A Room with a View

I work in the real estate development world, and assist getting projects on, in our case, multifamily or apartment living, from the drawing board to the groundbreaking shovel entering the vacant land. It's fun, especially when I am working with the architect, reviewing plans, making suggestions.

Recently, I noticed an article about 18th Century housing, which included a drawing of a cottage and a first floor plan. It was interesting, mentioning rooms such as lobby (entry), drawing room (den), parlor (living room), book room (library) and music room. There is a huge kitchen and a larder (pantry). There is no drawing of the upstairs included which contained the bedrooms, I'm sure. By the way, the "drawing room" was originally called the "withdrawing" room, a space in which one could retreat. In these times, the owner of the house, his wife, or a distinguished guest who was occupying one of the main apartments in the house could "withdraw" for more privacy. Today we have our den, or "bonus" room, or study where we can watch tv, surf the net, listen to endless downloads of iTunes, or read.

 

A great deal of description is given to the room colors, which is still important by today's standards.

I looked into the concept of the bath, and find that there was a clear distinction between bathing for health and relaxation, and washing for reasons of cleanliness. Generally, washing meant the cleaning of face and hands, presenting a neat exterior appearance. No wonder there was such an emphasis on perfume! haha! So, there might be a wash basin and pitcher in the bedroom for that purpose. A bath where the body was submerged in water was mostly for preventative health maintenance. Many books refer to going to Bath, in England, for "the waters". Bath was a resort destination, kind of a spa, by today's standards.  

There are two predominant styles of house from the period. The first is Georgian, named for the English kings of the era, and adopted by the American colonists. They had a long axis running parallel to the street with symmetrical fronts, a middle entry with 2 side windows on each side.

The other style is Federal, named for two Scottish brothers who where architects and interior designers. It has a finer style with more detail, and Palladian influence. Including ornate moldings, sidelights, semicircular windows above doors, decorative classical columns. Red brick is employed a great deal.

But, the cottage I noticed is just that, a cottage. A room with a view, perhaps, but a small place to call home.

The Wren Men!

I have been listening to a lecture series on London, and at this point in time, the subject is the fire of 1666. It was major! Wiped out the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants, 87 churches, and St. Paul's Cathedral. Though there were only six verified deaths, it was probably because the deaths of poor and middle-class folks were not recorded, and those who died by incineration left no recognizable remains.

And so, famous architect Christopher Wren was engaged to re-build St. Paul's, the largest, tallest and most important landmark in London. Wren was born in October 1632 and died in February 1723. The rebuilding of St. Paul's took place right away. By a week or two after the fire, plans were in the works. Wren lost no time. Actually he worked out a plan to rebuild the city as a whole, but his plans were rejected, until a rebuilding act was passed in 1667 put him on the job when the King's Surveyor of Works died. By 1670 the pace of building was well under way. Wren was 48, and did not see the opening of the cathedral until he was 65.

Still, there was no dome yet complete. It would be 1710 when the it was finally topped off, but it was Wren's son, Christopher, that was at the ceremony. He was trained as an architect by his father, and saw the completion of the great work! Finally, in 1711 the elder Wren was paid the half of his salary that would come with the completion of the project, a 36-year labor of love. 

Upon his death, Christopher Wren Sr. was buried in St. Paul's, with a great epitaph. Written in Latin:

SUBTUS CONDITUR HUIUS ECCLESIÆ ET VRBIS CONDITOR CHRISTOPHORUS WREN, QUI VIXIT ANNOS ULTRA NONAGINTA, NON SIBI SED BONO PUBLICO. LECTOR SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE Obijt XXV Feb: An°: MDCCXXIII Æt: XCI.

and translated here:

Here in its foundations lies the architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91. 

Ancient Technologies for Today!

I just finished watching a wonderful lecture series about Greek and Roman technologies from the catapult to the Pantheon. It was fascinating, not only to hear about ancient buildings and machinery, but to see their employ in modern application. The course instructor is Dr. Stephen Reseller, a professor at West Point Academy. He makes the subject come alive. His enthusiasm is contagious.

The last lecture shows how very much alive all these ancient methods are in modern or near modern history. One building caught my eye, as it was produced in the 18th Century, that of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, which he designed and built. He was a bit of a Renaissance man, with interests in science, art, architecture, politics, history. After the fussiness and over-the-top decor of the Baroque era, it was time to scrape away the icing on the cake, and get to the heart of the matter. Hence there was a revival of the classical era design, now called Neo Classical, a getting back to basics, as it were. Monticello, placed side by side with Rome's famed Pantheon gives an interesting picture of classical themes brought to life once again. Note the colonnaded entry, the triangular tympanum over the pediment and the domed section of roof.

 

Jefferson designed and built his home in 1772, located in Albermarle County, near Charlottesville, Virginia. He studied the works of the ancients for inspiration. He used contemporary materials, including the bricks typical of the Federal style which had become so popular in Colonial America, but the walls and proportions reflect the order of the original ancient building.
That's why classics are classics; why they are timeless. Good taste lasts forever!