The form and language of architecture is in constant flux, reflecting cultural change and contemp... more The form and language of architecture is in constant flux, reflecting cultural change and contemporary technological innovation. According to Gottfried Semper all artifacts, be it art or architecture were the result of a creative process, and were understood from artistic production as an entity (Semper, 1863). He attributed each of the elements that he thought constituted an architecture, to a technical skill – a craft, and argued that architecture’s origins was not in nature.
In the Four Elements of Architecture, Semper speaks about the wall as a woven enclosure with carpets and tapestries being the first spatial demarcations and describes wickerwork as the “essence of the wall.” (Semper, 1863)
Some believe that historical awareness of ornament and its craft traditions will give rise to new ornamental lexicons and art forms. Instead, firms like Herzog & de Meuron and FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) take on ornament with an inventive approach rather than through its classical forms. With new construction techniques and the multitude of possibilities with CNC technologies, ornament is taking a new seat in the realm of contemporary architecture. With these technologies and new manufacturing processes intricate and complex forms of ornament can be achieved with little effort. This is a shift away from Loos’s opinion that ornament is a waste of effort, labour and craft as put forward in Ornament and Crime in 1908.
This paper presents the potential of ornament as an architectural form that brings craft, technology and design together in built spaces. It argues that craft can be incorporated into architecture as an interpretation of a cultural condition in which it can become relevant to a place, to a people which tell a story. The relationship between text and architecture is explored through narrative in architecture. It is through narrative that architecture is engaged with fictionally and functionally. The intention of the paper is to establish a critical approach to the making of architecture.
ABSTRACT
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architec... more ABSTRACT
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architectural surface. It has re-emerged as a means to explore the interactions between function and decoration, volume and surface, structure and envelope. Its link to craft is evident in the writing of Semper. This essay will investigate the use of ornament in architecture of the modern movement. Kent Bloomer writes that the purpose of ornament is to “articulate a realm of the imagination”. In Function of Ornament, Farshid Moussavi explains that architecture needs a mechanism for it to become connected to culture. The paper will investigate and assess whether ornament is this connection.
The making of the physical aspects of architecture involves two overhead components namely structure and surface.
Structure serves the functional criteria of shelter, framing and protecting the interior. Meanwhile, surface communicates techniques of symbolic expression that exceeds the fundamental utility of architecture and acts as the interface between individual and community. The act of making architecture is inherently bound up with the cultural and material context within which the work is produced, and ornament – expressed through the procedural articulations of Semper’s four operations- is an index of the relationship between making and materiality. (Pell, 2010)
The paper argues that ornament is neither mere decoration nor pure “art”, but rather a category by itself, with its own language that mediates between structure and surface, between material characteristics and the art of making. With the search for a completely original ornamental language, architects can refine images and forms, extract basic units of ornament, and multiply and manipulate them to the visual devices of contemporary conditions. The investigation will look at how ornament was used locally in the very early formation of Modernism in South Africa and how it tried to establish a regional vernacular. The other projects promote the use ornament in innovative ways that enables architecture to be linked to current cultural movements and conditions. The paper will also investigate and assess whether the articulation of surface or façade is the interface between building and culture and explore how ornament can inform and influence design.
The form and language of architecture is in constant flux, reflecting cultural change and contemp... more The form and language of architecture is in constant flux, reflecting cultural change and contemporary technological innovation. According to Gottfried Semper all artifacts, be it art or architecture were the result of a creative process, and were understood from artistic production as an entity (Semper, 1863). He attributed each of the elements that he thought constituted an architecture, to a technical skill – a craft, and argued that architecture’s origins was not in nature.
In the Four Elements of Architecture, Semper speaks about the wall as a woven enclosure with carpets and tapestries being the first spatial demarcations and describes wickerwork as the “essence of the wall.” (Semper, 1863)
Some believe that historical awareness of ornament and its craft traditions will give rise to new ornamental lexicons and art forms. Instead, firms like Herzog & de Meuron and FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) take on ornament with an inventive approach rather than through its classical forms. With new construction techniques and the multitude of possibilities with CNC technologies, ornament is taking a new seat in the realm of contemporary architecture. With these technologies and new manufacturing processes intricate and complex forms of ornament can be achieved with little effort. This is a shift away from Loos’s opinion that ornament is a waste of effort, labour and craft as put forward in Ornament and Crime in 1908.
This paper presents the potential of ornament as an architectural form that brings craft, technology and design together in built spaces. It argues that craft can be incorporated into architecture as an interpretation of a cultural condition in which it can become relevant to a place, to a people which tell a story. The relationship between text and architecture is explored through narrative in architecture. It is through narrative that architecture is engaged with fictionally and functionally. The intention of the paper is to establish a critical approach to the making of architecture.
ABSTRACT
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architec... more ABSTRACT
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architectural surface. It has re-emerged as a means to explore the interactions between function and decoration, volume and surface, structure and envelope. Its link to craft is evident in the writing of Semper. This essay will investigate the use of ornament in architecture of the modern movement. Kent Bloomer writes that the purpose of ornament is to “articulate a realm of the imagination”. In Function of Ornament, Farshid Moussavi explains that architecture needs a mechanism for it to become connected to culture. The paper will investigate and assess whether ornament is this connection.
The making of the physical aspects of architecture involves two overhead components namely structure and surface.
Structure serves the functional criteria of shelter, framing and protecting the interior. Meanwhile, surface communicates techniques of symbolic expression that exceeds the fundamental utility of architecture and acts as the interface between individual and community. The act of making architecture is inherently bound up with the cultural and material context within which the work is produced, and ornament – expressed through the procedural articulations of Semper’s four operations- is an index of the relationship between making and materiality. (Pell, 2010)
The paper argues that ornament is neither mere decoration nor pure “art”, but rather a category by itself, with its own language that mediates between structure and surface, between material characteristics and the art of making. With the search for a completely original ornamental language, architects can refine images and forms, extract basic units of ornament, and multiply and manipulate them to the visual devices of contemporary conditions. The investigation will look at how ornament was used locally in the very early formation of Modernism in South Africa and how it tried to establish a regional vernacular. The other projects promote the use ornament in innovative ways that enables architecture to be linked to current cultural movements and conditions. The paper will also investigate and assess whether the articulation of surface or façade is the interface between building and culture and explore how ornament can inform and influence design.
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Papers by Ivan McCarthy
In the Four Elements of Architecture, Semper speaks about the wall as a woven enclosure with carpets and tapestries being the first spatial demarcations and describes wickerwork as the “essence of the wall.” (Semper, 1863)
Some believe that historical awareness of ornament and its craft traditions will give rise to new ornamental lexicons and art forms. Instead, firms like Herzog & de Meuron and FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) take on ornament with an inventive approach rather than through its classical forms. With new construction techniques and the multitude of possibilities with CNC technologies, ornament is taking a new seat in the realm of contemporary architecture. With these technologies and new manufacturing processes intricate and complex forms of ornament can be achieved with little effort. This is a shift away from Loos’s opinion that ornament is a waste of effort, labour and craft as put forward in Ornament and Crime in 1908.
This paper presents the potential of ornament as an architectural form that brings craft, technology and design together in built spaces. It argues that craft can be incorporated into architecture as an interpretation of a cultural condition in which it can become relevant to a place, to a people which tell a story. The relationship between text and architecture is explored through narrative in architecture. It is through narrative that architecture is engaged with fictionally and functionally. The intention of the paper is to establish a critical approach to the making of architecture.
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architectural surface. It has re-emerged as a means to explore the interactions between function and decoration, volume and surface, structure and envelope. Its link to craft is evident in the writing of Semper. This essay will investigate the use of ornament in architecture of the modern movement. Kent Bloomer writes that the purpose of ornament is to “articulate a realm of the imagination”. In Function of Ornament, Farshid Moussavi explains that architecture needs a mechanism for it to become connected to culture. The paper will investigate and assess whether ornament is this connection.
The making of the physical aspects of architecture involves two overhead components namely structure and surface.
Structure serves the functional criteria of shelter, framing and protecting the interior. Meanwhile, surface communicates techniques of symbolic expression that exceeds the fundamental utility of architecture and acts as the interface between individual and community. The act of making architecture is inherently bound up with the cultural and material context within which the work is produced, and ornament – expressed through the procedural articulations of Semper’s four operations- is an index of the relationship between making and materiality. (Pell, 2010)
The paper argues that ornament is neither mere decoration nor pure “art”, but rather a category by itself, with its own language that mediates between structure and surface, between material characteristics and the art of making. With the search for a completely original ornamental language, architects can refine images and forms, extract basic units of ornament, and multiply and manipulate them to the visual devices of contemporary conditions. The investigation will look at how ornament was used locally in the very early formation of Modernism in South Africa and how it tried to establish a regional vernacular. The other projects promote the use ornament in innovative ways that enables architecture to be linked to current cultural movements and conditions. The paper will also investigate and assess whether the articulation of surface or façade is the interface between building and culture and explore how ornament can inform and influence design.
In the Four Elements of Architecture, Semper speaks about the wall as a woven enclosure with carpets and tapestries being the first spatial demarcations and describes wickerwork as the “essence of the wall.” (Semper, 1863)
Some believe that historical awareness of ornament and its craft traditions will give rise to new ornamental lexicons and art forms. Instead, firms like Herzog & de Meuron and FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) take on ornament with an inventive approach rather than through its classical forms. With new construction techniques and the multitude of possibilities with CNC technologies, ornament is taking a new seat in the realm of contemporary architecture. With these technologies and new manufacturing processes intricate and complex forms of ornament can be achieved with little effort. This is a shift away from Loos’s opinion that ornament is a waste of effort, labour and craft as put forward in Ornament and Crime in 1908.
This paper presents the potential of ornament as an architectural form that brings craft, technology and design together in built spaces. It argues that craft can be incorporated into architecture as an interpretation of a cultural condition in which it can become relevant to a place, to a people which tell a story. The relationship between text and architecture is explored through narrative in architecture. It is through narrative that architecture is engaged with fictionally and functionally. The intention of the paper is to establish a critical approach to the making of architecture.
Ornament is currently acquiring a renewed status through the articulation of architectural surface. It has re-emerged as a means to explore the interactions between function and decoration, volume and surface, structure and envelope. Its link to craft is evident in the writing of Semper. This essay will investigate the use of ornament in architecture of the modern movement. Kent Bloomer writes that the purpose of ornament is to “articulate a realm of the imagination”. In Function of Ornament, Farshid Moussavi explains that architecture needs a mechanism for it to become connected to culture. The paper will investigate and assess whether ornament is this connection.
The making of the physical aspects of architecture involves two overhead components namely structure and surface.
Structure serves the functional criteria of shelter, framing and protecting the interior. Meanwhile, surface communicates techniques of symbolic expression that exceeds the fundamental utility of architecture and acts as the interface between individual and community. The act of making architecture is inherently bound up with the cultural and material context within which the work is produced, and ornament – expressed through the procedural articulations of Semper’s four operations- is an index of the relationship between making and materiality. (Pell, 2010)
The paper argues that ornament is neither mere decoration nor pure “art”, but rather a category by itself, with its own language that mediates between structure and surface, between material characteristics and the art of making. With the search for a completely original ornamental language, architects can refine images and forms, extract basic units of ornament, and multiply and manipulate them to the visual devices of contemporary conditions. The investigation will look at how ornament was used locally in the very early formation of Modernism in South Africa and how it tried to establish a regional vernacular. The other projects promote the use ornament in innovative ways that enables architecture to be linked to current cultural movements and conditions. The paper will also investigate and assess whether the articulation of surface or façade is the interface between building and culture and explore how ornament can inform and influence design.