Ornamentation on Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City
Modernist architecture does not use ornamentation. Ornaments are usually sculptures attached to the building — they represent something or have easily understood symbolic meaning. Modernist architecture is abstract. So why is ornamentation featured on Vietnam’s most recognized modernist public building, the Independence Palace? Architect Ngô Viết Thụ incorporated these bas-relief sculptures below the windows. They represent Vietnamese imagery. But they are finely detailed and dense, and therefore they "read" as texture in the design. Whether they are seen and studied, or viewed as part of the composition, they contribute to Vietnamese identity in this design.
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