HD3: Mansart & Le Vau & Light

I was so pleased to receive 99% (!!) for HD3. I worked hard on it, and found the Baroque era very interesting, although a little ostentatious for my taste! I decided to put my essay outlines to help people get started on what to write about. Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas...

Question 1: Mansart & Le Vau

1. Introduction to Baroque era and architects
2. Background on Mansart (date of birth, education, mentors etc)
3. Mansart's first designs - incl. details that became characteristic of his style
4. Further expansion on Mansart's designs - details on how style has developed
5. Mansart's most preeminent work/final masterpiece
6-9. (Repeated essentially the same structure for Le Vau)
10. Summary

Question 2: The use of light in the Baroque
1. General introduction to the philosophy of light in the Baroque era
2. Why light (or things that created light) were significant - centre of life, philosophy, status, interest in outdoors/gardens
3-4. How light was created in architecture (look at pierced vaulted ceilings, window designs)
5. Artifical lighting (candleabras, fireplaces etc)
6. Mirrors
7. Use of light with furniture (i.e. gilding, lacquering, silvering etc)
8. Summary


I don't know if these books are available where you are (but if they're all the way down in Australia, they should be elsewhere) but some books you might want to look up (apart from good old John Pile) include:

§ Lucie-Smith, E. (1979). Furniture: A Concise History. London: Thames and Hudson.

§ Riley, N & Bayer, P (Editor). (2003). The Elements of Design. New York: Free Press.

§ Wolfflin, H. (1975). Renaissance and the Baroque. New York: Cornell University Press.

§ Hersey, G. (2000). Architecture and Geometry in the age of the Baroque. London: The University of Chicago Press.

§ Blunt, A. (1999). Art & Architecture in France 1500-1700. Suffolk: Penguin Books.

§ Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971a). Baroque Architecture. New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc.

§ Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971b). History of World Architecture. New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc.

§ Watkin, D. (1986). The History of Western Architecture (3^rd ed.). London: Laurence King Publishing.

§ Blunt, A. (1999). Art & Architecture in France 1500-1700. Suffolk: Penguin Books.

§Watkin, D. (1986). The History of Western Architecture (3^rd ed.). London: Laurence King Publishing.

Writing Essays

I know the word 'essay' gives people sleepless nights and hair-pulling days and while I've had my fair share of those I've had a fair bit of experience writing essays, thanks to school and uni.

I'd read a lot of tips and instructions on writing essays which are all helpful but the best method I've ever had (primarily for History essays) is the way we were taught in my history subject at high school. It allows you to structure your research logically and makes it easy to reference your essays when you write them.

First, get a lined book took take your research notes in (I decided to leave my sketchbook for more illustrations and got a different book for research). At the front, write down the assignment question and then break it down into the different things you need to consider to answer the question.

For example, one of the questions for HD1 is:

"The Romans were great builders. Describe some of the techniques and special features in evidence in their buildings. We now focus on Roman interiors and much detail on their layout, materials and richness is expected here. You should be able to provide good descriptions and examples and to comment on the Roman way of life."

If you break this question down you see some key points:

1) What are some Roman building techniques or special features of their buildings?

2) How were Roman buildings laid out?

3) What materials did they use?

4) What did the interiors look like (considering richness and detail)?

5) What was the Roman way of life?

Now you clearly know what you need to look for in your research. Write each question on the top of a page, leaving enough gaps between each to add your notes. I often like to add a more general question if I don't know much about the topic, then go into more detail from there. As you research, you might discover you need to ask other questions to clarify topics for yourself.

For example, I used these research questions among others:

1. What is the history of the Romans?

2. What characterised the Romans as a civilisation and what was their way of life like?

3. What are some well-known Roman buildings like?

4. What materials did the Romans use in building and interiors?

5. What building techniques are the Romans known for?

6. What is the typical layout of a Roman house?

7. What characterised the Roman interior?

As you research, look specifically for information that relates to these questions and write it down uon the appropriate page. Sometimes it helps to summarise useful information in your own words so you don't accidently plagarise later.

Keep a reference list at the back, giving each source a number and writing all the information you need to write a reference/bibliography list later. When you write your notes under each question include the source number for easy referencing later.

Then, when you've planned your essay and start writing, you have a summary of all the research you've done, with sources clearly marked.

This may not work for everyone but I find it keeps all my notes in a logical order (and the questions can often be used as a paragraph topic!) and stops me taking notes on something irrelevant.

Hope this helps!

History - Ancient Rome

I have done a few History assignments and particularly enjoyed the Ancient Rome HD1 assignment. I went there when I was 16 and fell in love with Italy and Pompeii was fascinating. Here a few of the pics I took which I found inspiring when working on the assignment.

Mosaic mural in Pompeii.

Staircase in Rome.

A street of Pompeii.

A church ceiling.

A beautiful courtyard in Assisi.

And, of course, the Colosseum.

- All photos by Anna Williams, 2005.

1000 Chairs or just 1

I was recently given a fantastic book called '1000 Chairs'. I'll post the full details later but it's very interesting if you're a bit of a chair enthusiast.

Each week I want to post a little about some of my favourites:

Michael Thonet. Chair, Model No 14, 1859.

Everybody will recognise the 'bentwood' chair. It's iconic shape is seen around the world. The No. 14 Chair was the result of experimentation in the bending of solid wood in the 1850s. The simple form allowed Thonet's goal of mass-production - 50 million were sold worldwide by 1930.

This chair is a design classic and is seen in rooms all around the world. Would you believe I saw one, or a very good copy, in my local 'op-shop' (second hand store) dressing room and asked if I could buy it. The lady told me, rather rudely, that it was not for sale and there were plenty of other chairs available (which were all of the pea green velour, nasty veneer or plastic variety). I didn't see the point in trying to explain the difference!

History Lesson: The Edwardian Period

The Edwardian period is one of my favourite periods of design. Following the elaborate and cluttered rooms of the Victorian era, Edwardians brought pared down airy rooms. Colours were fresher, ornamentation simpler and dados, pictures rails and extensive paneling began to vanish. Although more detailed than modern homes, the Edwardian era is the beginning of more modern sensibilities, and works beautifully with modern furnishings and design.

The picture below shows some of the key architectural features from the Edwardian period. Although less detailed than Victorian rooms, Edwardian design still often featured a picture rail (the mouldings which run above the doors and windows), a dado or wainscot (moulding which rungs just below the hip level) and of course, cornices and skirting boards.

Image from Paint & Paper by David Oliver

Colours schemes of this era were also fresher; pastel tones and pearly greys were used extensively.

Here are some pictures of modern interpretations of the Edwardian style.

Image from Paint & Paper by David Oliver

Image from notebookmagazine.com

Above two images from design Hillary Wallace

A History Lesson - Warren Platner

So I thought I'd do a mini history lesson on a furniture designer that caught my eye recently. An icon of 60s Modernism, Warren Platner designed beautiful steel formed furniture. I recently bought myself four dining chairs in a similar style, and when I saw a photo of his originals on Desire to Inspire I decided to find out a little more!

Here's some information from Design within Reach (a site which has mini biographies of many designers):

Of the furniture and interior designers who began to make their talents visible in the 1960s, Warren Platner was among the less flamboyant. Nevertheless, he earned for himself an international reputation for elegant understatement and the steel wire furniture he designed for Knoll has become an icon of '60s modernism.

Born in Baltimore in 1919, Platner studied architecture at Cornell University and, following graduation in 1941, worked in the offices of legendary designers Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei. He opened his own New Haven office in 1967, which quickly became a significant design studio, creating furniture, lighting and textiles, as well as residential and commercial interiors.Modernism became more expressive during the 1960s, reflecting a dramatic shift in cultural values. In Platner's words, "I felt there was room for the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful design that appeared in a period style like Louis XV." To pursue that concept, he focused on the design possibilities of steel wire and ultimately arrived at a collection of chairs, ottomans and tables that rest on a sculptural base of nickel-plated steel rods. Introduced by Knoll in 1966, the Platner collection has been in continuous production ever since.
Platner's architectural background enabled him to experiment in a number of design areas. Working in the office of architect Kevin Roche, Platner won acclaim for the interior design of the Ford Foundation headquarters (1967), using a muted color scheme to create warmth within the soaring steel, granite and glass building. Also notable, was his design of the Georg Jensen Design Center (1968), a showroom for high-end Scandinavian furniture and lighting. Platner's interior design for the glamorous Windows on the World Restaurant (1976) captured the public's notice perhaps more than any other project. Paul Goldberger, then architecture critic of The New York Times, described the lush interior, with its subdued pastels, fabric-covered walls and brass railings, as an example of "sensuous modernism."Platner also designed the interiors for Water Tower Place (1976), a vertical shopping mall in Chicago and, in 1986, directed interior renovation of the Pan Am Building lobby for its new owner, MetLife.

Still active in his firm, Platner Associates, he died in 2006 at the age of 86.Warren Platner received the Rome Prize in architecture in 1955 and in 1985 was inducted into Interior Design magazine's Hall of Fame.

Here are some of his pieces used in interiors: