Ornament As Biomorphic Element of Continuity In Architecture

Traditional bearer of nature-inspired forms meant to animate the abstract shapes determined by construction techniques, ornament is an increasingly debated concept within the domain of digital architecture, as a result of the emergence of digital design and fabrication techniques which facilitate rendering formal complexity to the smallest detail. By analyzing historical theoretical views on the essential purpose of ornament to bring life to inert building materials in comparison with contemporary writings and works related to digital design, elements of continuity are sought between ornamental forms of the past and computational formal explorations, while also exploring how the relationship between abstraction and naturalistic representation that defines traditional ornament is manifested in works of digital design.