Smooth Criminal ︎ Degree Project Studio
ARCH
431
Spring 2021 ︎
Los Angeles
Spring 2021 ︎
Los Angeles
Instructors
Anali Gharakhani
Anali Gharakhani




Work by B.Arch student Joseph Monck
In architecture, the term “ornament” has been deemed taboo for some time. As a much-debated topic, architectural ornament has been scrutinized, criminalized, victimized and dissected for centuries. While the use of ornaments in certain styles of architecture is still revered, its contemporary place has yet to find solace and is often subject to ridicule.



Work by B.Arch student Stephanie Greene
Using Gottfried Semper’s “Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts; or, Practical Aesthetics” as the primary underpinning document to pull from, students establish a series of specific self-driven investigations and methodologies to examine whether ornament can make a comeback in the realm of architecture while considering its origins in the art world.




Work by B.Arch student Ulysses Hernandez
Students select sub-topics, around which to build a body of research, critical analysis and a thesis. Smoother Criminal explores the conceptual, physical, formal, phenomenal, behavioral, performative, and sensory qualities of architectural ornamentation as a means of remediating its relationship to the current cultural landscape.




Work by B.Arch student Fumiya Ishii
Catalog Description
Through a rigorous level of clearly resolved work, students must demonstrate the application of theoretical research and positioning, plus the ability to integrate site, program, and other design issues in a self-initiated architectural design project incorporating a high degree of critical thinking, skill, and craft.
Through a rigorous level of clearly resolved work, students must demonstrate the application of theoretical research and positioning, plus the ability to integrate site, program, and other design issues in a self-initiated architectural design project incorporating a high degree of critical thinking, skill, and craft.