The Function of Ornament

Présentation de l'éditeur :

A graphic guide to ornaments produced by building envelopes in the 20th century architecture.

The growth in size and number of “blank” building typologies that do not require any contact between the interior and exterior has provided an opportunity to look at new performances for building envelopes: liberated from their association with the interior core, these envelopes can explore perceptual effects targeted to the urban realm. A renewed discussion on ornament has become increasingly relevant as the figure of order and shape that emerges from the construction of these effects. This book is a graphic guide to ornaments produced by building envelopes in the 20th century. Unveiling the function of ornament and dismantling the idea that ornaments are applied to buildings as discrete or non-essential entities, the book traces contemporary experiments in envelope design, focusing on the relation between material and effect.

Farshid Moussavi is Professor in Practice in the Department of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her London-based firm, Foreign Office Architects (FOA), is recognized as one of the most creative design firms in the world, deftly integrating architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture in their projects. They have produced numerous critically-acclaimed and award-winning international projects, most notably the Yokohama Ferry Terminal in Japan. Prior to establishing Foreign Office Architects (with Alejandro Zaera Polo) in London in 1992, she worked with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genoa and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam.