MONOCLE

560 results for Symbols

A 92

Article

Soaring symbol

16 March 2016

In Portugal, one swallow doesn’t make a summer: thousands of them do. Ceramic versions of the small bird are produced in huge numbers every year and feature on or in most Portuguese homes. Why the avian allure?

D 56

Article

Show of force

16 August 2012

The largest city to be created in the past 100 years is Brazil’s capital. That bold, modernist ideal extends to its military departments, shaped in swathes of creative concrete by architectural icon, Oscar Niemeyer.

A 4

Article

Asia

17 May 2007

The vexed quest to design and new currency symbol of Kazakhstan.

L 134

Article

39. Signs of the times

21 May 2020

Museums across the world are gathering the artefacts that will stand as symbols of the lockdown.

L 180

Article

Mosaic in the making

30 January 2025

Addis Ababa’s just-renovated Africa Hall is a symbol of the continent’s unity. And the building’s sensitive restoration is a lesson in working together.

L 165

Article

Standing tall

16 June 2023

The Spanish city’s first residential high-rise signalled that Valencia was on the up. Six decades later, it remains a status symbol.

i 113

Article

Unshakable resolve

19 April 2018

From Charlie Chaplin to General Douglas MacArthur many guests have fallen for the charms of the Hotel New Grand. We visit a Yokohama symbol of solidarity.

Radio

The Urbanist - Tall Stories 13: Ponte City

4 July 2016

We look at the transformation of Ponte City and discover how it is a symbol of Johannesburg's complex and troubled history.

A 118

Article

My house is your house

18 October 2018

On an area of parkland in central Warsaw stands a small settlement of wooden Finnish homes. A legacy of postwar hardship, these days they stand as a striking symbol of peace and friendship.

A 66

Article

Africa/Middle East

15 August 2013

Why the president of the Central African Republic favours a uniform, why Turkish trade with Egypt is on a roll and why Kenya has a symbol solution.

Radio

Monocle on Design - On Design 25: Can wearing a headscarf define a nation?

26 January 2017

Few items of clothing have as much symbolism stitched into their history as the keffiyeh. Mary Pelletier explains how this traditional scarf became a political icon in Palestine.

Radio

Monocle on Design - On Design 20: How has Vienna benchmarked public seating?

8 December 2016

This week Monocle’s man in Vienna Alexei Korolyov tells the story of a piece of street furniture that’s become a contemporary design symbol of the Austrian capital.

B 91

Article

Image nation

18 February 2016

Australia is not short of iconography that speaks of a strong national character and sense of place, be it a no-nonsense ruggedness or the boundless enigma of the outback. Monocle examines these symbolic shorthands and how…

Radio

The Cinema Show - Action! 09: The Fighting Temeraire

4 August 2017

When James Bond met Q at London’s National Gallery in 2012’s ‘Skyfall’, the pair sat opposite a painting rich with symbolism. It also happens to be the UK’s favourite artwork. We visit the gallery with deputy director Susan…

Radio

The Urbanist - Tall Stories 207: Deutsches Haus, Ho Chi Minh City

18 May 2020

James Chambers brings us the story of a building complex in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City that forms a symbol of relations between Vietnam and Germany.

Radio

The Urbanist - Tall Stories 306: Fort Jesus, Mombasa

9 May 2022

Samson Mbogo visits Kenya’s Fort Jesus, a Unesco heritage site that is both a major tourist attraction and a symbol of a much darker history.