Sub Rosa [latin; A secret held under the rose]. This thesis will position itself within the collision of two worlds; The hyper-ostentatious aesthetic of the luxury car and the inhabitants of a priceless art collection. How can these two forms of luxury, both sophisticated and refined in taste be contained within a domestic environment?
This thesis argues that indeed these two realms of decadents can co-exist, and that one can act as a framing device for the other. The hyper luxury of the automobile will act to frame and negotiate the opulence of the art work, highlighting and re-enforcing the impact of the art pieces. Through spatial manipulation and material experimentation, the vulgarity of the automobile therefore becomes more refined and decadent.
Through the use of ornament and experimentation in carbon fibre and terracotta, the thesis will set to establish a critique against Roger’s Stirk Harbour + Partners's, One Hyde park, a penthouse development in Knightsbridge, London, and set to rejuvenate Louis Sullivan’s lost theory on the high-rise, both the material qualities and architectural language.
By accelerating new life into Louis Sullivan’s tripartite theory on the modern skyscraper of 1892 (the location of ornament within the high-rise, and particularly the use of ornament within the base, shaft and attic/ penthouse), the thesis will critique the lack of ornamentation on the Richard Rogers penthouse (the worlds most expensive real estate) and argue for the use of highly ornamented designs which relate directly to the client and site.
David W. Nightingale