Design Map · Eindhoven
Excess Cornice
Graduation project by Yann Thiel at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
Cornices usually finish walls and openings without serving a structural function. Associated with historicist architecture, they have long been used to signify wealth and status, often through mass-produced ornament.
‘Excess Cornice’ lets the cornice escape this static role and spread into a bedframe, fireplace and doorframe. To make this transition possible, Yann Thiel uses the traditional method of cornice-making. A metal profile is drawn repeatedly through liquid plaster while a wooden frame holds the form in place. Support structures, similar to the formwork normally hidden behind walls, guide the ornament as it extends through the room.
Plaster splatters and gathers during the process. Instead of cutting these traces away, the designer keeps them visible. Rather than seamlessly performing grandeur, the cornice becomes a record of its own making.