Ornament is back--not as detail adorning a façade, but in the body of entire structures, producing buildings in the shape of letters, a heap of pebbles or a national emblem. In Building as Ornament, Michiel van Raaij investigates how this new tendency in architecture emerged in the late 1990s and how it has developed at the start of the twenty-first century, through interviews with ten leading architects, among them Adriaan Geuze, Michiel Riedijk, Winy Maas, Steven Holl and Bjarke Ingels. This generation of architects sees the design of the ‘upscaled’ ornament as an inextricable element of their practice. What are their motivations? How do they orient their ideas in the tradition of their profession? Michiel van Raaij argues that “the new ornament” is bound by certain rules: successful ornament represents a virtue and clarifies the function, status, construction, organization and context of the building.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Azure
Catherine Osborne
Van Raaij 's writing is more inquistive and playful than dry, and the 10 interviews he conducted with Ben van Berkel of UNStudio, Steven Holl, Bjarke Ingels and Winy Maas of MVRDV, among others, are published in their raw form. This small volume is a great start to a conversation about many things. including whether buildings designed to wow will have lasting power.
Architectural Record
Tracy Metz
In his book Building as Ornament: Iconography in Contemporary Architecture, Michiel van Raajj, who is the editor in chief of the online architecture platform Architectenweb, interviews 10 well-known architects and architectural historians to reveal how this attitude has changed since the 1990s.
Van Raajji's book signals a shift in the use of ornament, from an add-on to an intergral part and purpose of the design.
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In Building as Ornament, author Michiel van Raaij writes, "Characteristic images from outside architecture that are used in architecture to explain the nature of the building. In a nutshell, that is what the use of iconography in contemporary architecture is about. That is the building as ornament. A rock formation, a letter of the alphabet, a dress, an airplane – as long as the image explains the character of the building, hardly any limits are imposed on the themes of the images that are used. The chosen theme is often derived from the function of the building. For instance, a car museum can be designed with rounded shapes, continuous windows and a metallic skin. The primary shape of an ambassador's residence can be reminiscent of the national flag or his or her country. An aquarium can take the form of a huge water vortex that 'pulls' visitors inside." Featured image is BIG and JDS's 2004 proposal for a hotel, sports and conference center for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The building takes its form from "Ren," the Chinese character for person. continue to blog
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FORMAT: Pbk, 5.5 x 8.5 in. / 240 pgs / 94 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $35.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $47.5 ISBN: 9789462080447 PUBLISHER: nai010 publishers AVAILABLE: 8/31/2014 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA ME
Published by nai010 publishers. By Michiel van Raaij.
Ornament is back--not as detail adorning a façade, but in the body of entire structures, producing buildings in the shape of letters, a heap of pebbles or a national emblem. In Building as Ornament, Michiel van Raaij investigates how this new tendency in architecture emerged in the late 1990s and how it has developed at the start of the twenty-first century, through interviews with ten leading architects, among them Adriaan Geuze, Michiel Riedijk, Winy Maas, Steven Holl and Bjarke Ingels. This generation of architects sees the design of the ‘upscaled’ ornament as an inextricable element of their practice. What are their motivations? How do they orient their ideas in the tradition of their profession? Michiel van Raaij argues that “the new ornament” is bound by certain rules: successful ornament represents a virtue and clarifies the function, status, construction, organization and context of the building.
