Ornament

Egyptian lotus capitals, from Owen Jones' The Grammat of Ornament, 1968

The problem with ornament

Minimalism may symbolise luxury, but it could be time to refamiliarise ourselves with our decorative roots

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Outrage: the prejudice against queer aesthetics

Architecture represses plurality and queerness in favour of heteronormative culture

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William Morris (1834-1896)
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Outrage: ‘The anti-ornament hysteria is thankfully now at the bottom of the dustbin’
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Outrage: ‘There is a silent agreement in contemporary British architecture: you may deploy ornament, but never too much’
Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879)

Folio: Viollet-le-Duc's ornamental side
LoosIndex

Adolf Loos (1870-1933)
Chicago Flowering Grid

The flowering grid

Essays about Modernism, Post-modernism, art and craft

Since 1896, The Architectural Review has scoured the globe for architecture that challenges and inspires. Buildings old and new are chosen as prisms through which arguments and broader narratives are constructed. In their fearless storytelling, independent critical voices explore the forces that shape the homes, cities and places we inhabit.

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