Composition of Space and Body (18th century neo-classicism)

How were interior spaces composed as unified volumes in the eighteenth century? Consider how Robert Adam s developed surface drawings were employed in order to promote certain kinds of spatial effect?

Until the eighteenth century the interior of a building could fundamentally be interpreted by its facade without ever requiring the viewer to pass through the threshold. This was due to universal rules determining construction. Instances such as the presumption of a three isled church being a three isled church due to the easily readable facade. Only in the eighteenth century during what was known as the age of the enlightening did architects finally break away from these previous practises1. Through this break in tradition there came about the emancipation of interiors , the construction of spaces not dictated by the building s facade instead organized with the occupant s use of the space2. Robert Adam an architect of the time developed an interior design concept known as developed surface drawings , somewhat like an unfolded cube showing the interior design of the space. Through developed surface drawings Adams was able to create unified volumes consisting of a unity between the formal, spatial and visual as well as the social3,with the main reason for the spaces existence becoming its use. This essay will examine particular social practices common during the age of enlightenment which can be seen to have impacted upon the way in which spaces were organized within country estates. It will also discuss the relevance of the developed surface drawing, pioneered by Robert Adams, as a compositional tool in the creation of unified volumes and certain special effects associated with designing with this type of drawing. In addition some of the effects created as well as some of the problems produced by the developed surface drawings will be presented. In the late eighteenth century it was an ever more increasing occurrence for European architects to travel abroad in order to attain inspiration for their work, visiting Greek and Roman buildings of antiquity4. This can be seen clearly in the styles of buildings from the time for example the Roman columns and portico used in the entrance way to Syon House5. In addition to architects travelling abroad for inspiration in their design there was a strong shift in the clients taste as archaeology became identified as a form of art6. The upper-class of society with their new found love for architecture also travelled abroad on what was call a grand tou7r. They would visit ruined temples and historic sites throughout Europe, North Africa and sometimes even as far as Asia. During these tours they would often collect souvenirs of the places they visited, these could range from a scenic painting through to pieces of pottery or even stone work and statues from ruins. Upon returning
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David Watkin, A History of Western Architecture, 4th ed. (London: Laurence King Publishing, 2005).373 Ibid.380 3 Robin Evans, The Developed Surface: An Enquiry into the Brief Life of an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Technique, vol. Week 11 Reading 03. 198. 4 Alastair Service, The Architects of London and Their Buildings from 1066 to the Present Day (London :New York: Architectural Press ;Architectural Book Pub. Co., 1979). 73. 5 Ibid.77 6 Ibid.73 7 John Wilton-Ely, ""Classic Ground": Britain, Italy, and the Grand Tour," Eighteenth-century life 28, no. 1 (2004). 137.
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from their grand tours with this new collection of art they required a way of displaying their treasures, as the things they collected were a symbol of their standing in society and required an audience8. As mentioned neo-classicism had broken the mould of a building s interior being regulated by its exterior9. With this break from tradition interiors were able to be organized and designed to accommodate the individual needs of the occupant/client. Therefore patrons returning from their grand tours with collections of stone, paintings and a variety of other trinkets were able to reorganize their homes in order to accommodate for the displaying of these collections10. This creation of space for the purpose of displaying possessions created certain special phenomena, the effect of which can be seen in the homes of the social elite of the time. Traditionally the first floor of a stately house was elevated above ground and consisted of the formal spaces with which guests would be entertained. Though in the time of neo-classicism the first floor became situated further towards the ground level and became an informal space, still used for entertainment purposes, and the formal rooms of the home were relocated to the floor above. The ground floor became somewhat of a gallery for the owners grand tour collection and seen as a status symbol in the era. The rooms were orientated so that a circuit was created with the guest or viewer of the collection moving from room to room most commonly along the periphery of the floor11. This created a feeling of infinite distance, space and time for the viewer as there was no point at which they were required to stop and turn around on order to return to the start it was a complete circuit12. The rooms of the circuit were designed to stimulate the senses to be a theatrical event and evoke memories of the places visited on their tours. The rooms were designed to be vivid interpretations, recreations or exaggerations of these places the pieces of the home owner s collection had come from13. A technique developed by Robert Adams (1728-92) which became apparently useful in the designing of the circuit was the developed surface drawing14. This is a drawing in which the interior of a room is unfolded as if it were the interior of a cube. This drawing technique was extremely useful for interpreting the interiors in a way that enabled the designer to exaggerate the differences 15 between adjacent rooms and create abrupt changes . This abrupt change between rooms was another element which added to the evocative nature of the viewer s experience16. Adams s developed surface drawings were used to create an image of what was eloquently named unified space, which for Adams was useful in designing his particular style of interior spaces but it did have its issues. The main one of which is alluded to even by the name of the drawings result unified volumes. This suggests that the space is as one and it literally is in Adams s drawings, if an observer were to stand in the middle the room there is no volume or depth to objects in the space,
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Ibid.139-140 Watkin, A History of Western Architecture.369-70 10 Ibid.381 11 Evans, The Developed Surface: An Enquiry into the Brief Life of an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Technique.206 12 Ibid.209 13 Ibid.205-06 14 Ibid.209 15 Ibid.209 16 Ibid.207-9

the extremities of the space can be considered almost as magnetic and drawing everything else in it to the interior boundaries. This characteristic of the developed surface drawing, rather than being problematic for Adams, was in fact the genesis for his style of interior design. Rather than Adams acting and designing in contrast to his drawings (trying to create depth after the drawings had diminished it), he used his drawings to create spaces where the colour and shapes chosen actually amplified the perception of a flattened perspective. In Adams s designs alcoves and niches instead of being circular became elongated in order to foreshorten the spaces within. In addition lighter colours were chosen so as to work against the perception of depth as well as furniture being specifically designed to be placed flat against the walls with patterns directly correlating with the patterns of the walls in front of which they were placed. This made the pattern and designs seem as if they were actually coming from the walls and wrapping around the furniture in effect literally making the pieces part of the walls. As Adams s drawings became more popular for amongst designers and their clients his particular method of developing spaces was adopted by others seeking to also create a name for themselves. As mentioned before the developed surface drawing came with some issues and as the method of representing space became increasingly more commonly used by others trying to sell their furnishings thinking that the developed surface drawing would give a good representation of possible room settings17. His is how it came about that its largest flaw was, not exposed because it was never intended to be used in that particular way, instead through misuse the effectiveness of this method of design became perverted. The people using the developed surface drawings to sell their wares created spaces and placed furniture within the space but not necessarily against the wall18s. Instead the pieces were depicted in what was interpreted as the floor between the wall planes on the drawing19. This created a design issue for the sellers of the furniture because the logical approach is to interpret the floor space as being viewed from a bird s eye perspective. Though this is the problem for the marketers of the furniture for as from a bird s eye view the pieces of furniture cannot be displayed in a way which depicts them accurately20. The marketers decided to manipulate the images to display their pieces from better perspectives whilst keeping the image of the room as a standard developed surface drawing21. This manipulation of the image created conflicting perspectives within the one image, sometimes different pieces of furniture in the room would even be displayed as if viewed from more than one angle creating even more confusion within the image22. In conclusion the eighteenth century s neo-classicism or as it was known the age of the enlightening was characterized by a revolutionary shift in the way in which interior spaces were organized23. The shift towards space being designed in order to accommodate its use rather than simply applying rules brought about the true power of a space being unlocked24. As was discussed the grand tour gave way to the creation of the circuit within stately homes for use of displaying the home owners
17 18

Ibid.219-221 Ibid.221 19 Ibid.221 20 Ibid.221 21 Ibid.221 22 Ibid.221 23 Watkin, A History of Western Architecture.373 24 Ibid.373

collection and even could be seen as a representation of their memories25. With the creation of the circuit a way of designing contrasting spaces was needed. This need was masterfully fulfilled by Robert Adams s developed surface drawings which he used to create distinctly unique styles of interiors26. The developed surface drawing lent itself to the creation of what has been called unified volume27. Although this also brought about peculiarities in design, which Adams worked with and incorporated into his overall style, it did not have a beneficial effect for everyone who attempted to use the developed surface drawing28. Even with these inconsistencies the style of interiors derived from this technique proved to be extremely effective as evocative gallery spaces29.

Ibid.381 Evans, The Developed Surface: An Enquiry into the Brief Life of an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Technique.205-06 27 Ibid.198 28 Ibid.221 29 Ibid.205-06
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Bibliography
Evans, Robin. The Developed Surface: An Enquiry into the Brief Life of an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Technique. Vol. Week 11 Reading 03. Service, Alastair. The Architects of London and Their Buildings from 1066 to the Present Day. London :New York: Architectural Press ;Architectural Book Pub. Co., 1979. Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. 4th ed. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2005. Wilton-Ely, John. ""Classic Ground": Britain, Italy, and the Grand Tour." Eighteenth-century life 28, no. 1 (2004): 138-64.