Useful decorations: exploring ornamentation in the contemporary scene

Throughout architectural history, ornament has long been understood as an important component of architectural design. With the rise of the Modernist movement in the early 20th century, architectural thinkers abandoned ornament in the pursuit of a more simplistic approach to creating space. This view has influenced contemporary design, and ornament is now often seen as superficial and excessive. Useful Decorations explores how re-engaging with ornament might bridge historical and contemporary practices and philosophies, offering insight into how ornament can be purposeful and relevant in today’s built environment. This proposed new rationale for ornament examines how the visual language established in cultural crafts, traditions, and motifs of a particular place and time can be leveraged for creating both decorative and ornamental gestures in architecture. This thesis also explores the relationship between profile and ornament through pattern-making, object design, architectural representation, and performative architectural applications. This project aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of ornament as a useful and heuristic component of contemporary architectural expression. In doing so, this thesis encourages a reconsideration of ornament that acknowledges its potential to enrich contemporary architecture and the culture of place.