Understanding Architecture: The Language of Ornament & Embellishment

This essay delves into the significance of ornament and embellishment in understanding the language of a building. It discusses how ornaments, from surface decorations to structural elements, contribute to a building's aesthetics, function, and communication of social status. The essay uses examples such as Ravensbourne College, Beijing National Aquatics Centre, and the UK Expo Pavilion to illustrate how ornamentation conveys technical skill, building function, and symbolic narratives. It also explores the evolution of ornament to include digital facades and media screens, highlighting the impact of technology on building design. Furthermore, the essay examines structural ornaments, affective ornaments that influence a building's form, and the rich use of ornaments in Islamic architecture to express concepts of eternity and rhythm. The analysis emphasizes how ornaments serve as a crucial element in architectural language, allowing bystanders to interpret a building's story and context.

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 1
ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE THROUGH ORNAMENT AND EMBELLISHMENT
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The Importance of Ornament and Embellishment in Understanding the Language of a
Building
In architecture, an ornament is a particular decoration that is used to beautify an
object or a section of a building (Papapetros, 2012). From historical perspective, an
architectural ornament is defined as an element that is added to a structural form for the
purpose of decoration. Most ornaments exclude human figures and monumental sculptures.
The architectural ornaments are often curved from precious metals, wood, and stone or
formed from clay or plaster. The ornaments can be impressed onto a surface, painted or
applied onto a surface. Ornamentation comes from the human desire for visual pleasure
(Garcia, 2009). Ornamentation brings joy to humans as well as adding charm to the building.
Ornamentation is used to bring out the characteristics of a building and usually occurs on
entryways, columns, windows, and top of buildings. More than a century ago, ornamentation
in a building was considered a crime, however today it has become an evolving device that
supports the overall performance of the building as well as showing the context of the
building to the public. In the architecture of recent buildings ornamentation is elaborated
through different ways such as "dynamic ornament' and ‘coded ornament'. Today ornament is
characterized as a means through which architects create effects and sensations. An
architectural language involves aesthetics of a building, form of the building, function of a
building and structure of the building. Architecture is about telling a story. This paper aims at
discussing the importance of ornament and embellishment for a bystander in understanding
the language of a building.
Surface Ornaments
Ornaments and embellishments show the technical skill in the design of a building's
surface to the general public and the users of the building. The aim of certain ornaments may
be to pass a message which in this case is how much improved technology is. They are used

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 3
to produce many different surface effects. A good example of a building showing technical
skill through ornamentation is Ravensbourne College situated in Greenwich town in the UK.
The building was built in the year 2010 by FOA (Foreign Office Architects). The intention of
the design of the building was to show the novelty of technology in fabrication. The building
facades are covered in a total of 28,000 aluminium tiles which are in different colors and
sizes. The combination of these aluminium tiles is quite unique on every façade as well as
around the doors and windows of the building. The bystanders relate to this building as one
of the high end and sophisticated design of all time in the 21 century.
Source: https://www.e-architect.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ravensbourne-college-
b.jpg#main
Bystanders can understand the function of a building through its ornamentation.
Ornamentation of facades can be used as symbolic architecture to merge various meanings
that can open room for interpretation by the general public or bystanders while maintaining
the functionality and aesthetics of the façade. Jencks (2012) uses the term "enigmatic
signifier" in his attempt to explain the multi-layered meaning brought out in buildings
through the use of ornamentation. A good example of this is the Beijing National Aquatics
Centre, which is commonly known as Water Cube. The building is used for hosting

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 4
swimming sports. The building was built by Australian architecture office architects in the
year 2007. The facades of the building are covered by an imitation of irregular and giant
water bubbles. A person can, therefore, come close to understanding the function of the
building just by observing the ornamentation of the facades. Apart from showing the function
of the building, the ornamentation also signifies the advancement in construction technology.
Source: https://www.molon.de/galleries/China/Beijing/Other/img.php?pic=8
According to Umberto Eco, architecture comes out as a way of expressing a message
as well as achieving functionality (Balik and Allmer, 2016). The aim of an architect may be
to attract attention to the surfaces of a building. An example of a building that draws attention
to its facades is United Kingdom Expo Pavilion situated in Shanghai. It was built in 2010 by
the London-based Heather wick Studio and is commonly known as Seed Cathedral. This
building is made up of sixty thousand fibre optics which are transparent with each fibre optic
displaying a unique seed at its tip. On the outside of the building, these unique seeds display a
hairy texture while from inside the building these seeds form interesting curved patterns all
over the surfaces. The Pavilion alternates between creating a visual effect and creating
tactility through the specific combination of the fibre optic rods. The visual effect perceived
from a distance is quite different from the visual effect perceived standing up close.

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 5
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_pavilion_at_Expo_2010#/media/File:A_picture_from_Chin
a_every_day_241.jpg
source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_pavilion_at_Expo_2010#/media/
File:Uk_pavillion_closeup.jpg
Ornamentation of a building can also be used to bring out social status, prestige, affiliation,
and title of certain figures on the facades of a building (Opincariu, 2011). A good example of
this is Arlanda Hotel, a project that was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and is situated in
Stockholm. Ornamentation is used in this building to tell the symbolic narrative of power.
This is realized through the use of huge portraits of Sweden's royal figures (Balik and Allmer,
2016). The facades show that ornamentation can be used as urban portraits as well as being a
symbol of authority and power.

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 6
Source: https://www.thelocal.se/20081219/16478
Today building ornament has expanded to include digital ornaments or media facades
which are displayed as screens. Bystanders can interpret the use of these buildings through
these screens for example for a commercial building, the screens would be used for
advertisement. These screens attract attention to the building's facades especially at night
when the screens are quite visible. The screen ornaments are realized using digital medium
through merging electronics and various materials on the building facades hence creating
awareness to the general public or bystanders on the effects of technology in building
designs. Technology has helped in the realization of screen ornamentation by making it
possible to create ornamental elements by use of nonconventional methods and tools. Instead
of displaying a fixed and constant façade, a digital façade displays continuous interactivity
(Lavin, 2011). The digital façade can also be used to display a wide range of information over
a physical surface (Manovich, 2006) therefore expanding beyond the conception of two-
dimensional electronic screen. A good example of this is the House of Industry, which has

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 7
neon lights on the facades. The neon lights turn the building into a sight to behold at the
centre of Copenhagen during the night. A building structure can be entirely enveloped by
glass facades supported by a steel structure. Neon lights which are in continuous flow while
displaying different colors are planted on the glass facades. The digital ornament, in this case,
adds a unique layer of grid patterns that are always changing on the glass façade. The patterns
can also be repetitive to create a particular sensation.
source:https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/
e1/97/53e197cc95647e4baab3e6afdccf7dd8.jpg
Structural ornaments
Bystanders can also view ornaments as underpinning elements of the building. In
essence, ornaments can be part of the load bearing elements of a building. According to
Jacques Herzog, when a building does not have unity between the spaces and the surface,
ornament becomes an additional feature just like a wallpaper. According to Greg and Lynn,
the use of ornament as a structural element frees the ornament from being a decoration that is
applied onto a surface (Balik and Allmer, 2016). An elaborate example of structural ornament
in a building is Beijing National Stadium which was built by the Swiss architecture office in

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2008. The building is commonly known as Bird's Nest because it mimics the structure of a
bird's nest. Winy Maas, the architect who partnered with MVRDV architecture office, refers
to this building as the embodiment of the modern age ornamentation (Van Raaji, 2014). In
this building, the non-load bearing element of the building merges with load-bearing
elements to work seamlessly as a single element. The construction is such that the borders
between the structure and ornament are barely noticeable hence this use of structural
ornament comes out as a hybrid element.
http://gallardoarchitects.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/lubetkin_hdm_beijing_stadium_02
x.jpg?x94599
Ornaments that affect building’s form and concept
Manovich (2006) defines ornaments as a way through which architects bring out the
sensation and the effect it has on building design concept. Affective ornament allows
architects to constantly create new forms in a city. The intended form of a building can be
achieved through the use of ornaments. In some cases, the ornamentation creates the form of
the building. A good example of this is the Office Tower Foster and Partners which was
designed for a reinsurance company in Swiss. This building is categorized as a form that uses
ornamental construction to create an effect of a spiral form. There is a rich perceptual and
emotional depths in the building which is commonly referred to as "erotic gherkin". The

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shape and the pattern of the facades of this tower display how its atriums that are spiral in
shape, channel the flow of air into and out of the building.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Swiss-Reinsurance-Headquarters-2004-London-Foster-
and-Partners_fig4_254319787
Creation of an architectural language using ornaments is quite evident in the Islamic
architectural structures. The heart of Muslims has been the refreshment of their souls by the
harmony, majesty, and flow of forms in their society. They have used this to create ornaments
that create different illusions. A good example of this is Al Muqarnas, which is a three-
dimensional ornament in the architecture of Islamic buildings. Muqarnas is used to decorate
arches, niches, and domes. It can be created using stone, brick, wood or stucco. It looks like a
staircase with a flat roof and facets. All the facets intersect each other at 45 degrees angle, a
right angle or a combination of the two angles. Apart from displaying an organization of
mass, muqarnas is also a linear system. When used in ceilings, it creates an illusion of an
upward movement.

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http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/NewDiscSlmCompFig04c.jpg
Ornaments can be used to bring out an architectural concept. For example, the
ornamentation concepts in Islamic architecture that bring out their belief in an eternal God.
Islamic architecture has an ornament with an arrangement that brings out the principles of
eternity. It also uses ornaments to bring out the principle of rhythm and recurrence. Such
ornaments involve a circular form within which there are many patterns of regular shapes
(Schumacher, 2009). The shapes do not have defined contours but one can recognize the
shapes by just looking at the ornament. The shapes that are inside the circular form then
seamlessly turn into polygons that are star-shaped. Rhythmic repetitions and different
arrangements of shapes form even more interesting shapes at the connections. These more
shapes create motifs with various polygons and circles (Etikan, 2011). Islamic architecture
concentrates so much on geometric patterns. The ornaments with these interesting geometric
patterns draw more attention to the building form. Apart from adding to the aesthetic of a
building, geometrical patterns enable connection between various sections of a building. The
Islamic architecture relies mainly on exploring various patterns on building surfaces to evoke
experiences such as abstract notions that a human being's brain can conceive. The concept of

Architectural Language Through Ornament and Embellishment 11
the harmony of the universe is created through the use of perfect geometrical patterns. A
good example of ornament that expresses the principle of rhythm is a floral ornament. These
ornaments are designed to the point of losing the initial mimicry of nature and only
concentrating on achieving the concept of rhythm. It is an amazing representation of
graphical rhythm with each line unfolding into phases that complement each other and each
phase having its opposite counterpart. The floral ornament also has several levels which are
achieved by producing the 3-dimensional nature of an actual plant on a two-dimensional
surface.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_architecture#/media/File:Mosa
%C3%AFc_in_the_Ben_Youssef_Madrasa,_Morocco_(2).jpg
Ornamentation that show architectural relationship between a building and the city
Ornamentation can also be used to create uniformity of a building with the urban
fabric. This includes satellite view as an ornamental scale. Van Raaj (2014) talks about the
recent designs of artificial islands that use ornamental forms. According to Picon (2013),
contemporary buildings' architecture mimics ornaments when viewed at the scale of the
whole city. Jonathan Glancey, an architectural critique, explains the concept of viewing a city

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as a "gigantic textiles or carpets rolled across a vast and intensely used the track of land
(Glancey, 2012). Structures can be viewed from different distances, scales, and various
viewpoints. This makes them display a variety of ornamental dimensions (Hammond, 2010).
Robotic tools have made it possible to create complex surface articulation. These tools allow
the transfer of digitally designed forms onto the physical ground. This increases the diversity
of building forms that can be achieved through the application of ornament on surfaces. The
architects have the ability to create narratives onto the surfaces of the building. Ornaments
straighten shapes and stabilize the surface onto which it is applied, therefore affecting the
overall form of a building.
In conclusion, ornamentation can be used to bring out the architectural language of a
building to be understood by the bystanders. In the last few years, the definition of an
ornament in architecture has widened the range of objects and embellishments that are
considered ornaments (Gleiter, 2012). Ornaments have included various layers as well as
multi-layering. Ornaments are used to spread concepts of culture, social status, and economic
status (Bédard, 2017). Ornaments have also been used in achieving commercial success
through using ornamental surfaces for advertisement. The budget of a client determines the
extent to which an ornament will be spectacular hence the division of social status is
perceived just by observing buildings. Ornaments are also used for image branding and
showing power in the astonishing facades. The ornaments in contemporary architecture also
represent the programs and functions of a building. As much as ornamentation was
considered a crime in modernist architecture, it is evident that it can be a tool of
communicating the architectural language of a particular building as well as that of a whole
city. The potentials of ornamentation have been exposed during architectural exhibitions.
Therefore a positive impact should be realized in using ornaments to bring out different