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There are two issues about cathedral as an icon.

First one is what aspects make the cathedral an icon. In other words, it is why people perceive a certain building different from other buildings. In the case of Gothic Cathedral, its vertical mass and plan support this iconic character. These are basically derived from the religious meaning and that is the original meaning of icon. As a result, this different appearance helped Gothic Cathedral become a cultural icon. To strengthen this aspect, the main mass of new building is emphasized in vertical way and overall size needs to be huge. As all the cells are scaled up, the primary structure cell can be as large as it can be occupiable volume.

The other important issue is relationship with landscape and urban context. Because an iconic building can be inharmonious with surroundings, it is important to react to each other. Two introduced movie in presentation show how heterogeneous qualities meet and interact. In regard of locating in Manhattan, the new cathedral needs to be connected to the geometry of central park and high rise buildings around site. Cells or clusters close to surroundings are influenced and mutated by them. This transformation also is connected to programs.

Therefore, main idea of cathedral as an icon is how it can be related to context as well as how it can be an icon.