XXII Generative Art Conference - GA2019

High Resolution Architecture: Ornament as a

Generative Force
Dimitris Gourdoukis, PhD, MArch, Dipl. Architect
School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
http://object-e.net/
e-mail: dgourdoukis@arch.auth.gr
Christina Moschopoulou
School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
https://architecture.web.auth.gr/en/home/
e-mail: cmoschop@arch.auth.gr

architectural vocabularies.
In that context, the concept of resolution
emerges as a factor that can affect and
alter our understanding of the architectural
creation. Specifically, the notion of high
resolution – in other words our ability to
control an increased density of
morphological information – appears to be
leading architecture into a new direction
Abstract and to a – seemingly previously
unexplored – aesthetic that reflects
The rapid progress and development of exactly this abundance of data that
information technologies that occurred defines our era.
during the last decades led to our current With the ability to handle an
condition where it is ultimately possible to unprecedented amount of detail along
collect, store and process previously with the use of ever-evolving digital
inconceivable amounts of data. The new methods and technologies of design and
scientific framework that is inevitably fabrication, structures that previously
formed – described by the somewhat seemed inconceivable are now designed
ambiguous term ‘Big Data’ – is combined and manufactured. Structures with levels
with the ever-increasing computational of detail and information that often go
power and the emergence of fabrication beyond what the human mind can capture
technologies such as 3d printing. That and manage.
leads to a new understanding of However, as is always the case with every
architecture and its formation where large new breakthrough in architectural design,
amounts of detail – which we are now we initially lack the necessary tools that
able to control – appear as an opportunity will aid us to form the criteria with which to
for investigations towards new forms of evaluate the produced results. In order to
expression and are defined by new do so, the proposed paper starts from the
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hypothesis that high-resolution is not A new condition:

necessarily a completely new condition for
architecture. On the contrary, the paper Resolution
argues that many of the properties of what
we are currently calling ‘high resolution The rapid progress and development of
design’ can be found in several instances information technologies that took place
of architecture’s history, and therefore by during the last twenty years, led to the
studying those instances we can better condition that we are facing today, where
understand and evaluate our current it is ultimately possible to collect, store
situation. In other words, the paper and process previously inconceivable
proposes that there have been conditions amounts of data. The new scientific
in the history of architecture that resemble framework that is inevitably formed –
the characteristics brought forward by described by the somewhat ambiguous
high resolution. term ‘Big Data’ – has radically
Ornament is such a condition: it has transformed every field of the current
always been a feature of high spatial societies, including of course architecture
density of information, which, before the [1]. Indeed, the new condition that is
advent of digital design and fabrication codified under the term Big Data – which
methods, was exclusively managed by in short “refers to data sets whose size is
humans. We can, for instance, think of the beyond the ability of typical database
wealth of information that incorporates a software tools to capture, store, manage
sculptural facade of a Gothic-era and analyze” [2] – has created a large
cathedral. The ability of human to array of reactions, most of them negative.
manually manage this plethora of details However, while social scientist and
related to ornament made political activists raise worried voices in
relation to personal freedoms, private data
the latter an important design feature, and a more and more dystopic picture of
which ultimately led to an increase in the the world where everything is recorded
resolution of each architectural project in and stored, architects seem to look at
general. those developments in a more optimistic
The paper, therefore, turns to the past and way.
identifies architectural examples from In architecture therefore, the above
different historical periods that negotiate framework in combination with the ever-
the issue of ornament, seeking in them increasing computational power and the
traces of increased resolution and its emergence of fabrication technologies
management. Through the examination of such as 3d printing, leads to a new
those historical case studies, we can understanding of architecture and its
inform our current practices and set them formation where large amounts of detail –
into perspective. Ultimately, which we are now able to control – appear
understanding high resolution through a as an opportunity for investigations
historical lens will help us define new towards new forms of expression and are
architectural practices that are not mere defined by new architectural vocabularies.
formal pyrotechnics but are instead In this context, a new concept emerges as
forming a new generative architecture a notion able to aid us to understand and
within the current social, political and describe the current phenomena: the
cultural framework. concept of resolution as a factor that can
affect and alter our understanding of the
architectural creation. Resolution of
course is a concept of a much larger
scope; however when we focus on an
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architectural context we notice that there Digital vs Analog

are already in place several attempts to
appropriate the concept and define the
framework that describes it. For example, It is understandable that since digital
in the work of Michael Hansmeyer and computers are facilitating high resolution
Benjamin Dillenburger the term resolution one could think of the later as a digital
refers to “the spatial density of information concept. After all, it is only through digital
inherent in a building” [3]. In a direct means that we became able to harness
relationship to its two dimensional such amounts of data and consequently
counterpart that can be found in the term design in high resolution. Even more
image resolution, in three dimensions importantly, it is through digital fabrication,
resolution refers also to the amount of and more specifically through 3d printing,
information that is or that can be that we are able to fabricate objects of
embedded in a particular region (in a high density of detail. Therefore ‘digital’ is
volume, a structure, etc.). Pixels are always part of the description when it
replaced by voxels and spatial information comes to the relationship of architecture
is stored in a continuously increasing and design to high resolution.
three- dimensional grid. However, using digital tools does not
Specifically, the notion of ‘high resolution’ require necessary a digital way of
– in other words our ability to control an thinking. On the contrary, a closer look
increased density of morphological would reveal that resolution is never a
information – appears to be leading question of size, therefore it cannot be
architecture into a new direction and to a numerical or digital. In fact resolution is
– seemingly previously unexplored – always and by definition a relationship
aesthetic that reflects exactly this between two sizes: it can be for example
abundance of data that defines our era. pixels per inch as it is in the case of digital
With the ability to handle an images. It never refers to just one size: it
unprecedented amount of detail along represents the relationship between two
with the use of ever- evolving digital sizes and more specifically the density of
methods and technologies of design and one into another expressed as a fraction.
fabrication, structures that previously Therefore resolution is always a logos.
seemed inconceivable are now designed Within a digital computer, resolution
and manufactured. Structures with high relates a digital, discreet unit with a
resolution as an inherent characteristic, physical size. It is the logos of information
with levels of detail and information that units per size, therefore it is a pure analog
often go beyond what the human mind concept, despite being implemented
alone can capture and manage. through digital means.
The analog nature of resolution – and
therefore of ‘high resolution’ too – has
The above described approach is based several implications. Continuity is one of
on two fundamental assumptions: The first them (as opposed to the concept of
is that the concept of high resolution is a discreetness that is employed recently by
‘digital concept’; as something facilitated several architects). On a second level it
by digital tools it has to abide to a digital implies a relational concept that can
way of thinking. The second is that the therefore never take an absolute value.
introduction of high resolution is bringing
forward a novice and previously unseen
process that can be understood as a
‘paradigm shift’ [3]. It would appear
however, that both assumptions could be
misleading.
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Shift vs Re-iteration and an important design feature, which

ultimately led to an increase in the
resolution of each architectural project in
The speed that defines the ways in which general. Thus, the paper turns to the past
digital tools are developed and upgraded and identifies architectural examples from
often impose the idea that they bring with different historical periods that negotiate
them a fundamentally new way of the issue of ornament, seeking in them
understanding or doing something. traces of the concept of increased
Similarly being able to manipulate resolution, its creation and management.
extremes levels of geometrical detail in
design and architecture could impose a
sense of a paradigm shift. A change Gothic architecture
brought forward by the new concept and
the tools and technologies that support it, One of the most impressive features of
which would alter architecture itself and the Gothic style is the combination of
will create a new condition. However, a architecture and sculpture. The significant
more historical approach could be and intense presence of ornament is
enlightening by revealing previous immediately apparent by observing the
approaches to architecture and design characteristic cathedrals of High Gothic
that incorporate some of the principles architecture of the 13th century, such as
that appear fundamentally novice when the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, in
examined without a greater historical northern France.
context. In other words, we could perhaps Both in exterior and interior, the various
identify historical architectural examples parts of the building are highlighted with a
where properties similar to that of high particularly intense emphasis on
resolution emerge, and therefore build a sculptural ornament [4]. And it is precisely
case that supports an understanding of this feature where the concept of
continuity and re-iteration of concepts and increased resolution is found: in the
ideas rather that one of rapture and multiple facets and innumerable
‘shifts’. formations created by the sculptural
In order to formulate our research and management of stone. At every part and
identify the examples that would be the element, the material, a kind of local
most useful, we have to turn our attention limestone, has been skillfully carved and
to another concept that was always shaped, incorporating, more or less, an
related to the codification of information in increased amount of information and
architecture: ornament. Indeed, ornament enhancing the overall density of
could potentially be identified as a morphological details. Indeed, in many
condition that resembles the cases the scale and the plethora of details
characteristics brought forward by high of the ornament are on such a high level
resolution: it has always been a feature of that it seems impossible to immediately
high spatial density of information, which, perceive all of its features. An increased
before the advent of digital design and number of elements with intense three
fabrication methods, was exclusively dimensionality, such as carved figures –
managed by humans. The ability and full or bas-relief –, foliage and naturalistic
effort to manually manage this plethora of ornament, etc. Even the sculptural
details related to ornament, made the treatment of the multitude of components
latter a generative element in architectural in the interior, such as the ribs, form a
creation unified and complex condition of high
resolution.
According to the principles of the

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architectural style of this period, ornament

is not an independent element, but rather
serves to complement and complete the
architectural expression [5,6]. Under this
light, the increased resolution, achieved
with the use of ornamental features,
appears mainly as an inherent feature of
the structure, reminiscent of the condition
of the current digital age, where the vast
amount of morphological information is an
innate element. Thus, even elements that
can be considered as additional
information - for example, the carved
figures that are created in a single volume
of stone that accommodates also the
building parts - could be perceived more
as integral parts of a single whole, rather
than as superficial add-ons.
Throughout the history of architecture,
while this increased morphological detail
was associated exclusively with manual
labor, the creators had been led to seek
and develop suitable modes of
management, creation and construction,
as well as the use of materials with
appropriate properties.
Using metal tools, mainly various types of
chisels, they were able to form the
limestone, a sedimentary type of stone,
with medium hardness and easy to be
carved, producing this way highly detailed
reliefs. Stone-carvers and sculptors of this
era had developed and mastered modes
of stone carving, as well as a high level of Figure 1: M. Hürlimann, Reims Cathedral,
skill, both in the conception of composition
and form, and in the manual skills to 1937 (source: [12])
create them, that in Reims achieved some
of “the most thrilling extremes of which
stone was capable”[7]. Louis Sullivan

One of Sullivan's major contributions to

architecture is the unique ornamental
system he had developed. One of his
most important high-rise office buildings,
the Guaranty Building, designed and built
in the late 19th century in downtown
Buffalo, New York, expresses precisely
the essential role that ornament played in
his work. The building is a metal structure,
the facades of which are covered by
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surfaces with intricate and rich geometric of its terra cotta ornament, 2019 (source:
and foliage patterns and shapes. These www.urbanremainschicago.com)
ornamental facades then, with the multiple
relief elements that increase the density of guides for developing a series of
morphological information through their manipulations based on the innate
innumerable formations , is the point that geometry of the shape. The resulting grid
the paper focuses on in the search for the was the basis along which a system of
concept of increased resolution. abstract plant forms was developed. This
In his book A System of Architectural growth or ‘efflorescence’, as Sullivan
Ornament: According with a Philosophy of called it, of these forms, according to the
Man’s Powers, Sullivan described the rules of nature, led to a very intricate
design methodology for creating the foliage outcome [8,9]. Today, the use of
intricat e ornamental features of his computational methods has as a result the
buildings. The process began with a emergence of a variety of techniques that
simple geometric shape, which through a can lead from a geometric shape to high
series of design actions resulted in a resolution outcomes. A typical example is
highly detailed foliage form. In short: some the logic of subdivisions: through
axes of the initial form were the innumerable subdivisions of an original
shape, it is possible for a structure with
infinite individual formations to be formed.
It could be said that Sullivan had devised
and developed, using paper and graphite,
such a technic of his own.

Figure 3: Figure-: L. H. Sullivan, The

Awakening of the Pentagon, 1924
(source: [9])

These intricate designs were firstly

translated into clay molds, which were
then used to form the elaborate individual
Figure 2: E. J. Nordstrom, Louis Sullivan's relief ornamental pieces that constitute the
Guaranty Building: A photographic study facade of the building. All parts are made
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of terra-cotta, a ductile type of clay, which

can be formed into a variety of complex
shapes and designs. Of course, the
repeated use of molds made possible to
produce the countless ornamental pieces
of the building, which is the reason why
many elements appear identical.
Undoubtedly - not only in this example,
but in architectural practice in general -
the creation of multiple morphological
features through manual processing was
a time consuming but also a costly
process. The application of molds for
multiple repetitions of patterns and
elements had greatly contributed to
limiting the above. However, repletion
through molding could have an additional
interpretation. Using molds is a method
that helps reduce and limit the amount of
information, making it more accessible
and manageable by the human factor.
This technique, which results in repeated
information, had often seemed necessary
in the past to achieve a wealth of
morphological detail. In the current
condition, the use of the machine in the
design and construction process makes
such methods superfluous, as it can
handle any amount of data without the
need for simplifications or reductions.

Carlo Scarpa

As a last case, the paper focuses on Carlo

Scarpa's work, which is generally Figure 4: Detail of the façade of the Banca
characterized by an elaborate design of all Popolare, Verona (source:
the components and an insistence on the www.archipicture.eu)
details - mostly ornamental. In these
details is where the concept of high The forms and shapes of these
resolution lies. The ability to design and ornamental elements that contribute to the
manage the multiple ornamental elements increase in morphological information of
found throughout his works, enhance the the structures in Scarpa’s works vary and
information embedded in them, ultimately occur at various and multiple scales. They
serving as a process for enhancing their have mostly to do with the creation of the
resolution in general. various elements and materials, with their
formulation, combination and composition.
Figure 5: Details of molding in the Brion The peculiar formation of each material is,
cemetery (sources: above [13] – below for instance, one of these elements. In
[11]) Tomba Brion, in particular, the ornamental

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management of building material is the

most characteristic feature of the project.
Using molds, the concrete is shaped into
many parts in a ‘ziggurat’ motif. This
geometry is a characteristic pattern of
Scarpa’s work, which is found, always
enhancing the amount of morphological
detail, on various scales, but also on
additional works, such as the facade of
the Banca Popolare in the city of Verona,
this time elaborately carved in marble.

Figure 8: Detail of the wall cladding in the

Querini Stampalia Foundation,
Venice(source: www.archipicture.eu)
Today, the emergence of the concept of
resolution is directly linked to the
perception of the architectural form as a
synthesis of multiple individual elements,
fragments or particles [3]. In a sense, a
similar logic applied to Scarpa's design
concept: “an architectural whole is seen
as a phenomenon composed by details”
[10]. Each of these details – shaped as a
Figure 6: Detail of the paving in the unique element [11] - is not just a
entrance hall of the Querini Stampalia secondary processing, but one of the
Foundation, Venice (source: [11]) multiple elements that 'articulate' each
structure, ultimately producing forms with
increased morphological information. This
concept is strongly reflected in the
creation of surfaces, such as walls, floors,
etc. The use and skillful synthesis of
various materials is another element that
contributes to the process of increasing
morphological information. Such surfaces,
which consist of a combination of multiple
elements like stone, marble, wood, metal,
glass, and could therefore be
characterized as high resolution, are
innumerable in his

Figure 7: Detail of the external revetment

works. Representative examples are the
of the sacellum in the Castelvecchio
exterior lining of the 'sacellum' at
Museum, Verona (source: [11])
the Museo di Castelvecchio with its
intricate stone and marble pattern, the
mosaic on the floor at the entrance of
the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, with its
various marble tiles, the formation of walls
at the same project with the combination

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of pieces of travertine, brass and glass, of thinking as opposed to a digital one:

etc. Despite the digital nature of our tools
Finally, it is worth pointing out that this – in fact in some cases it is exactly
plethora of details, developed through a because of that – we can support an
sequence of actions analog, continuous way of thinking and
- from Scarpa's inspiration, invention and acting that keeps transcending the past
design to, ultimately, the construction by into new directions.
experienced craftsmen - were not merely To conclude, through our reference to the
an ornamental condition, but they had past and the examination of historical
strongly component role. This fact makes case studies, we can inform our current
increased resolution an inherent feature of practices and set them into perspective.
the whole synthesis and, somehow, an Ultimately, understanding current,
integral feature of the structure and of the emerging conditions and concepts, such
design process. as ‘high resolution’, through a historical
lens, will help us define new architectural
practices that are not mere formal
Conclusion pyrotechnics, but are instead forming a
new generative architecture within the
Αs is always the case with every new current social, political and cultural
breakthrough in architectural design, framework. High resolution architecture,
especially since the beginnings of the when understood as an analog concept
digital age, the initial stages of the that re-iterates the concept of ornament
process most often than not lack the can become generative and lead towards
necessary tools that will aid us to form the new design directions.
criteria with which to evaluate the
produced results. Thus, we are often led References
to view them as completely new and
revolutionary conditions, as ‘shifts’ in the
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architecture. Design Beyond Intelligence. Cambridge,
Here we propose a different way to ‘read’ Mass: The MIT Press, 2017.
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‘shifts’ and therefore is not based on The next Frontier for Innovation,
negations – in effect one that is not Competition, and
dialectical in nature. Instead we propose
an understanding based on continuity, Productivity | McKinsey & Company,” May
affirmation and constant modulation of 2011.
concepts, ideas and processes. Continuity
because older things don’t break in order [3] B. Dillenburger and M. Hansmeyer,
to be replaced by new ones but they “The Resolution of Architecture in the
rather the former ones are transcribed into Digital Age,” in
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process has to be based on the Global Design and Local Materialization,
acceptance of one condition in order to 2013, pp. 347–357.
transform it into something new. And
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[4] D. Watkin, A history of Western
always transformations that take place: it
architecture. New York: Thames and
is not about repeating the past but instead
Hudson, 1986. [5] A. Speltz, Styles of
about constantly altering into something
Ornament. New York: Grosset & Dunlap,
else. In essence, it is about an analog way
1906.
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[6] H. Dolmetsch, Historic styles of

Ornament. London: Batsford, 1898.
[7] R. F. Jordan, A Concise History of
Western Architecture. London: Thames
and Hudson, 1997. [8] T. Beeby, “The
flowering grid,” Archit. Rev., 1977.
[9] R. Twombly, Louis Sullivan: His Life
and Work. Chicago: University of Chicago
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[10] M. Frascari, “The Tell-the-Tale
Detail,” in VIA 7:The Building of
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A. Fisher, Eds. Boston, MA: The MIT
Press, 1984, pp. 23–37.
[11] B. Albertini and S. Bagnoli, Scarpa:
Architecture in Details. London:
Architecture Design and
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[12] P. Clemen, Gothic cathedrals: Paris,
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Mazzariol, Eds., Carlo Scarpa: The
Complete Works. London: Electa/Rizzoli,
1984.

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