98 Proposal for a new Sysiera 



On the general Application of the circular Form in 

 Architecture. 



" Order is Heav'n's lir^t law." 



Pope's Essay on Man. 



It is notorious that the rough proportion of the diameter 

 lo the circumference of a circle is as 7 to 22, rather exceed- 

 ing 1 to 3. If, therefore, we draw a Hne AB (fig. 5. PI. III.) 

 three times the length of the diameter of a circle C, 

 allowing -^^ diameter for deficiency, and divide this line 

 into four equal parts, we have the measure of the four 

 sides of a square D, equal to the circumference of the cir- 

 cle C. 



It is evident, therefore, lliat the circle circvmscriles a 

 muck greater area than the square, at the same time that its 

 extremities lie nearer together ; that therefore the circle is of 

 the two the most eligible form for a building in general ; 

 and that, whatever be the materials used for erecting the 

 walls, less of them will be required for a circular than for a 

 square edifice of equal dimensions ; consequently, a consi- 

 derable saving of materials. 



To these may be added the following considerations and 

 advantages depending on the general properties of the circle: 



That of all forms of building, the circular is the most 

 simple, the most durable, and the strongest. 



That for beauty and sublimity it is i'ar superior to other 

 forms, presenting one endless front (whatever is bounded 

 being little to the imagination, the power of which is 

 infinite) ; and it is susceptible of all the variety of ar- 

 chitectural decorations in arcades, colonnades, domes, por- 

 ticos, &c. 



That the view from a circular edifice is much more ex- 

 tensive than from a square building, no angles intercepting 

 the sight from the windows, &c., while the light entering 

 laterally at the windows, enlivens the dark piers between 

 them. 



That structures of thi ? form may b;; raised upon the prin- 

 ciple 



