The Molding House

Abstract

Moldings have been an architectural element since the prehistory.

The Greeks were the first to recognize, in their temples, the unique value possessed by moldings, which, occupying an intermediate position between the ornamental sculptures and the simple architectural lines of the main structure, gave a richly decorative effect to the latter without interfering with the beauty of the former. Then the Romans simplified the Greeks’ shapes, enriched the moldings vocabulary, and built plenty of precedents for classical architecture studies.

Fifteen hundred years later, Palladio and other Renaissance architects theorized, categorized, and documented the classical moldings, educating anyone who yearns for Classicism the principles to reproduce it. Yet now, 500 years after the Palladios, with abundant knowledge about moldings and intelligent machines at our fingertips, architects still apply moldings in the same manner as the ancestors did centuries back.

Too often, we see mass-produced lumber trims contouring the frame of double-pane windows and antique-looking cymatium garnishing the entrance of a glass-and-steel high-rise. The juxtaposition of conventional usage of moldings and modern technology has almost become a mockery of the 21st-century architects: Is there no other way to honor the moldings without copying and pasting the past?

This thesis explores an unprecedented way to adopt classical moldings in a contemporary house in Newport, RI. Situated among many extravagant mansions built in the Classical style, the Molding House showcases a post-modern deconstructivist technique to honor moldings in a fashion unlike any of its neighbors.