272 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[Sept- 



same time avoiding disagreeable narrow proportions for the piers between 

 the windows, is to adopt a macrottyle order for the colonnade, including two 

 floors of the building behind it, and two scries of windows. Consequently 

 these latter become small openings, in height at least, as compared with the 

 columns, and by their frequency tend still more than ever to cut up and dis- 

 turb the surface behind the columns. Uhile greatness is aifected by the 

 order, littleness — comparative littleness at least, is expressed by the fenestra- 

 tion, and the inner wall assumes a most unlucky resemblance to an astylar 

 composition, in whose physiognomy Fenestration is intended to predominate, 

 and from which Columniation is intended to be excluded ; so that while the 

 windows are a sad drawback upon the pomp and classical style affected by 

 the order, the order itself serves chiefly to put us out of conceit with the 

 Fenestration. 



Your Pecksniffs, indeed, get over the difficulty very easily by making no 

 difficulty of it at all. They merely make so many holes for the windows, 

 which being left quite bare of dressings, are not to be considered as belong- 

 ing or intended to belong to the architecture it all: the columns are the 

 things to be looked at ; the windows to be overlooked. Yet would it not 

 he far more economic and answer the purpose just as well, to leave it to the 

 imagination to put in columns, in the same manner which it is now called up 

 to put out windows, by fancjing them away ? 



.\11 things considered, if an order must be employed in conjunction with 

 Fenestration, the best way perhaps, is to make use of it avowedly as decora- 

 tion, either with pilasters or attached columns, so that the intercolumniation 

 can be regulated according to, or rather accommodates itself without further 

 difficulty to the spacing which is most suitable for the windows ; without 

 occasioning that straggling look which would attend a colonnade whose 

 pillars were at the same, or any thing near the same intervals apart. There 

 J3 at least a certain degree of compactness and solidity attending such inti- 

 mate combination of columnar architecture and fenestration ; whereas co- 

 lumniation is mostly so employed as to appear something quite adscititious— 

 a mere hors d'ceuvre, and perhaps an inconvenient and encumbering one into 

 the bargain. 



Wilkins, who plumed himself so much upon his rigorous observance of 

 classical proportions as to intercolumniation in the portico of the \ationaI 

 Gallery, does not seem to have duly considered the consequences of it in regard 

 to the interior of the portico. Had there been within only a single door of 

 loftier proportions, recessed as at present between two columns in antis, 

 there would have been nothing to contradict or disturb the close interco- 

 lumniation affected for it ; whereas now the interior looks crowded-up even 

 to confusion, and the end doors are of too wide and low proportions, so as 

 to appear crammed into the spaces they occupy, although those spaces cor- 

 respond to two intercolumns in frout. 



There is another species of combination of the two systems (columnar and 

 fenestrated) which ought to be noticed, namely, that wherein columniation 

 is employed only for one or more distinct portions of a facade, the rest of it 

 neing astylar and fenestrated. The Post Office exemplifies such combination 

 the centre portion exhibiting columniation without windows, and the two 

 next fenestration only ; while the extreme compartments of the front display, 

 both fenestration and columniation together ; the latter however as mere 

 embellishment, because though the columns are insulated, they do not form 

 any sort of practicable colonnade or loggia, therefore seem still more idle and 

 useless than such as by being attached to a wall appear in some degree to per- 

 form the office of buttresses to it. 'Well, what is the effect of the combina- 

 tion alluded to ? — does it not partake rather too mucn of the sandwich, the 

 composition being that produced by mere juxtaposition ? 'We behold a por- 

 tico of temple-like aspect clapped between what look like two distinct build- 

 ings, altogether different from it in character and style — constituting a sort 

 of macaronic architecture — and by no means very satisfactory in themselves. 

 Of the window dressings we need not speak, they being Utile more than 

 architectural fig-leaves to screen positive nudity ; but the fenestration itself 

 is poor and undignified; the windows are too close together, neither is there 

 sufficient space between the two tiers of them ; whence there is nothing of 

 that simplicity which arises from breadth and repose. Notwithstanding 

 however the odd patching together of modern poly fenestration with the 

 windowless system of the Greeks, the Post Office was hailed at first by the 

 Greekoraania of the day, as something vastly classical ; and so well satisfied 

 with it is the architect himself, that he is now giving us a second edition of 



it in the facade of the British Museum. — Pity, he is so slow about it, for 

 Greekomania will be all evaporated before that chef-d'ceuvre of pure classical 

 taste, " neat as imported," be completed. 



Id the two buildings erected as detached wings to the Museum fayade, we 

 have fenestration between a single order of pilasters, carried the height of 

 three floors, which mode certainly preserves due width of spacing as regards 

 the pilasters themselves, but it causes the windows to appear meagre and 

 insignificant, and too much cramped up. 



One Greek example of a design for windows there is, namely that atTorded 

 by the Triple Temple at Athens, which we could wish had never been made 

 known to us, because then it is most likely that when they wanted windows 

 for buildings in the Grecian Ionic style, architects would have derived ideas 

 for the purpose, from the exquisitely beautiful doorway in the tetrastyle por- 

 tico of the edifice just mentioned, whose highly finished and delicate ornate- 

 ness correspond perfectly with that of the order ; whereas the window does 

 not partake of, or agree with the order at all ; there being no more than a 

 very plain border round the aperture, deflned by an external moulding. Yet 

 this unlucky precedent has been taken by us, in our Greekomania, as an 

 authority to be impUcitly adhered to on all occasions — no matter how diffe- 

 rent those occasions may be in themselves. Be the order Doric or Ionic, or 

 if the latter, the plainest or the richest in character, we find that unitfrsal 

 window perpetrated everywhere alike, as if no modern architect could muster 

 up imagination enough to design a dressing for a window aperture just as 

 easily as for that of a door or a fire-place. Thus instead of being made cha- 

 racteristic features in our modern Greek style, windows are suffered to be- 

 come quite negative ones, — monotonous, feeble, and inexpressive. 



In the Gothic or Pointed style, on the contrary, fenestration is so charac- 

 teristic, as to be almost indispensable on that account alone ; and is besides 

 differently constituted, and accordingly subjected to other conditions, — most 

 certainly is emancipated from most of those restraiuts and regulations which 

 it has to submit to in Greco-Koman, and Italian architecture. But leaving 

 our readers now to cogitate upon what thus far we have said, we reserve 

 our remarks upon Gothic fenestration till we return to the subject next 

 month, — 



" che '1 Canto presente 

 Non e bastante a dirla degnamente." 



PRACTICAL PRODLEMS IMPORTANT IN PLANE TRIGO- 

 NOMETRICAL SURVEYING. 



By Oliver Byrne, Professor of Matheroalic*. 



Sir, — In the October Journal of last year, you published a portion of an 

 article of mine, entitled " Problems on Plane Trigonometrical Surveying," 

 as soon as convenient, I hope you will insert the remainder. That spirit 

 of fairness, which has ever been an ascendant property of yonr valuable 

 publication, will secure also, I feel confident, a corner for the succeediuR 

 remarks. The subjects upon which I have written, if they have no other 

 recommendation, have at least the quality of being oris;inal ; but, in the 

 case of these problems, originality has been questioned by Mr. TurnbuU, 

 which, I believe, could not have been done, had the whole of my paper 

 appeared. But, for the following editorial remark, appended to Mr. Turn- 

 bull's communication, I would have attended more promptly to the matter: 

 — "Me regret to say, that iNIr. TurnbulTs present letter appears to have 

 been written under most painful circumstances; they are of too private a 

 nature to be made public, hut we cau assure the reader that they entirely 

 preclude any further strictures on Mr. Turubull's past productions." Mr. 

 TurnbuU says, speaking of me, "The principle from which the Professor 

 deduces the solution was first employed by me for that purpose in 1829, 

 when all the cases of the problem were resolved exactly in the same man- 

 ner as in your Journal." \A by did he not state his principle and compare 

 it with mine ? He further adds, "The problems, with their solutions ap- 

 peared in one of the earliest numbers of Colburn's United Service Journal, 

 but, being without signature, tlie author's name was unknown to the pub- 

 lic." Under the head " Stasimetric Surveying," Colburn's United Ser- 

 \ ice Journal, second part, page 75, 1S29, the first four or fire problems 



