Ornament is dangerous : a wildfire hazard center for Los Angeles

摘要

There is no such thing as an unadorned building. While the the role and relevance of ornament in architecture has been criticized for centuries, its position has been, for the most part, supported as essential to architecture. In his seminal work On the Art of Building in Ten Books, Alberti wrote, "ornament may be defined as a form of auxiliary light and complement to beauty... ornament, rather than being inherent, has the character of something attached or additional." This understanding of ornament stems from the notion that within a work of art or architecture, that which is essential (the work) may be distinguished from that which is supplementary (the ornament).