About
Cornice & Finial is an international facade consultancy for new traditional and classical buildings. Many people believe such buildings are too costly, or simply cannot be built any more. We make them possible, and cost-effective: beautiful facades, with modern construction, insulation and services behind them.
Form follows function. Beauty is the function.
The name
- Cornice
- The projecting band along the top of a wall. The cornice is the practical, the horizontal: it throws rain clear of the facade and shades the wall from the sun.
- Finial
- The ornament that crowns a roof, a gable or a spire. The finial is the vertical, the aspirational: it points skyward, and it has long been a symbol of civic pride.
Both are missing from most modern buildings. Both are decorative and functional at once. That is the whole argument of this firm.
Where we work
We work on projects in the United States and Europe, and beyond, for developers, municipalities and architects. Consultations are held in English, wherever the site is.
What we do
Facade consulting
New traditional facades over modern construction, designed for a 100-year life.
Masterplanning
Whole traditional neighbourhoods, from the street network to the character of each building.
Design coding
Design codes that fix a place's traditional character, so that many hands can build one coherent place.
Team assembly
Traditional and classical architects, craftspeople and makers, drawn from the Agora directory.
Cost and value analysis
The financial case for your project, from build-cost estimates by ornament level to the evidence on value.
Rendering
Traditional and classical renderings for architects, and for speculative real-estate projects.
Three kinds of project
New build
A new traditional building on an empty or cleared site, designed with its facade from the start.
Facade retrofit
A new traditional facade on an existing modern building. The building stays; its face changes.
Renovation with facade retention
Lisbon style: we keep the historic facade and rebuild everything behind it new, with modern structure, insulation, services and layouts.