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
12
"Instant Landmarks" (with quotes) ??
There is no precise English term, as far as I am aware.
I don't care how many hits it gets on Google, "Symbol building" is not a phrase I've *ever* heard or seen and don't have any idea what it might mean, outside of a given context.
And, while the buildings may be "symbolic" in some sense, they aren't really, in any normal use of that adjective.
Or at least they're not "symbolic" in any positive sense --symbolic of the pretense and hype and sterility of Bureacratic thinking, perhaps.
David's "Landmark buildings" is very close to the mark and might well be the best that can be used.
Though, in an architectural context, "landmark" implies a bit of history, it seems to me; and we're talking about brand new construction here (maybe "instant landmarks" would work, keeping the quotation marks).
As I read the text, what is being referred to here are what we might call (if we want to invent a new phrase) "Trophy buildings" --as in "trophy wives".
I.e., here is this _de novo_ city, being built by and for the governmental Bureaucrat Class, way the hell out in the wilderness, and, in the attempt to endow it with some sort of "instant legitimacy", the Planners have commissioned a few major buildings by "World Class Architects" --in this case pale immitators of Le Corbusier (a major "modern" architect of the 1930s -early '50s; Brizillia being a project of the late '50s -early '60s.
These might also be called "anchor buildings", I suppose, in the same sense that U.S. shopping malls have "anchor stores" --major department stores which serve to establish the new mall as a legitimate object of pilgrimage in the mind of the consuming public, insuring that lesser, smaller outlets will want to come and rent space near these "draws".
My contempt for the whole exercise is, I fear, showing through; but I see the whole thing as being based on hype and b.s., which view might be shared by your author when he writes "...in which the original influence of Le Corbusier was by now very remote."
If you think your target audience would appreciate the irony, "Instant Landmarks" might do.
With my apologies to David, for stealing his thought.
I don't care how many hits it gets on Google, "Symbol building" is not a phrase I've *ever* heard or seen and don't have any idea what it might mean, outside of a given context.
And, while the buildings may be "symbolic" in some sense, they aren't really, in any normal use of that adjective.
Or at least they're not "symbolic" in any positive sense --symbolic of the pretense and hype and sterility of Bureacratic thinking, perhaps.
David's "Landmark buildings" is very close to the mark and might well be the best that can be used.
Though, in an architectural context, "landmark" implies a bit of history, it seems to me; and we're talking about brand new construction here (maybe "instant landmarks" would work, keeping the quotation marks).
As I read the text, what is being referred to here are what we might call (if we want to invent a new phrase) "Trophy buildings" --as in "trophy wives".
I.e., here is this _de novo_ city, being built by and for the governmental Bureaucrat Class, way the hell out in the wilderness, and, in the attempt to endow it with some sort of "instant legitimacy", the Planners have commissioned a few major buildings by "World Class Architects" --in this case pale immitators of Le Corbusier (a major "modern" architect of the 1930s -early '50s; Brizillia being a project of the late '50s -early '60s.
These might also be called "anchor buildings", I suppose, in the same sense that U.S. shopping malls have "anchor stores" --major department stores which serve to establish the new mall as a legitimate object of pilgrimage in the mind of the consuming public, insuring that lesser, smaller outlets will want to come and rent space near these "draws".
My contempt for the whole exercise is, I fear, showing through; but I see the whole thing as being based on hype and b.s., which view might be shared by your author when he writes "...in which the original influence of Le Corbusier was by now very remote."
If you think your target audience would appreciate the irony, "Instant Landmarks" might do.
With my apologies to David, for stealing his thought.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
nyamuk
: great commentary you set aside symbolic for the same reason I support it. I think of "Learning from Las Vegas" when I see 'Instant landmark' which may or may not be the intended effect.
3 hrs
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As I say, these buildings are "symbolic" of mediocracy and pretense. Not the usual sense of this word. Thanks, nyamuk.
|
+2
12 mins
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
symbol buildings ..no hyphen
Buildings and Structures 1/50 000
... Show public buildings, within a built-up area, to individual specifications (see Labelled Buildings and Special Symbol Buildings) To view Labelled Buildings ...
maps.nrcan.gc.ca/cartospecs/ChapBuildings/ChapBuildingsEF50/ BuiBuiUpArea010704E50.htm
Yahoo! Groups : chief-users Messages : Message 43717 of 56031
... When you render, make sure the real model is in front so the viewer sees the most detailed model with the symbol buildings in the background. ...
groups.yahoo.com/group/chief-users/message/43717
[PDF] 1999 Statistical Communique of Beijing
... A group of cultural facilities and large symbol buildings were built one after another, including China Modern Literature Museum, Beijing Oceanarium, Xidan ...
www.friedlnet.com/images/ free_1999_beijing_statistical_communique_11p.pdf
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Note added at 1 day 2 hrs 14 mins (2003-11-15 10:03:37 GMT)
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338 google responses for \'symbol buildings\' as an \'exact phrase\' 753 for \'symbol building\' as an \'exact phrase\'
... Show public buildings, within a built-up area, to individual specifications (see Labelled Buildings and Special Symbol Buildings) To view Labelled Buildings ...
maps.nrcan.gc.ca/cartospecs/ChapBuildings/ChapBuildingsEF50/ BuiBuiUpArea010704E50.htm
Yahoo! Groups : chief-users Messages : Message 43717 of 56031
... When you render, make sure the real model is in front so the viewer sees the most detailed model with the symbol buildings in the background. ...
groups.yahoo.com/group/chief-users/message/43717
[PDF] 1999 Statistical Communique of Beijing
... A group of cultural facilities and large symbol buildings were built one after another, including China Modern Literature Museum, Beijing Oceanarium, Xidan ...
www.friedlnet.com/images/ free_1999_beijing_statistical_communique_11p.pdf
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Note added at 1 day 2 hrs 14 mins (2003-11-15 10:03:37 GMT)
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338 google responses for \'symbol buildings\' as an \'exact phrase\' 753 for \'symbol building\' as an \'exact phrase\'
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Henrik Brameus
28 mins
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thank you
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| neutral |
Christopher Crockett
: Term unknown to this U.S. English speaker.
7 hrs
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thank you
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| agree |
nyamuk
: First example cartography, second fits, third may or maybe bad grammar. 'symbol buildings' is shop talk/trade lingo was that the original intent of the author?
8 hrs
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thank you
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Discussion