* an undergraduate thesis project by Isabella Borda
Argument
this thesis began with the question - what is the role of ornament in our contemporary society?
to answer requires understanding the history of ornament in its previous forms
& realizing that ornament's previous role as a carrier of symbolic, top-down meaning could no longer serve a diverse multitude
contemporary ornament, as a result of the digital turn in architecture, has emphasized the sensorial qualities of affect-based ornament. this does not recognize a particular subjectivity nor place value on intellectual, cultural, or the more metaphysical connections [between realms, as a bridge to the creative wellspring] that ornament is capable of inducing
therefore, a new kind of ornament is needed for meaningful, subjective encounters in daily life through ritualistic and auratic engagements with architecture
Rituals “render time habitable” by structuring the event of lingering in a moment in time. The project first starts as a closed box meant to reveal itself with engagement. Through focus and care, the manipulation of the furniture allows the creation of space. First, the light box slides out and the side door opens. A cabinet for storing papers and annotations is in the back. The lid transforms into a platform for the book to rest upon after the light has been pulled out and the side door opened. Finally, the book in the side compartment slides out and is placed on the platform. The side door closes and holds the page in place. To turn the page, the door must be opened. A choreography of movements leads to a realm for reading.
Rite(s) of Passages
Site
sited in Bakersfield, California, an area known for agricultural and industrial production
Ornamental Infrastructure
where the routines of daily life can become ritualistic through programs that punctuate life through habits, routines with moments of profundity. these are the places that exist at unique intersections between the individual and the collective, the local and the larger cosmos
Ornament as a Verb
The Laundromat
all the different activities of the laundromat occur at the folding table. Washing, drying, sitting, waiting, eating, and folding occur here. The table folds through space and affords different occupations, surfaces for folding clothes, and moments where individual nooks become part of a collective. The central table allows the laundromat to be conceived as a social site of both convergence and difference.
The Library
the columbarium and the reading nooks are dispersed throughout the ground floor, sanctifying the act of reading while making the visiting of ancestors and loved ones more rooted in daily life. a series of frames are used: leaving books open for the next person to find, nooks for the objects of loved ones to decorate the space, and windows that highlight the willow trees outside.
The Bathhouse
as a city in perpetual drought and intense summers, water itself is sacred. A balance of scarcity and abundance is achieved with moments of illusion such as mirages, mirrors, and reflections counteracted by distinctive streams of water that guide movement. Swimming becomes intimate and ritualistic as visitors traverse immersion in small amounts of water, like mist, to full immersion in pools.
