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1、 INTRODUCTION This chapter analyses the decorative use of orna- ment on the faade in street and squares. The faade is analysed in terms of formal, functional and symbolic qualities. For this analysis the faade is considered to comprise three main formal horizon- tal divisions the base, podium or gro
2、und floor; the middle zone or main floors; and the roof or attic. Roofline and corner treatment will be discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. This chapter will, therefore, concentrate on the base of the faade and the main floors where the piano nobile is often located. LOCATION OF ORNAMENT Decoration on bu
3、ildings and in the city generally is the means by which a variety of visual experiences are introduced to the viewer for his or her enjoy- ment. This quality is sometimes called richness (see Bentley et al., 1985), but articulation is probably a more accurate description. The faade is an impor- tant
4、 element which presents this variety of experi- ence to the viewer. People can choose different visual experiences from the fixed menu of the urban environment either by changing their focus of attention in a given scene or by moving to another location and opening up a completely new vista or pictu
5、re. Visual monotony is a common feature of many urban environments dating from the post Second World War period. There has recently been a change in public attitudes to the built environment articulated in a vocal demand for a more decorative urban realm. The design professions wishing to satisfy th
6、is demand for ornamentation often copy past styles. While history is the source for many urban design concepts, thoughtless copying can lead to clumsy pastiche. It is important, therefore, to try to glean and evaluate the principles governing urban embellishment from a study of great works of the pa
7、st. Visual richness depends upon contrast; the contrast of elements such as window and wall; or the contrast of building materials, their colour, tone and texture; or finally the contrast of light and shade on the highly modelled surface. Visual rich- ness also depends upon the number of elements in
8、 the viewers field of vision. Too few elements despite a strong contrast gives little choice of objects at which to look. Here the composition 2 THE FAADE 2 5 would look boring. When an elevation contains too many identical visual elements they coalesce and read as a single object with a tendency to
9、 also bore the viewer. Five distinct elements appears to be the lower limit where choice of object to view is suffi- cient to stimulate. A composition containing more than nine elements may diminish in richness. A rich elevation is one where from any given distance, between five and nine elements ar
10、e distinctly seen (Bentley et al., 1985). The classical approach to decoration in its purest form is based upon the orders of architecture. The faade being subdivided horizontally and vertically by the main elements of the order, the entablature and the column or pilaster. Each floor is emphasized a
11、nd distinguished by the use of a different order the external faade of the Colosseum, Rome, and the Circus in Bath by John Wood being fairly typical examples (Figures 2.1 and 2.2). Many fine buildings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, use classical detailing for doors, wind
12、ows and other embellishments without following the full rigours of the architectural orders. The less formal decorative treatment associated with medieval periods in Europe depends for its effect upon an all encompassing pattern, a profusion of detail. In its more ordered forms the decorative patter
13、n follows strictly upon structural imperatives. The internal wall of the Cathedral nave expresses this idea to perfec- tion. The nave arcade supports the triforium arches or blind storey which gives borrowed light to the roof space above the aisle. Above the triforium is the clerestory which is the
14、main source of light for the nave. The decoration emphasizes the elements in this structural pattern of superimposed arcades subdivided into bays by massive pillars which stretch from floor to vault where they branch into elegant patterns of graceful arches to support the weighty roof. A similar ana
15、lysis of the external faade of the Gothic Cathedral can also be made. However, many fine buildings dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries use medieval detailing for doors and windows in a whimsical manner without follow- U R B A N D E S I G N : O R N A M E N T A N D D E C O R A T I
16、 O N 2 6 Figure 2.1 The Circus, Bath Figure 2.2 The Colosseum, Rome 2.2 2.1 ing the structural discipline associated with high Gothic architecture. Both traditions of decoration, classical and informal, are the birthright of the urban designer in the late twentieth century. The recent rejection of o
17、rnament and decoration, requires a re- evaluation of these older and deeper traditions in order to establish a modus operandi for the designer of today. A building may be said to consist of three main sections: a foundation or base that connects the building with the ground or pavement; a middle sec
18、tion with its rows of windows and possibly containing the piano nobile; and the roof zone which connects the building to the sky by silhou- ette. These three sections or zones of the building are common to both the classically and informally composed building. The relative weight given to each secti
19、on in terms of decoration depends upon the position of the building in relation to the viewer, its height, mass and the location of its most important function. In the Crescent in Bath, John Wood the Younger expressed these three elements with great clarity. He combined the first and second floors w
20、ith one giant order. In this way he unified and differentiated the middle section of the Crescent both from the ground floor with its rhythm of doors and windows and also from the attic with balustrade and small dormer windows (Figure 2.3). The emphasis of one or more of the major sections of the st
21、reet faade provides an opportunity to introduce pattern, colour or highly modelled deco- ration. The elements may be emphasized by a simple horizontal string course or by a more distinctive treat- ment. The roofline will be dealt with in detail in a later chapter. The base connecting the building to
22、 the street pavement is probably the part of the faade most often noticed by the viewer (Figure 2.4). It is at this point, around the front door and parlour window that the residential street receives most attention to detail. A typical neo-classical residential street in London often has a white or
23、 cream rusticated stucco base which supports the main part of the elevation above usually in brick with stucco trim around the windows. The stucco base may extend below ground with a basement; the well being edged in fine black ornamental ironwork (Figure 2.5). T H E F A A D E 2 7 Figure 2.3 The Cre
24、scent, Bath The most important zone for decoration in the shopping street is the ground floor. The shop front is the element of the faade which people have greatest contact with. The arcade is a most useful and highly decorative method of providing cover for the shopper in both the hot climate of so
25、uthern Europe and in the wet and windy conditions of the north. The arcade also introduces a unifying element of continuity to the potentially diverse street scene made up of various retailers. With careful siting of bollards along the arcade, it also has the advantage that it discourages the ram ra
26、ider who, using stolen vehicles, drives into the shop window before removing its contents. Shop fronts are a continuously changing feature of commercial streets as different retailers come and go wishing to place their distinctive mark upon the street. The shop front has three main horizontal divisi
27、ons: the stall riser, the display window, and the fascia for advertising the retailer and his wares. The traditional shop front was a design based upon functional needs and requirements. Windows were required to display the goods. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a trend towards larger and larger windo
28、ws so that the sales pitch could be made to those people passing in cars. As cities and central areas have been increasingly pedestrianized, with people passing by at a slower pace, shop windows have become smaller and more intimate again. Below the shop window would be a stall riser. This would giv
29、e protection from feet and dogs, and against rain splashing up from a dirty pavement. Ideally the stall riser is a continuation of the fabric of the building, so that the whole shop front U R B A N D E S I G N : O R N A M E N T A N D D E C O R A T I O N 2 8 Figure 2.4 Perugia Figure 2.5 Typical Lond
30、on house with main elevation in brick and stucco base 2.4 2.5 integrates and harmonizes with the architecture. Many modern shop fronts have ignored this feature and have taken their shop windows right down to ground level. The floorscape of the recessed entrance also provides an often ignored opport
31、unity for decoration. This flooring can either be a contin- uation of the flooring materials of the street or designed to harmonize with the design of the shop unit. Above the shop window would be the fascia carrying the details of the shopowners name or activity. These have been the most controvers
32、ial elements in the modern highstreet. Bland illuminat- ed fascia signs of multiple and chain stores have weakened local and regional identity tending to make all highstreets appear similar. Traditional signs were either unilluminated or lit by external fittings which of themselves would be decorati
33、ve. The fourth element of the shop front, the door, is a location for special decorative treatment. The deco- ration of the window surrounds should not distract from the merchandise and its display, nevertheless, some of the traditional shop windows dating from the last century are fine decorative s
34、ettings for the display of goods for sale (Figure 2.6). They are good models on which to base a modern interpretation of shop front design, having more aesthetic appeal than the standard house style store front with long fascia that proclaims ownership across an array of fine upper storeys. The fine
35、r articulation of the middle zone of the faade consists in its relief. Elements such as cornices, string courses and vertical edging along property boundaries define the zone. Within the zone the articulation is largely achieved through the decoration around the edges of windows, niches, or the trea
36、tment of projecting bays, balconies and stair- wells. Often the ornamental work is of contrasting colour and material from the main background walling material. One or other of the materials, background or decorative material, should be seen to clearly dominate the composition. There should be no he
37、sitation, no indecision as to which is the main colour or material. Since the trim is the most expensive part of the construction it is usually the smaller in expanse and often successful for that reason. Other important considerations for the location of ornament are the distance of the viewer from
38、 the faade; the angle at which it is viewed; and the time the viewer has in which to look at the compo- sition (Bentley et al., 1985). A prime location for architectural decoration is at the external corners of buildings, particularly if the corner is at the junction of several streets. The external
39、 angle of the building will be dealt with in detail in a later chapter. However, it should be noted here that this T H E F A A D E 2 9 Figure 2.6 Renovated Victorian shop front, York particular part of the street allows the viewer to approach the feature from many different angles and so to apprecia
40、te the embellishment fully. The closing wall of a street T junction offers similar opportunities for decoration (Figure 2.7). The termi- nation of the vista may take the form of a tower or a projecting bay. The closer the viewer is to a building the greater the opportunity to see and appreciate intr
41、icate detailing. The bland flat elevation at close quarters is at its most boring. For those parts of the building seen at a distance of about twelve metres (40 ft), the first six metres (18 ft) of the building constitute the area seen most readily and are the place where detailed ornament should be
42、 concentrated. From this position of about twelve metres, areas of the faade above six metres become more difficult to see with comfort; the head has to be tilted considerably and a conscious effort made to appreciate detailing on a wall higher than about twelve metres or at an angle of forty-five d
43、egrees to the eye. From distances greater than twenty-four metres (80 ft) larger areas of the faade can be seen as a pattern but decora- tion has to be bolder to be observed and features such as windows grouped to form more dominant objects in the field of view. Solving the problem of foreshortening
44、 in perspective, that is, the apparent loss of size in objects at greater distances from the eye, was well known to the Ancient Greek architect and sculptor. For them, it was common practice to increase in size the mouldings furthest from the eye. Those projections and details at heights above a thr
45、ee storey building, if they are to impinge strongly U R B A N D E S I G N : O R N A M E N T A N D D E C O R A T I O N 3 0 Figure 2.7 Haymarket Theatre terminating the vista from St James Square, London Figure 2.8 Cantilevered signs, York 2.8 2.7 on the viewers perception, need to be more robust than
46、 corresponding details at ground level. In narrow streets where the faade is rarely seen as a frontal elevation large overhanging string courses, highly modelled cornices, projecting bays, undulat- ing wall surfaces, cantilevered signs, clocks and flower boxes are appropriate forms of street decora-
47、 tion (Figure 2.8). THE STREET Vitruvius in the first century ADdescribed the street scenes used at that time as theatrical backdrops (Vitruvius, 1960). The general formal qualities of the scenes still retain a powerful image for the European urbanist. The three scenes according to Vitruvius are tra
48、gic, comic and satyric. Each street scene has a quite distinctive decorative effect. In the tragic scene, the street is delineated with columns, pediments and statues. It is a formal clas- sical street. The comic scene in contrast is the home of the ordinary man and is decorated with balconies, rows
49、 of windows and dwellings. Serlio (1982) in The Five Books of Architecture, published between 1537 and 1545, illustrated the scenes described much earlier by Vitruvius. The comic scene Serlio depicted as an informal arrange- ment of town houses, towers, chimneys, balconies and windows with pointed or round arches. It is a mixture of styles typical of many Victorian streets in Britain. The satyric street Vitruvius describes as being decorated with trees, caverns, mountains and other rusticated objects in a landscape style. This description could fit many