“The evolution of culture is synonymous with the
removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use.” By Adolf Loos.
Ornament defined as a
thing used or serving to make something look more attractive but usually having
no practical purpose, especially a small object such as figurine. Ornament
is used to improve the shaped the building exterior. The forms of ornament have
different types of meaning or symbolic significance.
In my opinion, contemporary
architecture still using the ornaments nowadays but it become more simple if
compare with olden days. Ornament nowadays is made of wood, plastic and
composites with different colors and shapes.
“Ornament is no crime.” By Joseph Rykwert.
Actually, people nowadays curious
about the roles of ornament in architecture and will think that ornament is
whether important or necessary in the part of a building. Some might say is a cultural, must follow
in every generation; some might say is an economic, it has to be depend on a
person economic and budget; and some might say is an environmental, must have
the ornament as a symbol or characteristic. Therefore, from my opinion, I think
that appropriate of ornament is enough for nowadays architecture. This is
because most of people are not appreciate and do not want to know more about
the ornament.
New architecture identities and
images appear from the clever doubling of the performative (technical) and
aesthetic (conceptual) roles that architectural surfaces can feasibility
assume. Used of ornament has provided argue about architectural aesthetics.
Beside provide aesthetic, it also served in environmental and technological
way. Ornament today is served its own purpose. It also more like give the
feeling of the building, show the cultural of the building.
Beijing National Stadium
This stadium is one of the most
sophisticated examples in today topic. Beijing National Stadium also known as
bird’s nest and it designed by Ai Weiwei, Pierre de Meuron, Jacques Herzog and
Li Xinggang. It located in Olympic Green Village, Chaoyang District of Beijing
City, China. It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The
form of the stadium looks like a big nest which embraces and nurse’s human
beings. It also looks rather like a cradle bearing human beings’ hope of the
future which are essentially two different entities. In this sense, Winy Maas
(Dutch architect) refers to the building as the culmination of new
ornamentation. As Jacques Herzog explained, if a contemporary building lacks
the unity of space and surface, ornament becomes additional much like
wallpaper. In the stadium, the designs of everything are humanistic. In addition,
the bird’s nest can withstand an earthquake of up to magnitude 8 on the Richter
Scale.
Brandy Distillery Museum & Warehouse
Another
case study is designed by Totement/Paper and it located in Kalinngrad region in
old German town which was seriously damaged during World War ll. This building
is related to ornament and functional of an area. The ornamentation of this
building is based on a mystical image in Christian symbols which reflected the
sense of Tree of Life as well as Eucharist and Paradise (Holy Fire) and wine
(Divine Blood).
They
used metal to make a high capacity which reaching for the sky and related to
light, mind, external and male. It is slightly liable, mobile and the capacity
burns like a candle at night. The low part of the capacity become a ladder,
which is a triangle runs into the horizontal capacity, allow the visitors to
look over the interior of the building.
Low
wooden building function as a warehouse which give an expression of image of
Earth “giving birth to”. It is an image of a woman protecting and bearing. This
ornamentation is related to cultural where the Roman Catholic Christian believe
that the Virgin Mother Mary giving birth in a wooden stable which reflected the
born of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
In my
opinion, ornament in architecture can see everywhere nowadays. Human need to
wear clothes same like building need ornament, to make them look more perfect.
It could be the savior of simplicity in modern architecture. Of course,
environment and functional are the main consideration