Decorations in construction are ornaments and embellishments on façades, ceilings, doorways and interiors that have no structural function but enrich the building aesthetically and often tell a story about its period, style and patron. They are a key part of architectural history and one of the most distinctive features of a building.
Types of decoration
Decorations take many forms:
- Stucco — plaster or gypsum ornament on ceilings, cornices and walls
- Wood carving — decorated door frames, eaves and stair railings
- Bas-relief and haut-relief — figurative depictions in stone or plaster
- Mascarons — faces or masks above doors and windows
- Cartouches — framed panels carrying an inscription or date
- Festoons and garlands — swags of flowers, fruit or ribbons
- Wall plaques — carved stones bearing a coat of arms, trade or story
- Stained glass — coloured glass windows with figures or patterns
Period styles
Each historical style has its own decorative vocabulary:
- Romanesque — geometric patterns, animal figures, stylised foliage
- Gothic — finials, crockets, tracery, foliate carving
- Renaissance — symmetry, classical orders, candelabra motifs
- Baroque — exuberant plasticity, volutes, putti
- Empire and neoclassicism — restrained and antique-inspired
- Art Nouveau / Jugendstil — flowing lines, plant and female figures
- Art Deco — geometric, stylised, exotic motifs
Application and conservation
In monument restoration, decorations are recorded, restored or, when lost, reconstructed from archive material. Many decorations also carry symbolic meaning — coats of arms, guild marks or religious motifs.
Decoration in new buildings
In modern architecture, ornament was long banished (Adolf Loos: “ornament is crime”). Postmodernism and parametric design have brought decoration back as a legitimate part of the vocabulary, though now often more abstract and woven into the structure itself.
Related terms
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