Plates XXVII and XXVIII. Rectangular Rooms with Coved, Vaulted and Domed Ceilings

Plates XXVII and XXVIII. — These show rectangular rooms with a length equal to twice the breadth. In Plate XXVIII, Nos. I, II and III, the floor space is unbroken by columns or piers. No. I represents the double cube system of proportion in which a flat ceiling, divided into compartments is used with a cove one-fifth the total height of the room: this is suitable for all principal apartments with a width of from twenty to thirty feet. In No. II a central square is formed by means of arches springing from an attached Order, above which a saucer dome on a low drum is raised: barrel vaults carry on the curve of the transverse arches, producing a far more elaborate covering than the flat ceiling. In No. III a continuous segmental ceiling with top-lighting, completes a simpler scheme than the last, but both of these are suitable for halls or waiting places in conjunction with a series of apartments. Nos. IV, V and VI introduce colonnades, dividing the plan longitudinally into three, the narrow side divisions being carried up a second storey to provide corridors as in No. IV, or ceiled at the level of the top of the colonnade, admitting of a clerestorey, as in No. VI. The plan given in No. V is common to the three types illustrated, but the various methods of admitting light show to what an extent the architectural disposition can be varied in the section.

The fine room illustrated on Plate XXVII has a segmental ceiling similar in principle to that given in No. III, Plate XXVIII, but without the top light. It shows a very successful ceiling treatment for a large room with side lighting and is decorative and expressive of the importance of a particular apartment.