'S4I.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



345 



EPISODES OF PLAN. 

 ( Continued from page 290.^ 



The breaks and interruptions occasioned by our " Episodes " being 

 given to tlie reader piecemeal in montlily portions, are attended with 

 no injury to our essay, and with some convenience to ourselves, by in 

 some measure concealing abru[itness of transition from one subject to 

 another, and by enabling us to avail ourselves of such pauses, in order 

 to bring such incidental remarks as we may deem expedient. Such 

 being tne case, we venture again to remind our readers that the plans 

 here presented to them, are intended merely to furnish ideas in respect 

 to form and arrangement ; for, as we ourselves are perfectly aware, 

 they would recjuire to be more or less modified, in order to adapt them 

 according to the other — and to us, of course, unknown — circumstances 

 attending any given case. For more frequently than not, probably, it 

 would be considered necessary to retrench and simplify them, to con- 

 sult etfect less and economy more. Accordingly there is very little 

 danger of their being borrowed from in so direct a manner, that appli- 

 cation of tliem would be tantamount to plagiarism, more especially, as 

 hardly any two persons would produce the same design from the same 

 plan. 



Should any one be of opinion that those here produced might be 

 greatly improved upon as regards further development of the ideas 

 contained in them, great would be our satisfaction at tinding any of 

 them so turned to account, or otherwise corrected and matured. It is 

 possible, however, that a very different construction may be put upon 

 our motives, and that it will be thought to betray somewhat too much 

 ^f self-complacency, if not of arrogance, on our part, to suppose that 

 our suggestions can be of any value to other persons. Such presump- 

 tion, it presumption it be, we, of course, partake in common with all 

 who publish designs of their own; but vith this difference, that while 

 they give entire plans of houses, as if they were so many perfect 

 models in every respect, we merely throw out partial hints, without 

 presuming to dictate any further. In so doing, we of course leave it 

 to be inferred that we think sufficiently well of our ideas as to imagine 

 they may possibly prove serviceable to others, and of the two, it is 

 surely less offensive to suppose that architects can have occasion for 

 any promptings of such kind, than that they can at all require studies 

 for the arrangement of ordinary houses, or can obtain fresh instruction 

 from plans which are, for the greater part, of the most familiar and 

 every-day character. 



On the other hand, it may fairly be urged against ourselves and our 

 Ejiisodes, that the latter manifest too much straining after novelty and 

 architectural display ; that no regard is paid in them to economy, and 

 that, in fact, they are applicable to general purposes, nor at all likely 

 to suit the taste of persons in general. This is too true for us to at- 

 tempt to contiadict it; we leave persons in genera], be they architects 

 or those vidio employ them, to adhere to the present jog-trot system, 

 taking no thought or study in regard to effects arising out of plan and 

 varied combinations, but satisfying themselves that every thing in re- 

 gard to plan is accomplished, provided that the number of rooms of 

 the dimensions required be obtained, and mere convenience sufficiently 

 attended to, which last, however, is|far from being invariably the case, 

 where the plan is only divided into so many squares and parallelo- 

 grams. 



It is not the least ill consequence of all attending the routine system 

 we would fain break through and abolish, that by excluding variety of 

 form in ])lan, it likewise excludes what would else suggest fresh ideas 

 in regard to style of fittirg up, and decoration. Most undoubtedly 

 much character may be given to a room of the simplest and most 

 usual form, yet it is seldom done, and seems to be as seldom at- 

 tempted. On the contrary, there is a certain established uniform 

 into which rooms of the same class are put almost indiscriminately, 

 without regard to other circumstances. This is more particularly the 

 case with regard to dining-rooms, for which it seems to be laid down 

 as a rule that they have as little architectural attraction as possible 

 bestowed upon them, in fact, show little more than plain walls of a 

 single tint. As a general rule this is, we admit, a wholesome and 

 safe one enough, because, if it admits nothing to gratify, it excludes 

 much that might offend the eye. The very monotonousness and plain- 

 ness are, besides, characteristic in themselves, so far as such a room is 

 thereby sufficiently distinguished from the others in a house. Still, 

 equal distinction, we conceive, could be kept up, equal propriety of 

 character be maintained, with far greater variety of design ; because 

 simplicity and sobriety are by no means restricted to any one mode in 

 particular; neither is the same degree of them desirable upon every 

 occasion. What in one case would be modest elegance, may in 

 another prove scarcely better than chilling nakedness and monotonous 



duhiess. Where all else is plain and unpretending, an air of quiet 

 homeliness and even snugness is becoming enough; but where plate 

 is profusely displayed, and all the appointments of the table are of a 

 sumptuous kind, some corresponding degree of show in the room itself 

 can hardly be an inconsistency. Not only cheerfulness, but festivity 

 of appearance will be perfectly- in character, care of course being 

 taken that the particidar character be distinctly in accordance witn 

 the particular purpose of the room itself. Some variety of colouring' 

 is admissible, and though we would exclude ^/c/i«-£S, we would freely 

 admit paintings, that is of a light decorative cast, and as subsidiary to 

 architectural character, such as borders and narrow upright panels at 

 intervals, with arabesques or single figures en camaieu, or on a marbled 

 ground. Eut as to oil pictures in frames, we consider them very ill- 

 suited for dining-rooms, notwithstanding that they are frequently to 

 be met with in them, and are almost the only decorations that are. 

 As far as elfect goes, the frames are of more importance than the pic- 

 tures themselves, which, let them be ever so worthy of examination, 

 are not likely to obtain it, unless attention be pointeilly directed to 

 them. Oil pictures are mucli better adapted for morning than even- 

 ing rooms; since, so far from at all showing themselves to advantage 

 by artificial light, many of them rather give a room a sombre though 

 rich appearance at such time, unless the room happens to be lighted 

 up expressly for the purpose of exhibiting the pictures themselves. 



But all this while we are forgetting our "Episodes," or rather our 

 main subject, and indulging in lengthy episodical remarks grafted 

 upon it, and from which we will now make a transition by quoting an 

 example of a dining-room that was certainly a frequent architectural 

 episode in the interior of Carlton House, we mean the circular one on 

 the principal floor, for the "Gothic" dining-room at the east extre- 

 mity of the lower apartments towards the gardens, was a positive 

 monstrosity — almost as vile and trumpery in taste as can be conceived. 

 The other was an octastyle Ionic rotunda, extended by four deep re- 

 cesses or alcoves radiating to the centre of the plan, consequently 

 expanding inwards. We are not aware of any thing similar having 

 been done in any other room of the kind ; and yet not only is the plan 

 exceedingly beautiful in itself, but one that admits of numerous vari- 

 ations, to say nothing of the great diversity of design it allows and 

 even suggests, in other respects. 



By way of contrast to the plans we gave in the first instance, we 

 now show one for a dining-room whose ends are concave and semi- 

 circular, but whose plan is of peculiar character, there being small re- 

 cesses with columns, between which there is at one end of the room a 

 third recess for the side-board, at the other a window. Any arrange- 

 rs. 5. 



nient of this kind would produce an unusual degree of architectural 

 play and richness, with somewhat of intricacy, but not such as to pro- 

 duce confusion or disturb the regularity, if not simplicity, of the en- 

 semble, since the individual parts and recesses are sufficiently con- 

 nected together by the columns and antae, disposed semicircularly. 



The idea itself admits of being so variously shaped, of being taken 

 as the germ of so many distinct designs, not for a dining-room alone, 

 but for apartments of other kinds, that were we at all at a loss for sub- 

 jects, we could make it serve us for a great many Episodes. For in- 

 stance, supposing the plan to admit of it, the same arrangement would 

 be exceedingly well adapted for a library or morning-room with a 

 window at each end, the four recesses, eitner with or without columns, 

 being filled up with bookshelves, and either a single door opposite the 

 (ire-place, or two doors in the angles on that side of the room as cir- 

 cumstances might require. Else there might be a window there as at 

 present, and three recesses for book-cases at each end of the apart- 

 ment 



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