Thanks so much, that was very interesting. I can’t help thinking that these labyrinthine circulation routes, from entrance to destination, are also based on the assumption that guests would be greeted by staff at the front door and guided to their destination.
Thanks for another fascinating webinar. Regarding the indirect routes that seem to be a common feature of Lutyens' houses, I have read that in the late Victorian era the ideal tour of a country house often involved moving from one room to another and eventually coming back to the point of origin, having not backtracked, possibly including via outside doors and terraces, etcetera. Lutyens was thus not the originator of such an an indirect approach, but he developed the principle to make the experience not just one of showing off one's rooms but a spatial experience: one of changing volumes, heights and expectations. And of course, as the contributors mentioned, it also makes the house seem larger. At Little Thakeham, for instance, the blank wall facing the front door creates a surprise and a necessary detour, but the long transverse corridor itself is a remarkable space on its own account. By my estimation from the plans, the width of this 'mere' corridor is about half of the width of the Great Hall beyond. Yet from the outside of the house, you would not guess either the corridor or what ultimately lies beyond the detour it initiates. It's an extraordinary management of styles and spaces which one can't imagine another architect conceptualising, so wasteful does it sound, let alone harmonising the elements so well. In any case, thank you for bringing more light to this aspect of his genius.
Thanks so much, that was very interesting. I can’t help thinking that these labyrinthine circulation routes, from entrance to destination, are also based on the assumption that guests would be greeted by staff at the front door and guided to their destination.
I was thinking of this the other day, that the staircase and screen in Little Thakeham is as satisfyingly a Raumplan as anything Adolf Loos did.
Thanks for another fascinating webinar. Regarding the indirect routes that seem to be a common feature of Lutyens' houses, I have read that in the late Victorian era the ideal tour of a country house often involved moving from one room to another and eventually coming back to the point of origin, having not backtracked, possibly including via outside doors and terraces, etcetera. Lutyens was thus not the originator of such an an indirect approach, but he developed the principle to make the experience not just one of showing off one's rooms but a spatial experience: one of changing volumes, heights and expectations. And of course, as the contributors mentioned, it also makes the house seem larger.
At Little Thakeham, for instance, the blank wall facing the front door creates a surprise and a necessary detour, but the long transverse corridor itself is a remarkable space on its own account. By my estimation from the plans, the width of this 'mere' corridor is about half of the width of the Great Hall beyond. Yet from the outside of the house, you would not guess either the corridor or what ultimately lies beyond the detour it initiates. It's an extraordinary management of styles and spaces which one can't imagine another architect conceptualising, so wasteful does it sound, let alone harmonising the elements so well. In any case, thank you for bringing more light to this aspect of his genius.
Doors all look "backwards" in the Homewood plan. HIs way was to not reveal the room as you enter .