Architecture, Ornament, and Climate Change
by Jessica Kung Dreyfus
“The blindness of the contemporary urban world to everything that is not itself, to nature, most of all…is a highly dangerous condition.”
— Vincent Scully
How does architecture contribute to the urgency of addressing climate change? Aside from the frequently discussed issues around sustainable building materials, LEED certification, and environmentally responsible building approaches, how can architecture lead the healing of the planet and heal humanity’s relationship to the earth?
Over a decade ago Professor Bloomer of Yale Architecture School began a conversation with Stephen Kellert of Yale Forestry School about the relationship between the deforestation of buildings and the deforestation of the planet. It is no coincidence that the modernist impulse to defoliate buildings happened contemporaneously with an increase in the pace of environmental degradation and deforestation.
Removing references to nature in human-made spaces both reflects the disconnection growing between man and nature, and permits the disconnect to grow. With the removal of architectural ornament from the pedagogy of modernism came the removal of not just the visual references to nature in the form of leaves and foliated flourishes, but the removal of the ornament design system as it informs the creation of architecture.
The design of ornament mirrors the design of nature. Ornament is the geometry of life, beginning with the seed germ, as constructed by man. This human-made geometry effloresces throughout the structure of the built form as it does in nature. To forcibly remove both the references to nature and the very matrix that the structure grows upon is to effectively disentangle the psyche of humanity from an interconnected relationship with cosmos; continuing the degradation of the natural world. Modernism succeeded in facilitating the divesting of humanity from nature. If we had honored and preserved an interdependent relationship with nature and biological systems, and continued to be a part of them, we would have been unable to carry out the unfettered destruction of the natural world that is now leading us to the brink of a climate disaster. For this reason, we need to reject the rejection of ornament and urgently rehabilitate the matrix upon which the design of ornament connects us to the balance of the universe.
I recently spent a day in retreat at one of my building projects, Mayacamas Ranch in Calistoga, CA. I engaged in a lively conversation with an inventor, investor, and thought-leader who has devoted his life to creating the conditions for a net-positive humanity. We discussed this very topic and how his work on the investment and tech side intersected with my work on the consciousness of the cosmos. How does the conversation around ornament support his robots that can reseed the coral reefs and transform agriculture? What comes first, the technology and infrastructure that can help turn around the climate disaster, or humanity’s shift in consciousness towards reconnecting to our interdependence with nature? We agreed that they need to arise simultaneously. The technology that can save the planet will not be able to scale and be adopted by the masses unless humanity embraces the change of heart that underlies the adoption of new technology.
How can we change the heart of humanity quickly? Can reinventing and reintroducing the practice of ornament facilitate a change of heart? Can we position architectural ornament not as another line item in a budget that is disposable, but the very heart of the creation of the building — the reason the building has to exist? The building exists to affirm humanity’s relationship to the natural world. If one were to remove the ornament, one would be removing the relationship of interdependence. If we wish to stay on this planet, neglecting that relationship should no longer be an option. Everything we build and make from buildings and cities to machines and organizations should be designed as an affirmation of our interdependence with the natural world. Rebuild the matrix, regenerate the cosmos, and renew the earth.
“We may construct and create our world through learning and the exercise of free will, but to be successful, we must remain true to our biology, which is rooted in nature. If we stray too far from our inherited dependence on the natural world, we do so at our own peril.”
Stephen Kellert
