Dutch building features emojis as modern-day grotesques
Dutch architect Attika Architekten has included emojis in place of more traditional roundels on a block of flats in Vathorst. The emoji gargoyles grotesques date the building for future historians.
“In classical architecture they used heads of the king or whatever, and they put that on the façade,” Attika architect Changiz Tehrani tells t Verge. “So we were thinking, what can we use as an ornament so when you look at this building in 10 or 20 years you can say ‘hey this is from that year!'”
Originally designed by Shigetaka Kurita and released by the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo in 1999, emojis started out as 176 very basic 12 by 12 pixel designs (which are now in the collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art). The set has since grown to include 1,088 symbols, with everything from a wad of money with wings to a top hat, ready to serve your every texting need.
PS: thanks to reader for telling me: “Not water spouts, so not gargoyles. Grotesques.” Change made.
Posted: 6th, May 2017 | In: The Consumer Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
