The style and ornamentation of a building serve a major purpose in determining its significance and singularity (or lack thereof). Style allows architects to design spaces which focus on a specific aspect of society or their values by basing that design on one or more of many different approaches to architectural design. Ornamentation, on the other hand, allows for a certain level of individuality that style alone cannot provide. Both of these aspects of design used In conjunction are what turn an ordinary building or design into a true work of architecture.
According to the German architect, Gottfried Semper, “architecture begins with ornament. It is not just that the architecture of a building is to be found in the decoration of its structure. Strictly speaking, it is only decoration that is structural. There is no building without decoration. It is decoration that builds”. Ornamentation is a principle of design which considers a space in its entirety, and determines an appropriate and unique way to decorate the space. In many cases, designers begin their process with an idea of the type of decoration they want to use, rather than the architectural style they will go for. Ornamentation (or decoration) can take the form of classical and modern design principles; classical takes inspiration from classical Victorian or even Greek and Roman architecture, while modern design shows an innate desire and fascination with either the eccentric or minimalism.
Style plays an equally important role as ornamentation in forming a space. Without style, the space has no composition or real meaning. Even the so-called “absence of style is a style in and of itself because it has meaning: not wanting to adhere to specifies design methods and ideals. Style could almost be considered a set of rules or guidelines that an architect or designer chooses to follow in order to provide their space with some semblance of uniformity, while still allowing them to be unique and express themselves in a way that they see fit, rather than how they are told. While it may sound restrictive, adhering to a certain style might even benefit the architect and challenge their creativity in a positive way. They must work within the “boundaries” of that style, but because it provides a certain level of freedom, architects and designers are almost forced to build something unique and extraordinary in order to be relevant. There are, of course, styles which are built upon a foundation of ideals which emphasize a lack of a rule book or guidelines; such is the case with Gaudí, a Spanish architect who singlehandedly managed to challenge society’s view of architecture by creating buildings which could only be defined as true works of art, the likes of which had never been seen before.
When used in conjunction, style and ornamentation form the basis of architecture. Ornamentation gives way to individuality, while style gives a space composition and meaning. Architecture is all about striking a balance between these two things to fit the needs of clients. While our freedom is limited, it is still prevalent, and thanks to that we are consistently able to create new and unique projects.
(I don’t like this blog post very much. I’ll probably end up rewriting it soon, but for the time being I simply don’t have the technical knowledge to make it much better than it is.)
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