An Observation on Ornament

It has become detestable for ornate decorative pieces to form a unity with our built spaces. The beauty of such pieces is appreciated but only when separated from the architecture. The statues and details that were once part of classic architecture can now only be appreciated by the sensible modern person when cleanly ripped apart from the skeleton of a building. These decorations must be disassociated from the built mass in order to be enjoyed. A definitive line must be drawn between a decorative object and the built. The two may not marry anymore.

But why?

Painstaking detail and ornateness were features of classical architecture but more accurately the classical architecture of the aristocracy and clergy. The industrial revolution allowed for engineers who were still unsullied by the teachings of classical architecture treatises, to build and plan with utility and economy in mind. Their machinations lead to pure and honest expressions of structure. These were much easier to relate to the architecture of the proletariat.

With engineers taking the forefront, functionality becoming a priority and an acute lack of money, classical architecture fell out of favour.?

As a result, even the bourgeoisie now live in austere houses which differ only in their scale and materiality. In a way their power to command a workman to toil over a statue or cornice has been stripped. The architecture stands as a testament to this.