where the classic note is allowed to declare itself with clarity is in the elegant little columnar edifice in the centre of the quadrangle. This is a graceful essay in Roman Doric. The urns which surmount the columns are playful in conception, and accord well with their character as ornaments of “garden architecture, ’’ while the curved roof, convex upon concave, with its crowning pedestal, provides an interesting silhouette. While the determination of the appropriate character of a building is a matter of right feeling and common sense, and can only be accomplished by those who have a keen appreciation of the social quality in architecture, style is a matter of learning. Here, also, Mr. Guy Dawber shows himself to be an accomplished master of the stylistic medium he chooses to employ. Throughout the building the detail is unaffected and appropriate to its purpose, and yet scholarly.
The Composition of the
Parts.
Architectural composition is a study which requires not so much a social sense or historical knowledge, but pure logic applied to elucidate certain principles, the application of which in architecture leads to organic design. Nobody disputes that the chief formal quality desired in a building is unity, and the more complex the design of a building or a group of buildings may be the more difficult it is to attain this, for it will here be a unity in variety, which can only be brought about if the composition as a whole has a dominant feature. In the case of the general view of the quadrangle here illustrated, we see immediately that the entrance block with gable and clock tower not only gives to the design that institutional quality which was aimed at, but also provides the formal emphasis re
quired in an architectural dominant. We look around the quadrangle, taking in our glance many features of interest, yet we are continually aware that there exists this main focus of attention to which we may return. Thus the design has the requisite character of unity. But besides the quadrangular group of buildings there is the courtyard itself to be considered, and this is also an entity which needs a focal point. This is provided in the central monument, which is carefully kept much smaller than the entrance feature in order that the latter may continue to assert its dominance over the whole composition. There is only one point at which these two elements appear to clash, and that is from the arched gateway into the quadrangle itself, from which point the monument appears to stand in front of the triple arcade and obstructs one’s view of the principal part of the elevation behind it. Yet it is difficult to see how this could have been avoided, unless the entrance from the road had been placed
asymmetrically. A similar difficulty arises in the case of the view of Buckingham Palaee from the Mall, where the central pediment is unfortunately obscured by the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of it, and we have a division of interest.
The Entrance Feature.
The entrance block itself is a delightful composition, in which a variety of architectural motifs have been harmoniously blended. A tripartite formation has here been adopted. Not only is there a triple arcade under the central part, but there are also three gables, of which the central one, much larger than the others, is broken up by a cornice which subdivides it, and reduces its scale, so that it ceases to overbear the lateral gables unduly. These latter are at the extremities finials surmounting piers which
enclose elegantly designed bay windows with pierced parapets. These bays exactly correspond in height with the arcade which lies between them, so the composition is intimately bound together. The arcade itself has Ionic columns in stone with a stone carved architrave around the arches, while four decorative stone medallions appear in the spandrils. The association of stone ornament with brick wallage is very skilfully managed, and one feels that while the structure is predominantly brick there is just enough stonework to give it a certain richness and precision which would otherwise have been absent.
Other decorative stone features include the elegant doorways, of which one is here illustrated. Here we see a traditional classic doorway with the architrave around the opening marked by heavy bolection moulding, while scrolled consoles support a broken segmental pediment enclosing a finely sculptured crest. In less important parts of the building we see plain stone reveals to doors and windows. These subordinate blocks are characterised by a pleasant informality. Architectural interest is obtained by the contrast of hipped roofs and gables and a rhythmic arrangement of chimney stacks. These latter are disposed with very great care, for in nearly all instances they appear on the roof ridges or else on the outside walls, and never half-way up the roof.
This is a very important point in chimney design, the importance of which is often under-rated by architects. Of course, it occasionally happens that the plan necessitates the puncturing of the roof by chimneys at unexpected places, but while this scarcely matters where buildings have low roofs and parapet walls, it should be avoided if possible in those designs which especially depend upon the arrangement of chimneys.
THE FOORD ALMSHOUSES, ROCHESTER: A TWO-STOREY CORNER BLOCK.
E. Guy Dawber, A. R. A., Architect.
The Composition of the
Parts.
Architectural composition is a study which requires not so much a social sense or historical knowledge, but pure logic applied to elucidate certain principles, the application of which in architecture leads to organic design. Nobody disputes that the chief formal quality desired in a building is unity, and the more complex the design of a building or a group of buildings may be the more difficult it is to attain this, for it will here be a unity in variety, which can only be brought about if the composition as a whole has a dominant feature. In the case of the general view of the quadrangle here illustrated, we see immediately that the entrance block with gable and clock tower not only gives to the design that institutional quality which was aimed at, but also provides the formal emphasis re
quired in an architectural dominant. We look around the quadrangle, taking in our glance many features of interest, yet we are continually aware that there exists this main focus of attention to which we may return. Thus the design has the requisite character of unity. But besides the quadrangular group of buildings there is the courtyard itself to be considered, and this is also an entity which needs a focal point. This is provided in the central monument, which is carefully kept much smaller than the entrance feature in order that the latter may continue to assert its dominance over the whole composition. There is only one point at which these two elements appear to clash, and that is from the arched gateway into the quadrangle itself, from which point the monument appears to stand in front of the triple arcade and obstructs one’s view of the principal part of the elevation behind it. Yet it is difficult to see how this could have been avoided, unless the entrance from the road had been placed
asymmetrically. A similar difficulty arises in the case of the view of Buckingham Palaee from the Mall, where the central pediment is unfortunately obscured by the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of it, and we have a division of interest.
The Entrance Feature.
The entrance block itself is a delightful composition, in which a variety of architectural motifs have been harmoniously blended. A tripartite formation has here been adopted. Not only is there a triple arcade under the central part, but there are also three gables, of which the central one, much larger than the others, is broken up by a cornice which subdivides it, and reduces its scale, so that it ceases to overbear the lateral gables unduly. These latter are at the extremities finials surmounting piers which
enclose elegantly designed bay windows with pierced parapets. These bays exactly correspond in height with the arcade which lies between them, so the composition is intimately bound together. The arcade itself has Ionic columns in stone with a stone carved architrave around the arches, while four decorative stone medallions appear in the spandrils. The association of stone ornament with brick wallage is very skilfully managed, and one feels that while the structure is predominantly brick there is just enough stonework to give it a certain richness and precision which would otherwise have been absent.
Other decorative stone features include the elegant doorways, of which one is here illustrated. Here we see a traditional classic doorway with the architrave around the opening marked by heavy bolection moulding, while scrolled consoles support a broken segmental pediment enclosing a finely sculptured crest. In less important parts of the building we see plain stone reveals to doors and windows. These subordinate blocks are characterised by a pleasant informality. Architectural interest is obtained by the contrast of hipped roofs and gables and a rhythmic arrangement of chimney stacks. These latter are disposed with very great care, for in nearly all instances they appear on the roof ridges or else on the outside walls, and never half-way up the roof.
This is a very important point in chimney design, the importance of which is often under-rated by architects. Of course, it occasionally happens that the plan necessitates the puncturing of the roof by chimneys at unexpected places, but while this scarcely matters where buildings have low roofs and parapet walls, it should be avoided if possible in those designs which especially depend upon the arrangement of chimneys.
THE FOORD ALMSHOUSES, ROCHESTER: A TWO-STOREY CORNER BLOCK.
E. Guy Dawber, A. R. A., Architect.