Introduction

A STUDY of the architecture of all periods shows that the rectangle has been widely adopted as a primary form, not only for buildings complete in themselves, but also for the units of complex compositions. In the work of the past no less than in most plans of the present day, this form predominates. This work, however, is intended to treat solely of elementary forms and units, and does not include either the vast plans of the Thermae and Palaces of the Cæsars, or the involved plans of the Renaissance, in all of which the disposition of the rectangle in combination with other primary forms can be studied ad infinitum. Throughout domestic building in England and America, especially in houses built in the eighteenth century, variations of the rectangular form are found to be more or less standardised by reason of convenience and tradition. Examples of the exterior treatment of simple rectangular buildings will be found in Series XI.

For interior effect, the rectangular plan is capable of many interpretations. As the parallelogram appears more frequently in the plans of apartments of all kinds than any other figure, the variety of accepted ways of dealing with it is considerable, governed largely by the actual dimensions of the apartment and the method of covering adopted. The rectangular interior like the square, admits of the flat ceiling with or without a cove, as well as numerous applications of the vault, both continuous and intersecting, while scenic effect can be obtained by many dispositions of the dome, either as a central dominating feature with a diameter equal to the shorter side of the rectangular, or over a succession of square compartments within a rectangular plan of large dimensions.

Attention has been given in this Series to the sympathetic proportioning of width, length and height as followed in the best practice. The majority of writers in the past have laid down rules for the proportions of rectangular rooms which are ceiled with flat and coved ceilings, and it is generally agreed that when the length does not exceed twice the breadth the height should be equal to the breadth, and that if a room is coved it should be higher than if it is entirely flat, the cove being equal to one-quarter or one-fifth of the total height of the room. Rectangular rooms when coved may be given a height equal to the breadth plus one-fifth to one-third of the difference between the length and the width, and rooms with vaulted ceilings may have a height to the crown of the vault equal to one-half of the total obtained by adding together the length and the breadth of the room. But rules have rarely been followed so closely as to disregard the dictates of common-sense or to violate conditions imposed by convenience and suitability.

The schemes outlined on the Plates have been taken from many famed buildings which are remarkable for the logical disposition of their plans and sections, and they serve to illustrate the imaginative combinations of straight sided and curved forms which the treatment of the rectangular plan suggests. For all types of buildings for public and civil use they offer valuable suggestions from the standpoint not only of effect but also of utility. Various ways of treating the unbroken rectangle are shown, and where an unencumbered floor space is desired, this form is invariably adopted, but even then many combinations of flat, coved, vaulted and domed coverings are applicable. Relatively to the width, narrow or wide ambulatories can be formed by placing colonnades and piers along two or more sides to enhance the architectural interest of the interior and, by reducing the central span, to facilitate construction and bring about variety of perspective and lighting effects. Colonnades and clerestoreys are found in many of the most impressive interiors that have been raised on the rectangular plan, while halls with colonnades in two storeys with galleries disposed along the sides and at one or both ends, present problems which have been satisfactorily solved in the past. With dimensions that admit of a monumental treatment, the sub-division of the rectangular plan into a series of square compartments on the long axis by means of piers to support domes or intersecting vaults, and by colonnades introduced as sub-motives to support galleries, the rectangular interior assumes its grandest aspect, and apparently complex results may be obtained by the manipulation of elements which in themselves are of extreme simplicity.

Many of the schemes that follow should be studied not only as connecting links in schemes of large dimension, but as being applicable to isolated buildings. These examples of rectangular plan forms cover a wide range of design, and most of the customary arrangements have been considered, but innumerable modifications such as that shown in Fig. 7 will suggest themselves to the student who will realise that finality in composition is neither attainable nor desirable.