Abstract

KRIEGER, Peter. Decoración de la decadencia: La balaustrada neobarroca como síntoma crítico en la mega ciudad de México. Intervención (Méx. DF) [online]. 2010, vol.1, n.2, pp.16-23. ISSN 2007-249X.

This essay revises the unlimited uses of the balustrade, a traditional decorative element present until today, even in the different context of the Mexican megalopolis. This neobaroque decoration conquered the façades of almost all architectural types, for a social status, including the luxury residential areas and also the self-constructed houses. These uses are based on postmodern cultural ideology and deny the authentic values of the historical balustrade. It is a critical phenomenon of contemporary society, where fake products replace more and more the original substance, and the knowledge of history is substituted by the construction of fictional worlds. The essay deals with the effects of this situation for the restoration of monuments.

Keywords : Ornament; restoration; postmodern culture; urban criticism; megalopolis.

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