Ornamentation or crime

a) What is the role of ornament in architecture today?

1. In the case of 15 Clerkenwell close, ornamentation was an expression of its context. To serve to give the building character and to distinguish itself from the rest.

Ornamentation is always intrinsic to human culture. ornamentation serves to reflect or portray the culture/tale of the people of its time/time of construction. Ornamentation is an art form which directly informs visually.

Contemporary art today is a radical shift from traditional fine art, which is more focused on technicality/ proportions/ composition. Today, art is represented through multiple mediums. This ranges from a three-dimensional collages/still life/sculpture to a splash of abstract expressive art. The purpose: to generate interest, self-expression.

Loos suggests that ornamentation is a crime, degeneracy and a waste of effort in terms of efficiency. Production and profits can be doubled or tripled if we weren't so fixated on ornamenting it.

Ornamentation is no longer organically linked with our culture, no longer an expression of our culture. Ornamentation produced in Loos's time no longer expressed their culture. A golden floral design on a ball gown did not represent anything but serve to beautify it. Thus, it's presence is meaningless and might as well not be there.

Maybe true, but it starts to speak to a personal interest. Today, we have evolved to express ourselves as individuals in lieu of a collective communal symbolism. The person who chooses a golden

floral dress might prefer it to a dress with frills. Suggesting a personal liking to flowers

than etc.... In loos's modern age, the machinic age where production line starts to produce

smooth modernist materials. Functionality and efficiency is key, but begins to lose identity

and personification. Loos argues for efficiency and need for ornamentation, but ornamentation is one's expression of their own personal identity. A person would choose a chocolate bar with the avengers on the wrappings because the individual likes the avengers, not to say that it's pointless to have ornamentation on the chocolate. Otherwise, life starts to become black and white and things start to become monotonous and void of life.

Ornamentation has many roles in architecture today incl: dressing up a monotonous building

to give it a more pleasing aestheticism, an expression of its contextual surroundings, providing a blank facade a slightly more visual interest, Stararchitecture, sculptural formwork expressed by the architect.

Public buildings generally receive or require more ornamentation than others because it addresses the public, generating interest from the public. Interestingly, in Malaysia, a lot of houses are ornamented with classical motifs because clients wanted a foreign charm to their houses, to express wealth and "culture".

b) Are there certain types of structures/buildings that benefit/deserve/need it more than others?

Public buildings generally receive or require more ornamentation than others because it addresses the public and would require to be distinguishable. Interestingly, in Malaysia, a lot of houses are ornamented with classical motifs because clients wanted a foreign charm to their houses, to express wealth and "culture" (Not saying it deserves or benefits, definitely would say otherwise). Memorials should be ornamented more than the others to pay tribute to it.

c) Consider the role of symbolism, semiotics, and ornamentation in your own studio designs: (how) will you employ these ideas?

Generally in my design studios, I look to create a functional building first before addressing the monotonous facets of it. If the design concept valued the importance of something, i.e cultural significance, I would design with ornamentation in mind to clearly express these ideas. Otherwise, the function and quality of the building come first before addressing the symbolic, semiotic and ornamentation needs of it.