Introduction

“We are by nature observers, and thereby learners: that is our permanent state.” — Emerson.

THE measure of success in the realm of design to which an architect will attain depends largely upon his recognition of elementary principles at the outset of his career and upon the selection of a right line of development for his future studies. Expression in architecture inevitably changes to meet the moods of passing fashion and taste, but the underlying principles remain constant. From earliest student days, the architect should be encouraged to appreciate geometrical form in building as the keynote to expression. In most countries classic architecture constitutes the bedrock of tradition, but all building — irrespective of style or period — that is worthy of the name of architecture responds to simple and elementary laws; observance of geometry underlies the grammar of the art and provides the basis of design.

Elementary forms often produce the most expressive results, for simplicity of plan suggests simplicity of section and elevation with corresponding dignity and restraint. When adequate to its purpose, the simplest expression is always the best, the qualities of simplicity and dignity being pre-eminently the attributes of greatness.

At the present time it is widely recognised that a study of first principles alone will give the designer a starting point from which he can proceed with confidence, and that a repertory of historical motives is essential as a basis upon which to formulate a standard whereby modern design can be gauged. In the past, masterpieces begat masterpieces, and constant reference to the finest examples of the art lays open to the designer an unfailing source of inspiration whence to evolve new aspects of beauty of his own. Reasoning, with reference to past achievement, has been the root of all fine architectural expression and character in buildings throughout the history of civilisation. While it must always be realised that peculiar conditions determine the geometrical arrangement in three dimensions of the component parts of any particular building, a mind guided to the right acceptance of the structural theory will the more readily evolve a building which has at least the merit of being architectural.

The present age is one of involved complexity, not only to the student but also to the practising architect. The sense of bewilderment tends to become more chaotic through lack of direction and the conflicting claims of new vogues as one succeeds another. To the uninitiated, the architectural outlook is obscured, while the tendency is unquestionably for the student to get confused by the overwhelming amount of detail bequeathed by the building arts during many centuries in different countries. But a building or a monument appeals primarily by reason of its structural vitality. The architect’s glory, wrote Sir Thomas Wotton, with real insight, “consists in the designment and idea of the work; his ambition should be to make the form triumph over the matter. There is, moreover, intuitively in the mind of every craftsman a perception of the beauty of form. True insight into the qualities of a building is to be gained, not by enquiry about its historical associations, wealth of materials or variety of detail, but by investigation into the abstract form of its structure and the selection and grouping of the masses of which it is composed. They are most readily approached through analysis of the elemental shapes upon which all buildings depend for expression, and experience has shown that specific forms and types of design lend themselves readily to analysis.

A century ago, the eminent French architect Durand* investigated certain elemental forms, and the knowledge which his researches made available has been applied — notably in France and America — to schemes of widely differing character. New forms, however, have been evolved since Durand’s time, and now with five hundred years of attainment and experience since the dawn of the Renaissance to look back upon, ampler opportunity offers itself, and it is possible to record not only antique models, but also other forms that are widely accepted as extending the theory.

A work of this description must of necessity emphasise the extraordinary similarity that prevails in building expression as interpreted by architects of different countries. The greater part of the best European and American architecture is obviously based upon a common classic inheritance, deep-rooted in principles which have given to the world the supreme achievements of ancient Greece and Rome. The awakening of the fifteenth century in Italy marked a new era of enlightenment and advance in the arts and, as a result of the appreciation of antique models, brought about a widespread return to the principles of design by which they are governed. Consequently the culminating periods of Greek and Roman architecture have here been drawn upon as well as the whole range of matured Renaissance architecture in Europe. Ideas developed in continuous sequence during many centuries are here collated and explicit statements formulated which give the designer the advantage of a clear index. Further, it has been realised that historical motives can be standardised for reference, and that themes acknowledged to be of superlative interest are capable of fresh development irrespective of style or scale.

* J. N. L. Durand. Précis des Leçons d’Architecture. 2 vols. Paris. 1802-9 and other editions.

The need for a clear analysis of the elements of design in the past is more than ever apparent. Such a work requires to be broad in its scope and definite in its purpose. Its scheme must embrace historical sequence; its theories must be elastic, the examples it illustrates must be inspiring. The fact that such examples have been employed in the past is no detriment to the repetition of the elemental idea. This in itself constitutes the law of design. With such ends in view, this work has been compiled, not only from actual buildings but also from the wider field of projected designs. The repositories of many countries have been searched, and from many sources material has been obtained to swell the number of useful examples, and at the same time to present the theories of architects who made history in England during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Many diagrams have been made especially to illustrate the geometrical basis upon which the buildings selected were designed. The main idea has been to demonstrate the structural principles which govern the particular series selected, and the book has been prepared primarily as a reference volume for the student as well as for the practising architect who may have occasion to deal with similar problems.

If architecture is to retain its place as chief among the kindred arts and to make any real progress in this country, it is certain that students must formulate their studies on first principles and base their essays in building on a clearly defined system. A definite purpose in teaching is most desirable, but before it can be pursued with advantage the student should be led to concentrate his attention on the essentials upon which expressive building depends.

In France, America and England it is now generally admitted that fundamental principles are not affected by limitations of time or space, and that purely local idiosyncrasies or conditions of climate or material do not annul the working of their laws. The elementary principles need to be assimilated by students and others, for to depart from them is to accept a “provincial” standard which in past decades has been productive of much commonplace building. A knowledge of the history of architecture and of the masterpieces which have survived reveals the fact that the men who stand out as masters of design have been content to study fundamental principles and to seek inspiration from precedent. Those, on the other hand, who were so eager for adventure that they discarded precedent — thinking to evolve all that seemed necessary out of their inner consciousness — have not gone far without realising that disregard of known laws has led them into uncertain and uncharted regions from which it would be wise to turn back and to dispense with their ill-judged originality. Energy spent in vain on a false road might, under better counsel, have been spent with success on a true one. The student, in particular, should be warned against trusting to his own judgment before he has laid in a store of material from which to enrich his ideas. Before being encouraged to “invent” he should, as far as practicable, be made familiar with the best simple structural forms and the most harmonious combinations of them that have already been produced.

The structural shapes, the proportions of the parts to one another and their relation to the whole constitute the elements of design in architecture as surely as in any other intellectual exercise. They are the most obvious and perceptible to the senses and so they are the most communicable, and from them most can be learned. It follows that an analysis of a number of accepted motives, selected from the works of past masters must give a foundation for future exercises, the aim of the student being to express himself clearly and to invest his designs with truth and grace, while avoiding immature attempts to “invent” on original lines. Nothing can come of nothing, but from the known advance can be made to the unknown. “Everything which is wrought with certainty is wrought upon some principle: if it is not, it cannot be repeated,” was a famous saying of Sir Joshua Reynolds, than whom no teacher ever propounded saner precepts. The elementary forms of structure, evolved long ago, have been accepted as the basis of design for all time, and the measure of skill no less than the powers of invention acquired by the student will show themselves in the use he makes of them. To borrow an idea from an ancient building and to develop it is legitimate procedure. Such borrowing is a perpetual exercise of the inventive powers and is indispensable to the evolution of any art. Architectural development has depended upon it in the past, and without it ordered progress cannot be looked for in the future.

On the Plates in this book the elements of structure exhibiting classic design and composition are graphically analysed and arranged in geometrical sequence. With some exceptions, the illustrations do not represent actual buildings drawn to the exact scale of the originals: on the contrary, they show types adopted from the antique and developed at various periods. The drawings indicate the elements of the design of innumerable buildings, arranged with due regard to their dimensions, in such a way as to facilitate comparison. The motives, grouped according to their plan form, cover a wide range of design extending from those of extreme simplicity and modest dimensions to those suitable for a magnificent scale, but no attempt has been made to suggest finality of composition. These simple plan forms are capable of endless development, and every student should be familiar with them and should obtain a certain mastery over their relation to section and elevation before attempting to solve more difficult problems, for they underlie the design of many compositions which at first sight appear to be complex. The designs here drawn and described are not intended to pre-determine the character of particular types of buildings, nor it is supposed that they will influence planning otherwise than by showing the correct placing of attributes and by ensuring sympathetic relation of parts, without which architecture lacks true quality. Hitherto, it has not been generally realised in this country that design in building is primarily concerned with the plan, and that the highest architectural expression can be found only in a building that is rhythmically composed in plan, section and elevation.

A work of art must possess unity. It is through a symmetrical arrangement that a work of architecture reveals itself as an organic unit and as the expression of a central thought. The law of balance calls for a symmetrical disposition of the elements, whether of plan or of elevation, grouped about axial lines. In order to appreciate the correct setting-out of a plan and the importance of vistas, the student must gain a knowledge of the fundamental principles of planning, and this will strengthen his theories of logical construction, inasmuch as it ensures a just proportion and cohesion between solids and voids and between the areas of supports and the areas enclosed. Perfection in plan is indispensable to perfection in architectural expression.

A geometrical basis should govern all design, for geometrical forms are naturally more pleasing than irregular figures. The circle, the square and the rectangle being elemental are of most frequent occurrence. Certain accepted methods of treating simple circular, polygonal, square and rectangular plans, both internally and externally, cannot be ignored and familiarity with them, derived from a study of the finest works of all times and all countries affords a broad foundation on which to base further solutions. Rectangular figures of varying proportions and such regular polygonal, segmental and elliptical figures as concern the architect, give the elemental plan forms of buildings, all of which in the past have been treated architecturally, either alone or in combination, and certain methods of enclosing, covering and lighting specific forms have been established by long usage.

The principles governing the design of structures that consist in plan of one simple geometrical form only must especially be brought to the notice of the student, and many of the Plates that follow are concerned with these. But the majority of buildings — specially those erected under modern conditions — not being restricted to a single use, consist of more than one apartment and become more complex with the number of apartments provided and the variety of uses which they serve. Thus, buildings consist, not only of apartments, but also of approaches to them through porticoes, porches and vestibules, and of communications between the apartments disposed horizontally by means of halls, ante-rooms, covered ways and corridors, and vertically by means of steps and staircases, both external and internal. These units of which buildings of more than one storey in height are composed should be studied individually with a view to ascertaining not only the most logical and the most comely method of covering appropriate to any given plan form, but also the most suitable proportion of height to breadth, and above all the most effective means of admitting light. Further, their sub-division, horizontally by piers and columns and vertically by galleries, calls for rare skill on the part of designer as well as reliance upon accepted models.

It is obvious that the different units of which buildings are composed may be placed, not only side by side but also over one another. To an experienced designer, composing a building of more than one storey in height, these two aspects of composition present themselves simultaneously, but in order to render the study less difficult it is advisable at first to consider them separately. There are thus two main kinds of disposition which the architect is constantly called upon to handle: the horizontal, represented by the plan, and the vertical represented by the section and elevation. The arrangement of staircases in rectangular and other spaces should certainly be investigated by the student before attempting the design of buildings containing more than one principal floor.

The numerous rectangular and curved forms, used alone or in combination, which appear in the plans of various kinds of apartments and their connections — considered in relation to the section most appropriate to each — constitute the elements of composition as far as the interiors of buildings are concerned. As it is not possible to compose without a knowledge of the elements constituting a design, it follows that a thorough grasp of the primary forms should be gained before proceeding to the elaboration of detail or to the design of a building made up of many parts. “So in architecture,” Inigo Jones wrote in 1614, “one must first study the parts as Loggias, Entrances, Halls, Chambers, Stairs... and then adorn them.”

In the design of the exterior, precedent will still be the surest safeguard for the student. The arrangement of columns in porticoes, peristyles, screens and simple colonnades; of porches recessed and projecting, of pediments and attics are all represented in the series of Plates which follow. Pavilions, loggias, and simple facades — not exceeding two principal storeys in height and in many instances dependent for their effect upon the correct spacing and grouping of window openings — are also well represented and should prove a ready source of reference. There is no limit to the number and variety of arrangements that may be evolved, and the student should always be seeking fresh dispositions beautiful in themselves. But the laws of composition which have been evolved must never be ignored, nor the results which they have brought about be overlooked. Rhythm and proportion are nebulous terms that cannot be profitably described and analysed. Without the qualities they impart, however, no work of architecture can claim to be of real and lasting importance.

All the buildings and motives graphically presented on the Plates in this book are shown in their simplest aspect, free from confusing detail, so that the main lines of the various schemes may be understood at a glance. It is left to the student to clothe them and to supply accessories which give richness of detail and colour contrasts, bearing in mind that applied ornament is not essential to fine architecture, whereas rigorous attention to the actual form of a structure is of vital importance. It may be broadly asserted that in the initial stage of a design, questions of detail, ornament, sculpture and colour do not necessarily affect the main disposition.

It has been found possible to touch little more than the fringe of this fascinating and inexhaustible subject. To include the whole range of design and composition within the limits of a single volume is impracticable, and to attempt it would defeat the end to which this work is directed. It has, for instance, been thought advisable to eliminate all designs depending for their expression upon the introduction of columns that do not perform their true function as weight-bearing members, while compositions culminating in the dome as an external feature, where the external dome bears no direct relation to the internal domical covering — as at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and the Pantheon, Paris — properly belong to a more advanced system than can be dealt with here. But the motives presented cover a field wide enough to illustrate the principles of design governing structure in all its elemental forms, principles which do not alter with the size of a building or a monument, although they vary in application according to the conditions affecting the solution of the more complex problems which confront the practising architect.

Research into the qualities of natural and reconstructed materials and acceptance of modern conditions have proved of inestimable value and have enabled problems to be solved satisfactorily in recent times while avoiding such marked solidity of construction as was inevitable in the past. Such advanced methods rightly have their claims at the present day, but the architectural theory is by no means affected other than in an economical direction.

There is reason to hope that if students and others are directed to the models laid before them in this book, and to the sources from which they are drawn, the vital qualities of building — which were partially overshadowed, at least in England, during the experimental years of the nineteenth century — may be recovered and universally recognised. With a clear insight into the methods and arrangement of structure which have been understood and practised by a long succession of masters, and with a knowledge of modern needs and materials, progress in the right direction may be anticipated with confidence.