Introduction

PLANS combining circular with rectangular forms have been widely used in the past and they lend themselves to many problems arising in modern practice. It is only possible here to deal with simple examples and to indicate methods of uniting the two elements which experience will enable the student to elaborate.

The combination of the square and the circle played an important part in English architecture of the late eighteenth century, when examples were evolved in which the circular feature dominates both horizontally and vertically, forming an architectural ensemble generally enriched with a peristyle. The works of the Brothers Adam, Sir William Chambers, the Wyatts and Sir John Soane show the practice that prevailed from about 1760 to 1820. Many compositions of this period are most attractive. Fanciful dispositions were developed in all countries during the Renaissance period which prove the desire felt by designers to achieve novelty within certain limitations. Both the circle and the ellipse have been used in planning at all periods to produce contrasts in architectural schemes. In France, during the closing years of the eighteenth century and during the regime of the Empire, this treatment was much favoured by French architects, while new theories were freely evolved at this period.

The circle with appendages is rarely found in large buildings: in the past it was reserved for comparatively small works, such as orangeries and pavilions. The circle when adopted as an integral feature of buildings on a large scale invariably governs the plan formation and, except in those cases where it is domed, it is not generally expressed externally. The principle of combining the circle with the square having been grasped, the theory is open to innumerable interpretations. The circle and the square can be used as primary motives in the external expression of buildings of immense size, provided that the character of the building allows of this arrangement. The student who has developed his knowledge of buildings designed on geometrical principles will readily understand the possibilities of further combinations.