Decorated sheds: �where systems of space and structure are directly at the service of program, and ornament is applied independently.� denise scott brown in las vegas, 1968 via clio. venturi and scott brown developed the distinction between ducks and decorated sheds while studying the las vegas strip in the late 1960s and early 1970s.. Robert venturi, denise scott brown, and steven izenour�s classic, learning from las vegas, famously pitted the decorated shed�the conventional structure with applied symbols�against the duck�the building that is itself a symbol.in the years following the book�s 1972 publication, the decorated sheds vanquished the ducks, as postmodernism displaced heroic modernism as the prevailing. What robert venturi proposed instead was the decorated shed, whereby the building itself is a simple shed decorated with signs, and it is through these signs that we are made aware of the building�s function. decorated sheds are fully functional buildings; they are essentially sheds..
I f anyone can be called the father of post-modem architecture in america it is robert venturi, however reluctantly he admits his paternity. some would say that postmodernist architecture has two fathers, venturi and charles moore, who is perhaps a bit more willing to acknowledge the child than venturi.. A gallery of ducks. a gallery of decorated sheds. caesars palace. details from the venetian. an interview with robert venturi and denise scott brown.venturi says, �i don�t read much about architecture these days, because in general i am bored by or disagree with what is written.. A �decorated shed�. according to venturi, most modern architecture are basically unadmitted ducks, what he calls "old words with new meanings". so this building was constructed for the walters group inc. ..
