STRUCTURES IN LANDSCAPE 



203 



the terrace and enframing a fountain or pool at the lower level. In 

 the case of the re-entrant steps, the portion of the retaining wall in- 

 closed by them would almost certainly be decorated by niche or foun- 

 tain or statue. And the wall which supports the landing at the head 

 of the projecting steps may be given additional interest in a similar 

 way. The upper landing, particularly when it projects, is likely to 

 be a point commanding a view. The fact that there is usually a view 

 down the whole axis makes it often desirable to depress this upper 

 landing, so that its outer balustrade may not interrupt the view more 

 than is necessary. It is also possible, as in the case of the Dragon 

 Fountain at the Villa d' Este, for a single axial path to come to a foun- 

 tain feature backed by a retaining wall and, going around it by sym- 

 metrical enframing flights of steps, proceed above still as a single axial 

 path. 



A path at one level may be, for purposes of design, carried on at 

 another level with its direction parallel but not continuous. A single 

 flight of steps running parallel to the face of the retaining wall may 

 satisfactorily make the bayonet joint between the two paths. Such 

 an arrangement however is hard to manage if the axial relation of the 

 lower path is important ; it is more readily done where the lower path 

 lies on the outside of a terrace or for other reasons does not have to be 

 axially treated. 



There are of course endless other possibilities in the design of steps 

 as architectural objects ; this discussion is intended to point out only 

 some of the most obvious examples. (See Drawing XXVII, opp. p. 202.) 



In informal and naturalistic landscapes, the design of steps will be Steps in 

 more obviously motived by their use, though they are still important ^'^t^^'^^^^t^c 

 in the esthetic composition. They should usually seem to be fitted 

 to the topography with as little disturbance and difficulty as possible ; 

 they should almost always be sunk into the bank rather than protruding 

 from it, and they should very rarely He unsupported on an open bank, 

 but rather should be enframed with shrubs, overarched with trees, or 

 should run along the side of a projecting ledge. Flights of steps are 

 bound to be conspicuous objects on an informal path ; they should 

 therefore be seized upon to be made interesting incidents, — they should, 

 that is, be enframed, supported, made a part of a harmonious composi- 



