2.3.4 Surface Articulation and Ornamentation

The play of light and shadow can be seen in above figure of Ando’s work in The Church of Light which embraces Ando’s philosophical framework between nature and architecture through the way in which light defines and creates new spatial perceptions equally.

2.3.4 Surface Articulation and Ornamentation

It shapes the perception of the shape, proportions, size and scale along with the visual weight of plane which is influenced by its surface properties which adds to its visual context. Optical patterns and fragments can be used for surface articulation.

In architecture, ornamentation proves to be one of the distinguishing features between two sites or buildings making it unique in its own different way, and thus, adds a major feature of aesthetics. An ordinary person, other than an architect, can easily decipher the ornamentation of a particular building by just observing the entablatures, columns, top of the buildings, entrances and windows.

Particular ornamentation of a building carries a specific motive, referring to its history, making it symbolic in nature. From, ancient times, ornamentation has been applied for making aesthetic religious buildings and many historically important buildings.

Also, ornamentation in architecture affects human visuals and change the perception about Architectural moiety as human brain makes abstract thoughts based on the memories. Therefore, it’s the ornamentation in architecture of buildings that gets added in the memories of a person and reminds him about the individual experience. To understand this relationship between ornamentation and human visual impact, digital formalism was applied along ornamentation for maximizing visual impact of the building but it wore off because it produced loss of interest. After the failure of digital formalism, material experimentation was incorporated for divine visual experiences and it was found both, formal and material experimentation, produced visceral and non-cognitive sensations that get added to the so called nostalgia (On intelligence, Jeff Hawkins).

Figure 9: Surface articulation using patterns by paint on left and ornamentation on right