Functional Ornament – Ornamental Function
- Abishai Choragudi
- Sep 12, 2022
- 4 min read
The Lilavati Lalbhai Library at CEPT University is quite a controversial piece of architecture, debated and disputed among students and teachers with regards to its design. Some consider it to be out of line with the “spirit” of CEPT, a lone block of overdone modernism in the centre of the campus; despite all these differences of opinion, it is indisputable that the library has grown to become one of the icons of the University. In this essay, I shall endeavour to analyse the building products within the library keeping in mind my learnings and observations from Ornament and Crime (Loos, 1931). After analysing their form, function and ornament, the products will be christened either as “functional ornaments” if they are adding some value by being there, and “ornamental functions” if they seem to be useful but really one can do without them.
Magazine Shelving System
“A suit will change its form more often than a valuable fur. A woman’s ballgown, meant only for one night, will change its form more quickly than a writing-desk. But woe betide that we must change the desk as quickly as a ballgown, because the old forms have become unbearable; then one will have lost the money spent on the desk.”
Both top floors (reading rooms) of the library have a collection of journals, and are the only books stored in the upper floors of the building. The shelving for these is quite subtle and efficient. It’s pure colour and transparent racks allow it to slip into the background and let their contents take center stage. It is recessed into the wall, keeping the shelves level with the surface, and providing a “stage” for the books. Behind the shelves are storage units which also add to the function and its partitions are barely perceptible. On the whole, it is a good example of simple, unornamented design.
Then arises the question of the bent metal sheet found on some shelves. At first it seems like an unnecessary addition, since most books hold up pretty well by themselves; but on further inspection I found that it actually provides a good support for soft bound magazines, which are prone to warping and bending. So, despite its limited and specific function, one could say it is a functional ornament.
Roof Skylights
“Ornament means squandered manpower and thus squandered health. It has always been so. But today it also means squandered material and both together mean squandered capital.”
Although technically a skylight is an architectural element, for the sake of its relevance to the essay I have chosen to include it here. The two skylights pictured below are present on the east and south parts of the library building. Since the façade is made up of movable louvers, the building is able to let it just the right amount of light required, from all directions. Given this fact, I cannot justify the presence of a skylight in these areas; they seem at best mildly functional, and at worst purely ornamental. Despite the opening being chamfered to let in and diffuse light, the size of the opening is about 40x40 cm and is quite small in proportion to the building; this is another reason why it doesn’t seem to work.
Figure 5&6. South and East skylights, respectively. Source: Author’s Collection
Projector Screen
“The lack of ornament is a sign of intellectual power.”
The projector screen opposite the library stairs is used occasionally for movie screenings, (although most students prefer to have it in an empty studio space) and is probably the most unnecessary and poorly executed functional object in the library. Right above it is a lightwell (which defeats the purpose of projecting light onto a surface) and the informal seating is workable, but too casual for an event taking place in the CEPT Library. Moreover, screenings require sound and that is practically desecrating the austere silence of the library. It is poorly executed, impractical and antithetical to the entire idea of the library. A slapped-on ornamental function indeed.
Figure 7&8. Stairs leading up to the second floor and the projector screen half-open below the lightwell (Fig. 8) Source: Author’s Collection
“The evolution of culture comes to the same thing as the removal of ornament from functional objects.”
Figure 9&10. Strip LEDs hanging out of their fixtures; nestled in the wall, the railing seems to be carved out of it. Source: Author’s Collection
The staircase is a striking piece of architecture in the library—its dark, sober aura is quite in contrast to the cheerful yet subdued quietness in the rest of the building. In this subtle composition, the lit handrail is the bold move, as it stands out quite nicely. It is carved into the wall, or rather carved out of it, and lit by a strip of LEDs running along the entirety of its length. This expression is powerful, but it serves little purpose in actually functioning as a handrail. Since it’s carved out of the wall, it does not visually “read” as being friendly enough to grab on to. I personally have never used it, nor have seen anyone doing so. The form of the rail itself deviates substantially from its orthogonal context, taking on an elliptical section with a distinct curvature; this again is a decision that doesn’t make sense—it responds quite half-heartedly to the functional requirement, and completely ignores the grammar of its location. On the other hand, it there is an argument for it, as the curve of the handrail is quite plain, unornamented and is the simplest, most ergonomic shape which one could give to that object. To this I say it is true, but if we look at it from a broader perspective about its place in the architecture and its everyday use, one is inclined to think that it is more of an ornamental function—which may not be a bad thing, but if it were intentionally that, it could be improved on many fronts.
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