Monuments of Everyday Life

Monuments have fascinated human beings and enriched cities as keepers of memories and history, as places to spend time, as meeting points, and as points of orientation through various times and in various forms. However, as a major component of the discipline of architecture and urban design, the term monument and its relation to the city are in crisis. This book explores a rediscovery of the concept of monuments as essential and creative parts of cities. Based on the re-reading of four powerful urban interplays in Sao Paulo, the concept of 'Monuments of Everyday Life' is outlined, revealing specific spatial patterns that are understood as alternatives to places of instability, commercialisation and homogenisation of urban space. These interplays are relevant as reference points of collective life and material representatives of collective values. Monuments of Everyday Life draws conclusions from the past, but also addresses relevant questions and potentials for urban futures.