From Influence to Innovation - 19th Century Re-interpretations of Classicism by Celine Battolla

F R O M I N F L U E N C E T O I N N O VA T I O N 19th Century Re-Interpretations of Classicism: The Poetics of Henri Labrouste

C E L I N E L . B AT T O L L A Student ID: w1700689 Module: 7ARCH023W.Y Architectural Reflections II

2019/2020

F R O M I N F L U E N C E T O I N N O VA T I O N 19th Century Re-Interpretations of Classicism: The Poetics of Henri Labrouste

C E L I N E L AV I N I A B AT T O L L A

Dedicated to my mum and dad. With special thanks to my tutor Alan Powers and my family for their continuous support throughout the process.

Content

Overview

Page 7-15

Page 17-27

Page 29-35

Introduction

Chapter I

Chapter II

Abstract

Historical Context

Challenging Academic Dogma

Page 37-47

Page 49-87

Page 89-93

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Conclusion

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Case Studies

Conclusion

Content

Introduction

Abstract

The underlying theme of the following dissertation is the cultural heritage of the ancient world, that through the archetypes of gods and goddesses provided an accurate account of human psychology. This leads to a broader discussion of the role of precedents, tradition and language in architecture, and how these elements contribute not only to the creation and preservation of collective memory, but ultimately convey a sense of identity to architecture and its users. In a quest for finding new meaning in the ancient world, that to this day is disregarded not only in architectural education, but by our cultural upbringing in general, the ambition of this dissertation is to look at examples of architects who have used their imagination to rework history in new, brave and sometimes bold ways, to restore the ancient world of its irrefutable stature, understanding how it can still teach us something today. In particular, history and architecture, which are both immune to disintegration through the means of modernity and time, will be analysed through the guise of 19th century architecture, to see if there may be an application and implementation in the architectural style of our current age. A series of case studies will be presented, showcasing a unique synthesis of historical and symbolic themes into more contemporary structures and materials. The analysis starts from a rundown of the historical context which led to an unprecedented range of experimental architectural solutions and competing theories, that shared a fundamentally new vision of the relationship of architecture to the historical past, influencing all the major cities in Europe. Examples of architects that began using tradition in an unprecedented way, creating buildings with incredibly diverse appearance and intent, will raise the question of what these practices have in common and why might we be interested in them 150 years later.

Introduction

Fig. 1

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Fig. 3

Abstract

This is then followed by an overview of French architect Henri Labrouste, who trace profound relationships between 19th century theories and 20th century avant-garde practices through the lens of changing concepts of historicity. The study of the restoration of Paestum (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7), which he conducted in his fourthyear training as an architect, will introduce the discourse on the continued influence of historicism on modern architectural practice; and in particular how, by offering alternative interpretations of longstanding assumptions about the origins of classicism in construction, he opened the doors to a new range of expression irrespective of the Mediterranean tradition. Through a comparative analysis of his unique libraries, the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève and the Bibliothèque Nationale, it will be clear how the architect was also challenging the relationship between form and meaning in architecture in light of new technological developments. Both buildings, unmistakable because of their glass-and-iron structure, represent Labrouste’s most influential work, vastly misinterpreted during his lifetime: conceived at a historical moment when the classical language was being rethought,

Introduction

Abstract

Introduction

they incorporate technology without breaking their architectural language. Particular attention is paid to the exhibition catalogue â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Henri Labrouste: Structure brought to lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, featuring over 200 works, from original drawings, to vintage and modern photographs, that will uncover the ways he explores new paradigms of space, materials and luminosity in places of great public assembly. Today, more

Fig. 4 (previous page) Fig. 5 (above)

Abstract

Introduction

Abstract

than ever, in the Age of Social Media and Internet, these spaces are of the utmost important as they provide the opportunity for human interaction, shared memory and knowledge. Labrouste adds yet another layer of intricacy, by mastering tradition to the extent that he resorts to it to create something that feels completely new, a synthesis in which the parts come together as a cohesive whole

Fig. 6, Fig. 7 (top to bottom) Fig. 8 (next page) Fig. 9 (pages 14-15)

Introduction

Abstract

Introduction

enriched with poetic expressiveness. Labrousteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal to the real and the rational, in contrast with the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eternal truthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of academic conventions, is a rhetorical strategy deployed in order to uncover a broader range of fictional possibilities for architecture, a technique that will be made apparent through the analysis of the experience of the building as a whole, taking into account the key elements of its spaces, design and decoration. Labrouste designs spaces that are both overwhelming in the daring exposed metal frameworks and lightweight walls and at the same time immersive in their timelessness, borrowing concepts from Soane and Piranesi to create an architecture where everything is meaningful and nothing is accidental. If classical architecture was fading away due to its lack of connections to the present, Labrouste was able to deploy lessons from the past in an imaginative, meaningful way that was engaging and resonating with a modern audience. In a time when the ancient world is highly disregarded and other cultures have prevailed over Greece and Rome, this discussion aims to unveil in what ways the past can still be relevant to us today.

Abstract

Introduction

Abstract

Introduction

Abstract

Chapter I

Historical Context

Historical Context The start of the investigation is denoted by a particular period in time characterized by radical change, as described by Barry Bergdoll in the following quote: “Ushered in by the great period of intellectual questioning which historians have called the Enlightenment and fuelled by the social, political, and economic upheavals and challenges of a century and a half continually made aware, anxious even, of the changes that separated it from the past, architecture after 1750 became self-consciously experimental as never before. Continually testing its own limits, the possibilities and capacities of architecture were questioned, expanded, and debated as an integral part of those processes of secular human reason, of scientific observation and experimentation, that characterized the Enlightenment in philosophy and in science.”1 The Enlightenment theories, and in particular those of the most prominent philosopher of the period, John Locke, paved the way to the Sensationalist philosophy. With his theory of the mind, Locke anticipated concepts of identity and the self, whilst overturning Cartesian philosophy based on pre-existing concepts, claiming that each individual is born with what he calls a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and that knowledge is acquired through experience derived from sense perception. This gave a new meaning to human emotional response, knowledge, and the relation between morality and scientific experimentation and inquiry. Architectural form was to be analysed “objectively”, and so were its effects on the senses and on human behavioural aspects. “This period was one of continual experimentation on the very nature of architecture, its capacity to represent and to communicate, even its capacity to affect and mould behaviour.”2 Architecture now not only had a hand in shaping events, debates and ideology, 1 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 4 2 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 4

Chapter I

Historical Context

but had to cater to an ever-growing public with new and never before seen buildings and architectural programmes, reflecting a period of social and economic revolution and nation-building. Up until the mid-eighteenth century, antiquity was inextricably upheld as the highest and purest architectural expression to be emulated by generations to come. The climate of analytical inquiry began with the Newtonian revolution in the sciences, and by the supremacy of reason in philosophy, history and social critique through the Enlightened thought, which all led to debates over the origins and authority of the Classical orders. Initially, these debates weren’t aimed to replace antiquity, on the contrary, the objective was to modify previous interpretations and uses of it. Nevertheless, these debates eventually lead to the idea of possible rejection of Classicism with the advent of Modernism. This intellectual debate was spurred by two main events: the publication in 1750 of the prospectus for the Encyclopédie, by French philosophers Denis Diderot and Jean-Baptiste d’Alembert, which, in the words of D’Alembert himself, was aimed “to change the way people think” and remains to this day a critical piece of work culturally important and a staple of modern civilisation as we know it. By promoting the examination of every domain, freed from the shackles of tradition, church dogma, and superstition, Diderot paved the way to new architectural research, travel and publications. (Top to bottom) Fig. 1.1, Fig. 1.2, Fig. 1.3

Chapter I

Historical Context

Equally as important were the lectures conducted by French economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot at the Sorbonne, most importantly his Philosophie Panorama of the Progress of the Human Mind, dealing with the promotion of progressive ideas regarding human understanding in line with Enlightenment trends. Therefore, the challenge for the architect of the time was to conceive an architecture that simultaneously followed reason and the aforementioned spirit of progress, whilst also taking into account the idea of cultural relativity, put forward by Montesquieu in his widely read Spirit of the Laws of 1747, which essentially claimed that “societies were as much the products of local laws of climate, system of government, and traditions as they were of unchanging human nature”.3 Charles Perrault, esteemed French author and member of the Académie Française, instigated the ‘quarrel of the ancients and moderns’ with his criticism of Classical orders, resulting in intellectual discussions on essays, pamphlets, journals and permeating the walls of literary salons and coffeehouses. Meanwhile, Jesuit priest and architectural theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier praised French Gothic for achieving a light and airy structural aesthetic, that was consistent with the structural basis of ancient Greek classicism, and appropriate for modern France. In Observations on Architecture he asserted 3 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000),p. 10 (Top to bottom) Fig. 1.4, Fig. 1.5, Fig. 1.6

Chapter I

Historical Context

that “the emulation of branching trees could lead to an altogether novel architecture”4 and that “Architecture owes all that is perfect to the Greeks”5 , echoing a growing tacit agreement common amongst the French, in 1753. In line with this view, Winckelmann, who extolled the “quiet grandeur and noble simplicity” of Greek art as an unrivalled standard, proclaimed that “there is but one way for the modern to become great, even inimitable: I mean, by imitating the Greeks”6. The discovery of Herculaneum (1739) and Pompeii (1748) underscored the partiality of information on antiquity understood at the time and led to a quest for travels in order to publish accurate measured drawings from the Greek mainland, that would in turn lead to the discovery of discrepancies between Greek and Roman monuments that would entail a major questioning of the creed of a unitary Classical ideal. Despite its ongoing questioning, classicism continued to be a dominant style due to its depth in meaning and practical application, that allowed for a variety of theoretical interpretations and adaptations that have in common a universal memory and paved the way for architect Henri Labrouste’s application almost a century later. 4 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 14 5 Marc Antoine Laugier, An Essay on Architecture (2nd edition, 1755), trans. By Wolfgang and Anni Herrmann. Los Angeles: Hennessy & Ingalls, Inc., 1977, p.8 6 J. J. Winckelmann, Reflections on the Imitation of the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks, published in Gert Schiff (ed.), German Essays on Art History. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1988, p.1 (Top to bottom) Fig. 1.7, Fig. 1.8, Fig. 1.9

Chapter I

Historical Context

Important differences between Greek and Roman buildings were highlighted by various parallel publications, notably James Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s pioneering Antiquities of Athens and Julien David Leroy’s Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece. Revett and Leroy introduced the debate over the relative merits of the Greek and Roman models, in years during which the English Society of Dilettanti were promoting foreign travel and ‘Greek taste and Roman spirit’, hoping it would bring glory to England. Whether ancient monuments were being studied in order to be emulated, or to understand how civilizations impacted the rises of these architectural forms, Leroy stated that these weren’t unsurpassable. On the contrary, he believed Greek architecture was to be understood “as a piece with Greek society, Greek learning, even Greek science, suggesting a kind of coherence in cultural forms that was a more valuable lesson for modern cultural identity than the specific forms of the orders”.7 With the current debate taking place, Piranesi felt that his national pride and personal livelihood were at stake. It spurred him to collect 38 plates under the polemical title of The Magnificence and the Architecture of Rome, where he claims Roman Architecture was inherited and developed from the Etruscans, an older race than the Greeks, therefore suggesting not only that their skilful art came about prior to that of the Greeks, but also that they were a deciding factor in the decline of Roman’s architecture 7 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 20 (Top to bottom) Fig. 1.10, Fig. 1.11, Fig. 1.12 (Following pages ) Fig. 1.13, Fig. 1.14, Fig. 1.16

Chapter I

Historical Context

from reason to caprice in the late empire. Due to a lack of evidence, these ideas failed to gain followers. However, Piranesi’s pictures showcased how the past could be used quite freely as a resource, combining accurate observation and creative fantasy. As the debate gained adherents, Piranesi issued Parere sull’Architettura, where for the first time he offered a series of personal architectural compositions, which anticipated his later portfolio of designs titled Different Manners for Decorating Fireplaces and all other Parts of Buildings, summarizing his position: “After having used Etruscan architecture through several centuries the Romans also had recourse to the Greek manner and united both. [...] By wisely combining the Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian styles, one must give rise to the discovery of new decorations and new manners.”8 The effect of Sensationalism on the aesthetic theory sought to elucidate the direct relationship between physical objects and mental states, which in turn implied that architecture had a powerful effect on emotions, thoughts and ultimately morals, becoming comparable to the representational arts of literature, painting and sculpture. The sublime, found in literature, and the picturesque, characteristic of garden design, soon became architectural values. Moreover, a new harmony between architecture and its environment was to be sought, challenging a priori canons of symmetry, frontality and unity. Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund 8 G. B. Piranesi, Diverse maniere d’adornare i cammini ed ogni altra parte degli edifizi, Rome, 1769.

Chapter I

Historical Context

Chapter I

Historical Context

Chapter I

Historical Context

Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful, first published in 1757, provided a descriptive explanation of the physical processes of emotion and the cause-effect relationship between objects and feelings in pursuit of a better understanding on how to create aesthetic effects, identifying the expressive qualities of light as an essential source. In this framework, Neo-Classical English architect Sir John Soane “spoke vigorously in support of ‘the lumière mystérieuse’’, so successfully practised by the French Artists…[which] is a most powerful agent in the hands of a man of genius”, claiming that “its power cannot be too fully understood nor too highly appreciated. It is, however, little attended to in our architecture… [because] we do not sufficiently feel the importance of character in our buildings, to which the mode of admitting light contributes in no small degree.”9 The epitome of his claims can be found in his very own home and museum at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields (see previous pages Fig. 1.13, Fig. 1.14), where a triple height space rises from a gloomy basement being lit from an majestic dome. In a space containing hundreds of items from the architect’s collection of architectural casts and artefacts, the focus is directed to the spaces where the light acts as a spotlight (Fig. 1.15). 9 Helen Dorey, Exquisite hues and magical effects, The British Art Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring/ summer 2004), p. 40

Chapter I

Historical Context

“Nations differ no less in their taste for architecture than in food and raiment”10 wrote Winckelmann, paralleling Montesquieu’s attribution of Greeks excellence in the arts to favourable climate, political and societal structure. In the 1820s a new interest in history as a new science of society was born, and architects, influenced by the Saint-Simonian theory of history as a progression of ‘critical’ and ‘organic’ periods, began to challenge the doctrine of the imitation of ideal models at the heart of the academic system. This change of mindset in the way history was interpreted is fundamental in order to understand why Labrouste and his contemporaries challenged Academic dogma in pursuit of an accurate recount of the communal poetry embodied by classical architecture. This stemmed from an understanding of the built form as a record of a civilization in evolution and the process of change. As analysed in the following chapter, through the accurate historical reconstruction of ruins, these young archaeologist-architects were not only chasing the ambition of recomposing a timeless ideal, but moreover they believed they were unfolding “evidence of the encounter in architecture between the demands of structure and materials and the poetic expression of larger societal beliefs.”11 10 Fischer von Erlach, Civil and Historical Architecture, 1730, English edn, author’s preface, as quoted in Eileen Harris with Nicholas Savage, British Architectural Books and Their Writers. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1990), p.194 11 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.59

Chapter I

Historical Context

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

Challenging Academic Dogma The following chapter aims to underscore the conflict between a semi-mythologised, unvarying canon of classical architecture as passed down through the French system and the effect of new forms of thought on challenging it. “The shift in meaning of the notion of architectural ‘character’ from its eighteenth-century sense of modes of expression within a universal vocabulary to the nineteenth-century concern with national styles did not occur without considerable resistance from those who believed that architectural ideals transcended vagaries of time and place.”1 Within this historical context, the architect’s ambition to be the self-conscious interpreter of the zeitgeist, the ‘spirit of the age’, resulted in an array of multi-coloured solutions. In this framework of change French architect-in-the-making Henri Labrouste challenged Neoclassical aesthetic doctrine. After receiving a stipend from the French government for five years to “research the laws of proportion and reduce them to formulas to be used by masters and students in Paris”2, he and other Académie française laureates stayed in the Medici Villa in Rome where they “began to broaden the range of historical periods to be studied, bringing new criteria to bear on what type of lessons even the most frequently studied monuments had to offer”3 and looking at their work as a shared research project. For his fourth-year requirement to fulfil a graphic restoration of a Classi1 Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p.139 2 Correspondance des directeurs de l’Académie de France à Rome, tome 1, p. 28 3 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.57

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

cal building, instead of a study of colonialism, Labrouste brought into question Academic aesthetic doctrine, disputing not only the dating of the temples, but also their function and the historical origin of their ornaments. His restoration studies of the temples of Paestum (see page 8 Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 & page 10-11 Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7) in the area south of Naples, that was a Greek colony before the rise of Rome, along with a provocative memorandum with which he questioned the notion of any universal ideal in architecture in favour of a narrative of the emergence of relative and local architecture adapted always to time and place through the progressive transformation of received models, rocked the French Academy. Simultaneously, his contemporary Felix Duban, when asked to conceive a building ‘in keeping with French uses’, decided to choose the unprecedented building type of a Protestant church, raising the question of the relationship between archaeological study and modern design.

Fig. 2.1

The debate over Labrouste’s restoration study of Paestum implied that the fundamental doctrines of the ideal, imitation and the role of architectural practice in relation to society were at stake. The architect placed himself against his teachers and Quatremère de Quincy, permanent secretary of the academy, who when confronted about the discrepancies “began by changing the subject”4 and subsequently reproached him for fighting his masters’ critiques and questioned the accuracy of his drawings. Labrouste made another observation worth mentioning with regards to the issue of chronology of some of these temples, notably the Temple of Neptune (Fig. 2.1, Fig. 2.2, Fig. 2.3) that up until that moment was considered to be the last one built out of the three monuments in loco, as it resembled more than the others the classical Greek temple. Labrouste explains that he believed the purity of the monument would indicate it had been erected prior to the others, which were influenced by colonial adaptation: “These observations lead me to consider the Temple of Neptune as being Greek Architecture, and built at a time in which the Trezenians native to the Peloponese [sic], founders of Posidonia [sic], had not yet forgotten the architectural principles 4 125)

Letter from Labrouste to Vernet, July 8, 1830 (Fossier Chave, and Kuhnmunch 2010:

Fig. 2.2

Fig. 2.3

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

that they had brought with them from Greece. And to consider the portico and the Temple of Ceres to be subsequent to the Temple of Neptune and built at a time when the Posidonians [sic], having grown more powerful, wished to create a new architecture. These two monuments alone present the Typical architecture of Posidonia .”5 Further analysis of Paestum lead Labrouste to conclude this wasn’t a temple but a civic basilica, due to the subdivision of the space down the centre, a plan type that he argued represented public use. This explains why he set out the principle that the design of buildings form should not only be suitable but subordinated to function and that “decoration should be born of construction expressed with artistry”6, an attitude that clearly arose from his studies. This attitude defined him not only 5 Henri Labrouste, Mémoire explicatif de la restauration des Temples de Paestum”, école des Beaux-Arts, ms. 240.II, f. 31 and 32 and its draft, ibid. PC 77832-7-200. Labrouste 1877. 6 Louis Sullivan, The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered, first published in Lippincott’s Magazine 57 (March 1896), pp.403-9, reprinted in Leland Roth, America Builds: Source Documents in American Architecture and Planning (New York: Harper & Row, 1983), p.340. Fig. 2.4

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

as one of the key figures of modern architecture by the Deutsche Bauzeitung7, but he was also praised by the Royal Institute of British Architects for “the vigour and vitality which has given birth to and guided the growth of the highly original art which marks the French school of the second quarter of this century.” Labrouste’s Paestum studies, fuelled by his inquisitive nature, shed a light on truths about construction by their undeniable accuracy, to the point where “it’s almost impossible to believe it was done by human hand.”8 Each drawing is characterized by two languages working together: “the language of the permanent fabric and the language of its attachments- that which continues the idea of architecture and that which is the responsibility of those who use it.”9 Under this aspect they are most certainly extraordinary, but even more so because they speak about the beliefs, identity and memory of a society that is no longer present to do so. 7 “Henri Labrouste”, Deutsche Bauzeitung 9 (1875): p.280. 8 Peter Smithson, “Once a Jolly Swagman: Some Thoughts after Seeing Labrouste’s Drawing of Paestum” AD Profiles 17: The Beaus-Arts, ed. Robin Middleton (London: Academy, 1978), p.34. 9 Ibid. Fig. 2.5 Fig. 2.6 (next pages)

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

Chapter II

Challenging Academic Dogma

Chapter III

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi The following pages aim to uncover the architectural qualities of Labrouste’s drawings and spaces, arguing he was influenced by the work of two of his predecessors: Sir John Soane in England, and Gian Battista Piranesi in Italy. Asides from being prominent figures in architectural history, they all share an interest not only in ruins of Paestum, but also in draughting, a technique they were all skilfully adept to. As mentioned in Chapter I, Piranesi was one of the first to question academic dogma, paving the way for Soane, whose involvement began shortly before the former architect’s death. In his lectures at the Royal Academy Soane shared a series of drawings he compiled in order to prove the Temple of Neptune’s connection to the primitive hut, using a perspective often deployed in these study drawings (Fig. 3.2). Correspondence between the two in 1778 confirms Soane and Piranesi met in Rome, and regardless of the validity of their claims, they most certainly had an impact in the way ruins were viewed and portrayed in Labrouste’s time. To this day John Soane’s Museum holds fifteen of Piranesi’s drawings1 (Fig. 3.1) and coincidentally another one of them is part of the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. This chapter aims to demonstrate how Soane’s built work and imaginative drawings contributed to Labrouste’s use of light and iconography both in his libraries and in his measured studies, whilst also influencing the way buildings 1 Paestum (Giovanni Battista Piranesi, study drawings for Différentes vues de […] Pesto, London, Sir John Soane’s Muse-um, Drawings Collection: plates II (F20 (71)), III (F9 (51)), IV (F78 (146)), V (F24 (76)), VI (F23 (75)), VII (F10 (54)), VIII (F70 (133)), IX (F64 (125)), X (F21 (72)), XI (F19 (70)), XII (F18 (69)), XIII (F22 (74)), XIV (F25 (77)), XVI (F76 (139)), XVII (F77 (140))

Chapter III

Fig. 3.1

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

were conceived not only to suit and reflect a certain period in time, but the importance they held in representing a society and constituting an identity. Moreover, Piranesi’s drawings deploy history and imagination to create something new, bold, but still relatable, allowing him to combine both facts and emotion, another element that is present in Labrouste’s legacy, particularly in his libraries.

Light & Iconography

Fig. 3.2

Fig. 3.3

As mentioned in Chapter I (page 25), a famous trait of Soane’s buildings and drawings is the quality and role of light. According to historian John Summerson the Dulwich Picture Gallery is “the quintessence of the Soane style and the apex of his achievement.”2 As seen in Fig. 3.3, light enters through the roof in order to maximise the use of the walls for hanging pictures. In Soane’s own words “light is introduced very advantageously above the Cornice, so that the window is not seen from below: by this contrivance a pleasing kind of demi-tint is thrown over the whole surface of the Ceiling.”3 2 John Summerson, Soane: The Man and the Style in John Soane, London: Academy Editions, 1983, pp. 9,23 3 Soane’s lectures to the Royal Acad-

Chapter III

As described in Chapter IV, Labrouste will encounter difficulties in lighting the National Library, and eventually will resort to ceiling light to resolve the issue, resulting in bare walls, ideal for bookshelves. Interestingly, another shared attribute of these spaces is the effect both light, gloom and arches play in defining a sequence of spaces, both in Soane’s picture gallery and similarly in Labrouste’s library. For example, in the mausoleum opposite the gallery (see Fig. 3.4 for exterior), with each arch the space progressively transforms from dark to light. Similarly, in the library, the vestibule acts as an ante camera to create anticipation in the user. Another example where Soane deploys these techniques is his own home and office (now Museum) at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. Every minute detail of the space is curated to produce an effect on the visitors, which were primarily his architecture students: light highlights areas of importance, in contrast with harsh shadows that help divide up the space. The Breakfast Room (see Fig. 3.5) is characterized by one of Soane’s so-called ‘handkerchief domes’, that allows light to enter emy No. VIII in David Watkin Sir John Soane: Enlightenment thought and the Royal Academy lectures, Cambridge University Press, 1996

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Fig. 3.4

Fig. 3.5

Chapter III

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Chapter III

the space in various disguises: “not simply side light or what we normally think of as top light but reflected light, mirrored light, light through layers which is so unique and rich in his work.”4 He also merges another one of his trademark ideas of a canopy suspended under a lantern light so that it would look like it’s floating. His playful use of light is less daring in his study. Nevertheless, as one can infer by Fig. 3.6, Soane curates every aspect of the space, starting from where to place his collection of artefacts, oddly small work table and quirky carpets, to the colour of the tapestry and details of the fireplace. The windows, overlooking the back of the house, have blinds similar to modern Venetian ones but oriented vertically, that allowed Soane

to have maximum control over the light entering the room. This meticulous attention to detail is also noticeable in Labrouste’s work, for example in his detailed drawings of heaters and column bases for the National Library, as seen in Chapter IV page 75. Soane’s Bank of England, extensively depicted by his creative partner Joseph Gandy both as built in 1798 (Fig. 3,7) and as ruins in 1832 (Fig. 3.8) is also worth mentioning, as the visual resemblance with the spatial qualities of Labrouste’s National Library is undeniable. The arches, the dome structures and the semi-circular Diocletian windows to convey other-worldly lighting effects are shared dominant features, as seen in Fig. 3.9 (Bank of England) and Fig. 3.10 (National Library). In addition, iconographic elements

Fig. 3.7

Fig. 3.8

4 Bridget Riley, Colour for the Painter, Cambridge University Press , 1995, pp. 31-65

Fig. 3.6

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Chapter III

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Chapter III

Fig. 3.11

Fig. 3.12

Fig. 3.13

Fig. 3.14

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

also feature in both spaces: in the case of Soane, one can identify Greek frets and rosettes tapering the arches (Fig. 3.10): these are also present in Labrouste’s reading room at the National Library (Fig. 3.9, Fig. 3.11) with the difference that the columns in the Bank are stripped of capitals (Fig. 3.15), whilst in the library these are adorned with classical ornaments (Fig. 3.12). Furthermore, one can observe that the open quality of the space evokes the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in Rome and the Arch of Augustus in Perugia, whilst the marble disks that taper the walls of the attic recall Etruscan arch metope. An example where Labrouste uses classical iconography borrowed from his studies of the Tomb of Cecilia Metella (Fig. 3.13) on a facade is the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, where a decorative ribbon (Fig. 3.14) articulates the envelope (details in Chapter IV).

Fig. 3.9

Fig. 3.10

Fig. 3.15

Chapter III

History & Legacy When looking at the drawing below depicting all of Soane’s buildings built between 1808 and 1815, in one room, one can’t help but wonder what architects really leave behind. Do proposals that are never built have importance? What about their maquettes and drawings? And just like the ones in Gandy’s image, what if they are pictures within a picture? Or is it only the building itself that truly matters? If so, what is the preferred style? In the case of Soane, he fought at every opportunity for a Classical style, characterizing both his buildings and drawings with a unique timelessness and that lumière mystérieuse he so

The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

longed for. In his own words his style was a “succession of fanciful effects, which constitute the poetry of architecture”. Piranesi, on the other hand, brought in a performative side to the buildings in his drawings, equipping them with dramatic lighting, the effects of time and of course skilful Neoclassical imagination. Labrouste is also preoccupied with style and identity, vigurously determined for his buildings to embody his conviction that local conditions of a place shape building forms, decorations, and construction methods. For example, if we compare his drawings of Minerva Medica to those of Piranesi these observations become evident: a vow to accuracy and detail seems to

Fig. 3.16

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be the common denominator, with the exception of a few added elements of overgrown grass and dilapidation in Piranesi’s drawing (Fig. 3.18). Once again drawing becomes a means to attempt an understanding of history. Labrouste’s sectional study of the domed vault (Fig. 3.17) reveals a mix of brick and coarse Roman concrete that came to light when the dome collapsed in 1828. It embodies two reoccurring themes in his Roman studies: “the collage of materials in both structuring and cladding of buildings that created a veritable language of architecture from an ever-broadening pallette

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Fig. 3.17

Fig. 3.18

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of materials, as well as a fascination with monuments whose historical dating placed them at the crossroads between cultures, styles, and places.”5 Over a decade later these drawings would inform the amalgam of different types of stone, brick, and iron composing the beautiful synthesis of materials that is found at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève. The idea that architecture is a cultural 5 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.61 Fig. 3.19

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manifestation and a product of place and time is tangible in both drawings. Arguably, Piranesi’s Tempio di Sole e Luna (Fig. 3.19) and Soane’s alternative designs for the Pitt Cenotaph (Fig. 3.22, Fig. 3.23) don’t entirely reflect this ideal: whilst iconography is vastly spread through the drawings, for example in the patterns characterizing both domes, somewhat alluding to those of the Pantheon, in the temple’s meanderGreek key visible in the background and in the cenotaph’s column capitals and semi-circular Doric windows;

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there aren’t elements grounding these buildings to a set time and place. This is what differentiates Labrouste’s work: whilst maintaining some degree of obscurity and magic, his architectural education allows him to make allusions to history whilst still very much pertaining to his time. His drawings have a set location, are measured and buildable, his buildings stand the test of time. Nevertheless, it must have been this fascination for the past that lead him to investigate Greek temples with such ardour and ultimately, to dare to put in practice his knowledge of Classical architecture using techniques for an iron structure that were never-before tested. Fig. 3.20

Fig. 3.19

Fig. 3.21

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Case Studies: St. Geneviève Library

Case Studies Sainte Geneviève Library, Paris

During his stay in Italy, Labrouste mainly focused his interests in investigating the two opposing types of architectural envelope: on the one hand he studied with precision and graphic loyalty the construction elements of ruins, consolidating the idea of centrality of construction in architecture, in line with traditional French theory. On the other, he confronted himself with historical cultures in which exterior values become absolute and predominant over those of construction, which are reduced to simple support. Tectonics and lightness, truth of construction and its sublimation in idealistic values find their synthesis in the venue of the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève. The library inherited the collections of the ancient Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève, founded in the 6th century. It is positioned besides the Pantheon, on the grounds where the old College de Montaigu was located. The library’s plan shape (Fig. 4.2), articulated in two levels, is a rectangle developed on a longitudinal axis, to both respond to the site restrictions whilst at the same time preserving the old library’s organisational distribution. To obtain a continuous circulation throughout the reading room, Labrouste removed a pillar on each extremity of the middle row, obtaining on each side of the plan, a space as wide as one of the naves. When entering the vestibule of the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, one is immediately immersed in a dark space where robust stone pillars, stripped of pedestals, are characterized by wide fluting. These columns also appear

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in the walls, in the shape of half pilasters inserted in an interplay of reliefs (Fig. 4.3). Culminating in iron trusses, these columns and half pilasters sustain the floor above. The shell is articulated with pillars buttressing the vaults. The depth of such pillars is calculated in order to obtain on the first level of the reading room a series of double book shelves (Fig. 4.1) that can be reached through a tight corridor where light filters through rectangular openings. The fact that Labrouste maintained the depth of the pillars planned in the original project confirms the twofold role of these elements, both of construction and of distribution.

Fig. 4.2

Labrouste justifies the choice of a metal structure by asserting it would provide a better lighting for a reading room, a solution to the static problems inflicted by the wall structure, effective costing and finally more space for bookshelves. This final consideration is related to Labrouste’s explanation of why the diameter of the columns at the Temple of Neptune was progressively reduced, in order to occupy as little floor space as possible. Fig. 4.1

In Labrouste’s own words, the first floor

Fig. 4.3

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hosts the real library, characterized by gas lighting and entirely water heated. Surveillance, essential in an institution of such scale and type, required all readers to be visible to the librarians and that the custodian’s desk ought to be located close to the entrance to avoid any disturbances to the readers, whilst making sure borrowed books were returned before any visitor left the building. Moreover, in order to sustain the weight of the twenty-one-meter-wide roof, some intermediary supports were necessary. Along the central axis of the first floor, he had originally planned a row of columns, in stone or marble, carrying the load of the arches. Labrouste observed that the arches at the extremities wouldn’t be sufficiently solid. In addition, the space relegated to the columns’ pedestals could have been filled with further bookshelves, whilst also creating harsh shadows within the reading room. Therefore, for the intermediate supports, he opted for very thin metal columns (Fig. 4.6), in order to allow for air and light circulation in all directions. Finally, the lightness of the structure is emphasised by a moulding of the ribbon, alluding to a structure that can be deconstructed (Fig. 4.5).

Fig. 4.4 (previous page) Fig. 4.5 (above) Fig. 4.6 (next page)

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Prior to construction, the architect organised the site in such a manner to be able to simultaneously lay the foundations for the new library whilst demolishing the existing prison, reutilising the materials without having to transport them. The facade is characterized by the transposition of crucial parts of the typical Greek temple: the substructure, the ledge with three steps, the architectural order. Labrouste summarises coherently the geometric regularity of the opus isodomum wall, exhibiting it, resulting in the presence of openings and ornaments located underneath the cornice (Fig. 4.10).

(top to bottom) Fig. 4.7, Fig. 4.8, Fig. 4.9 Fig. 4.10 (next page)

Labrousteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studies of the volutes (Fig. 4.11, Fig. 4.12) show that he envisioned different architectural orders to interpret dimensions and hierarchies of the metal structure. The column is rested atop a square-based stone plinth. The architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawings of these elements show that he had initially encountered difficulties when trying to incorporate the bookshelves, in fact he initially wanted the column to rest on an abutment in order to reinforce the criticality of the shelves both as visual and ideal support for the columns.

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In the final version of the library, Labrouste opts for a solution that includes the stone plinths, in between which the bookshelves are placed. The pure geometries of the prismatic stone at the bottom of the plinth and the cylinder at the base of the columns creates a synthesis between the two conflicting materials, respectively stone and cast iron. In the 1839 project for Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève the beams of the pitched roof include an arched intrados and reduced height, with ornaments

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depicting vegetation. In this project ornament and construction are still separate entities, in terms of materiality. In the subsequent studies Labrouste strengthens the beams resulting from two or in some cases three juxtaposed metal structures of different patterns. Particular care was taken by Labrouste to ensure that the constructional method remained transparent without letting the aesthetics prevail: for example, when looking at the detail of the plaque, flat in the middle but

Fig. 4.11

Fig. 4.12

Fig. 4.13

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designed as if it were a stud, one can notice that despite having hidden the structural bolt with ornament, by introducing the stud he was loyal to its function of fixing system, following traditional symbolism from antiquity. Said metal structure of the reading room is uniformly painted in a deep dark green. Labrouste is aware that he needs to not only deal with the metal structure, but also with the patented conventions, to dominate and resolve them in architecture, pushing himself to use construction methods not yet sufficiently tested. Between December 1852 and February 1853 abundant quantities of water filtered through the roof, despite countless welding and plastering interventions. Therefore Labrouste decided to change the construction system of the roof, whilst also reexamining the ventilation and heating system, because of sudden changes in temperature in the reading room. The synthesis between modern technologies and ornament inferred by the historical repertoire represents one of Labrousteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objectives and is realised in complex terms. Labrouste resorts on one hand to symbolic

Fig. 4.14 (previous page) Fig. 4.15 (top right) Fig. 4.16 (above)

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ornamentation, which transfigures the actual structure in poetic imagery, on the other to an expressive ornamentation of technical solutions. Nevertheless, even in his solutions it is always the ornament that prevails, imposing its logic on construction. The festoon bands decorating the façade are wrapped by a thin ribbon, referencing the metal shields usually framed in the frieze of Greek temples, and of course as suggested by Labrouste himself for the reconstruction of the Temple of Hera I at Paestum. Between two cast iron discs a smaller, stone one in inserted in order to allow for the festoons to have a realistic length.

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just as the books ornate the interior. On the upper part of the vestibule walls, framed by the half pilasters a generous amount of foliage is depicted, and the ceiling painted in sky blue. The vestibule (Fig. 4.14) and its structural construction become a metaphor of the beautiful garden dotted in trees that Labrouste would have liked to walk through in order to reach the monument and are proof of the architect’s ability to move away from the truth of construction to reach, through it, the sublimation of tectonics and materials in his imaginative space.

With the design of the main arched beams, where the leaf is structure, the architect reached the perfect integration between ornament and construction, in line with the idea he had been advocating that “rational ornament” derives “from construction itself ” . The inscriptions engraved in the wall between each bay, corresponding to the bookshelves in the reading room, are other transfiguration techniques of the tectonic values into ornament - a “monumental catalogue”, as Labrouste himself asserted, becomes the main decoration of the facade,

Fig. 4.17 (above) Fig. 4.18 (next page)

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National Library, Paris

In the last twenty years of his life Labrouste was preoccupied with the “restoration and enlargement” of the Bibliothèque Impériale (Nationale after 1870). Labrouste considered this to be the “most precious monument in the capital after the Louvre”1 and the “richest scientific depository in the world.”2 His proposal had to take into consideration both the buildings to be retained and those to be demolished, to ensure that over time the institution would never close down entirely. Moreover, he was appointed to rethink the distribution for the collections, to generate what his friend Duban described as a “new program, one that marks a complete shift for the established ways of thinking to date about the layout and organisation of a library.”3 In a letter to Labrouste, the president of the committee charged with “examining the modifications to include in the organization of the Bibliothèque Impériale”, Prosper Mérimée, wrote on behalf of the committee claiming it wanted “France to show that it is still an artistic nation, one that gives the world models to follow, [and for] France to show, also, that it has become a practical nation. [...] Build a true library, so that all may see from without, as they will feel within, that it is a house for books [la maison des livres].”4 To quote one of Labrouste’s first students, “unity of style in architecture is like the exactitude of sound in music”5. It was in fact Labrouste’s primary concern in the restoration and renovation of the buildings surrounding the plot to maintain a certain unity, which to him was “at all times the essential law, the fundamental condition for architectonic composition”6, so much so that he did not simply restore the Bibliothèque’s old buildings nor redesign their interiors. 1 Letter from Labrouste to the Minister of State, January 25, 1858, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Archives, C-328 (@), 1858, no. 12. 2 Henri Labrouste, Projet de restauration et d’agrandissement des bâtiments de la Bibliothèque Impériale, April 1859 (AN, F 21 1360). 3 Rapport fait au Conseil [General des Bâtiments Civils], “April 27, 1859 (AN, F 21 1360). 4 Letter from Prosper Mérimée, February 19, 1858, op. cit. 5 Jean-Baptiste Lassus, De l’art at de l’archéologie, Annales archéologiques, vol. 2 (Paris: Bureau des Annales Archeologiques, 1845), 77, cited in Foucart 1978:79. 6 Delaborde, 1878: 19

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Labrouste revealed the Galerie Mazarine’s facade to the public, thus “opening the view to an overlooked or unnoticed monumental work”7 which was a true “artistic revelation”8 . Moreover, he designed a garden with a central fountain inspired by the Villa Medici in Rome and finally, he echoed the Hotel Tubeuf ’s rear facade on the north side by covering the neighbouring property’s blank wall with brick and stone décor. In doing so Labrouste is not only mindful of what was previously on site but goes a step further in both accentu-

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ating and celebrating these surroundings whilst also allowing them to be a source of inspiration for his restoration, which results in a coherent proposal. The reading room (Fig. 4.19) opened to the public in June 1868, and with the rest of the library formed a series of autonomous spaces embodying Labrouste’s idea of opening it up on all sides as a testament to the accessibility of knowledge. “Ever in search of unity, Labrouste thus conformed to classical architectural language, but he adapted his details in his own way.”9 His ancient

7 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p. 140 8 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri 9 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Muse- Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p. 140 um of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p. 143

Fig. 4.19 (above) Fig. 4.20 (right) Fig 4.21 (next pages)

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models included the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in Rome with the Arch of Augustus in Perugia. Particularly in his marble disks (Fig. 4.20, Fig. 4.21), that can be found in the attic, one can witness the influence of Etruscan arch’s metopes, similarly to the string of shields he included in his reconstruction of the “Portico” in Paestum in 1828-29. Once again Labrouste’s classical background allows him to adapt antiquity in a way that resonates with the user whilst creat-

Case Studies: National Library

ing spaces that are undeniably unique. As at the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Labrouste wanted the exterior (Fig. 4.22) to reflect the way the space was arranged internally: therefore, the stone coursing along the street marked the length of the book stacks, the engaged columns spacing the upper level reflect the presence of perpendicularly set shelves between the bays and finally the rotunda’s dome prefigures the set of nine reading room cupolas.

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“A dimly lit wooden vestibule leads to the reading room, a grand square space thirty-five meters on each side, extended on the south side by a hemicycle.”10 In a similar way to those found at the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, three large arches, whose piers form inner buttresses, frame each side of the reading room. The Salle des Imprimés, sheltered by nine identical white porcelain domes (Fig. 4.23), held by extremely thin iron columns and arches, is one of the most emblematic spaces in modern architecture. Such elements intertwine and frame, on the lateral walls, scenery of blue skies and tree tops (Fig. 4.24), and on the third wall, the one down the end, windows overlooking the courtyard of the library, out of which the architect intended for visitors to see a similar scenery to the ones depicted on the other walls. The ceiling appears to be made of veils of fabric, held up by slender columns (Fig. 4.25), so much so that they evoke the calm views of the famous paintings emerged from the discovery of Pompei. Such elements, characteristic of the third Pompeian style, are recalled constituting a plausible space, in which

Fig. 4.22

10 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p,148

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Fig. 4.23

Fig. 4.24

Fig. 4.25

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the improbable thinness of such columns regains credibility by upholding what the architect camouflages as a collection of inflated, lightweight domes. The unity is ensured with an interplay between the juxtaposition of light and heavy elements making them all appear as if they were weightless. The reading room recreates, at a much larger scale, a Pompeian pavilion, with a clearly public function. In Labrouste’s original project for the National Library he designed a square roof made out of iron and mortar, sinking towards a central skylight. Light was of the utmost importance, both for safety reasons, and to pay due respect to tradi-

Case Studies: National Library

tion, in that in the room there wouldn’t be any source of artificial lighting. Duban pointed out that a single light source would have projected the shadows of the readers on their desk, suggesting he look for a different solution. Labrouste therefore came up with the nine skylight porcelain domes (Fig. 4.26, Fig. 4.27), with an oculus in the middle of each one, in order to multiply the source of light and distribute it laterally through the reflective elements, thus charging the domes with the ability to control the light quality of the Salle des Imprimés. These domes are made of nine millimetre thin, white and double-curved

Fig. 4.26 Fig. 4.27 (next page)

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ceramic plaques that the architect compares to “what the shell is… to the whole egg.”11 Two structural systems are completely independent of each other: on the one hand the sixteen cast-iron columns, detached from the walls, and iron arches on which both the domes and the higher roof beams are set, that together constitute the metal structure.12 On the other, the domes latticework principle of large cage crinolines inspired by metal construction constitute a separate structure in itself (Fig. 4.28, Fig. 4.29). “The surface decoration expresses its reinforcement: it also cleverly underscores the clothing analogy by simulating white petticoats enhanced by a series of coloured plaits.”13

Fig. 4.28

Fig. 4.29

The structure was Labrouste’s priority, and the decor would follow, as he had been teaching his students from 1830 “draw reasoned, expressive ornamentation from the construction itself.”14 Some years later he would 11 Alphonse Gosset, Les Coupoles d’orient & d’occident, Travaux de l’Académie nationale de Reims 87 (1891): 354 12 Philippe Perrot, Les Dessus et les dessous de la bourgeoisie: Une histoire du vetement au XIX siecle (Paris: Librarie Artheme Fayard, 1981), 194, 222. 13 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.151 14 Letter from Labrouste to his brother

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affirm that “architecture is decorated construction”15, taking a different route to Duban, who claimed architecture was “a constructed decoration.”16 The two precepts express the different means Labrouste used to highlight structural elements in his renowned libraries: “in the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, the malleability of cast iron allowed him to embellish the arches in the reading room: ornamentation thus arose from a judicious use of materials. In the Bibliothèque Nationale, on the other hand, he magnified the industrial nature of the iron arches and beams by using painted arabesques: the construction was now marked by added-on ornamentation. The rivet heads, always accented with gold, were thus connected either by intertwining golden wires, like the laces of a corset, or by red and black spirals and foliage. Nevertheless, cast iron remained his preferred material for interior fittings.”17 Theodore, November 20, 1830: cited in [Laure Labrouste] 1928:24. 15 Alfred Darcel, La peinture vitrifée et ‘architecture au Salon de 1864, Gazette des Beaux-Arts (July 1, 1864): 86: A. Gaspard, “Autout de Sainte-Blandine”, Lyon-Revue (september 30, 1882): 163-64: Daly 1887. 16 Charles Blanc, Félix Duban at ses dessins, Le Siècle, April 4, 1872, [p.3]; A. Gaspard, op. cit. 17 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The

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Fig. 4.30

Fig. 4.31

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In finalising the details of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Labrouste had more leeway in terms of decoration, and the architect designed every single element of the library, including the heaters (Fig. 4.30) and column bases (Fig. 4.31), which resemble true sculptures responding volumetrically to the shape of the domes. Such care in curating every minute detail of the project exemplifies Labrouste’s constant search of unity and coherence: even the most miniscule elements that made up the building, including the decor, was designed to reflect an identity, linked to both the time and place where it had been conceived. The books formed a sort of tapestry on the walls of the reading room and the hemicycle embodied the visual expression of Labrouste’s conviction that books were a library’s “most beautiful ornaments”18, by covering them entirely between the buttresses, on the lower part of the wall. He placed the bookshelves either beneath windows, on the north side of the building, or beneath the nature themed

Case Studies: National Library

paintings by Alexandre Desgoffe, that represented Labrouste’s recurring theme of “simply trees and a sky.”19 Views of natural elements, such as trees, birds and squirrels, was most definitely a theme borrowed by ancient dwellings he had seen in Italy, such as the House of Sallust in Pompeii. But as explained by Labrouste himself, this was a preferred theme due to the architect’s personal experience when encountering sights of nature as a child: “When I was in secondary school, after of before class, I would go study in the Luxembourg Gardens, especially in the plant nursery. There, nothing distracted me, and my gaze as well as my mind could rest happily on the beautiful, luxurious greenery surrounding me. I thought that in a place of study, the representation of what had held so much charm for me would be, first, an unpretentious decoration for the Bibliothèque, as well as a chance for rest for the minds of the readers occupying the reading room.”20 To Labrouste those

19 Letter from Labrouste to the Minister of the Emperor’s Household and of the Fine Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, Arts, April 29, 1864, Bibliothèque Nationale de p.151 France, Archives, C-328 (2), 1864, no. 24/2. 18 Henri Labrouste, A M. le Directeur 20 Antoine-Nicolas Bailly, [Institut de de la Revue d’Architecture, Revue générale de France, Académie des beaux-arts] Notice sur l’architecture et des travaux publics 10, no. 11/12 M. Henri Labrouste, Lue dans la séance du 16 (1852): col. 381-84. décembre 1876. Paris: Firmin-Didot

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paintings ought to act as an extension to the existing vegetation dotted along the cour d’honneur that could be seen outside the windows to the north side. Starting from 1830, the use of actual objects in arrangements blurred the line between what was real space and what was fictive.21 As described by writer Alfred Desessarts, “through a combination of perspective, gradations of tones, the place the spectator 21 F., “Diorama. Vue du Mont-Blanc, Prise de la vallée de Charmouny,”Journal des artistes (November 20, 1831): 355-57.

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occupies, and lastly the staging of the immense artistic machine, one forgets that the objects that strike one’s vision were born out of a paintbrush. It is nature herself, it is life itself that one is admiring… With the Diorama, the effect draws away from you and loses itself in infinite space, with the Panorama, it comes looking for you, it surrounds you, it speaks to you from all sides: [...] everywhere is painting, or rather, everywhere is a striking reality that dominates you with its power.”22 22 Alf Desessarts, Panorama Incendie de Moscou. La France littérarie, 8th year, vol. 35

Fig. 4.32 (previous page) Fig. 4.33 (above) Fig. 4.34 (next page) Fig. 4.35 (page 82-83)

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By the time he was completing his Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Labrouste had already become intrigued by these new techniques: he had the opportunity to envelope the upper level with Paris skies on all four sides, against which the Pantheon’s dome juxtaposed itself to the left. But it was with the Bibliothèque Nationale that he fully experimented with said artifices: in the reading room, he combined real and painted scenery derived by panoramas. Moreover, the vestibule, with its dim lighting, was inspired by the dark hallways one would take to reach a panoramic platform, whilst creating a sequence of spaces typically Soanian in its use of alternating light and shadows: “In the course of his trajectory, [the spectator] loses all sense of light and, when he reaches the place he must stand, he moves without transition from darkness to a view of the circular painting displayed in the most direct light. Then all points of the panorama can be seen at once, and a kind of confusion arises. But soon, as the eye gets used to the daylight, the painting imperceptibly has its effect, and the more one gazes at it, the more one is in the presence of reality.” 23 Fig. 4.35 (above)

(1839). 23 German Bapst, Essai sur l’histoire des panoramas et des dioramas (Paris: Imprimerie

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The vestibule “through its chiaroscuro, its blank walls, and its interminable stone wainscoting punctuated by marble disks”24, disorients the visitor in preparation for the sensory experience designed by the architect. As aforementioned, through the use of panoramas of foliage and clusters of trees, Labrouste is able “to produce the illusion of really studying in a forest which extended into the heart of the reading room.”25 It is in this production of “illusions and allusion”26 , in the transmission of an idea fuelled with emotions, and in the ability to synthesize disparate sources that Labrouste sets himself apart from his contemporaries. “Just as he helped to update brick and stone construction before becomNationale, 1891):9. 24 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.157 25 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.158 26 David Van Zanten, Architecture and Pierre-Fracois-Henri Labrouste. In L’Art eb France sous le Second Empire, 57-65. Paris: Réunion des muséesnationaux, 1979. (American edition: The Second Empire, 1852-1870: Art in France under Napoleon III. Philadelphia and Detroit: Philadelphia Museum of Art/The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1978.)

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ing one of the first to combine iron and ceramics, he brought together shadow and light, the heavy and the ethereal, and felt free to seek his formal inspiration in his own renderings from Italy, from the interiors of panoramas [...], from women’s wardrobes [...]. The result is dazzling.”27 By the time the library was complete, Labrouste’s reputation bifurcated. “For Hautecoeur and Gromort he was a milestone in the history of French classicism, for Giedion a forerunner of l’esprit nouveau.28 By 1929, Labrouste became the subject of an opposition between traditionalists, who admired the sobriety of the envelope of his two libraries, and modernists, which instead turned their lens almost exclusively on the interiors. Sigfried Giedion, prominent Swiss historian and critic, not only erroneously presented Labrouste as a tortured genius, but proceeded to describe him as “a man who unites the abilities of both the engineer and the architect: the ar27 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.163 28 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.29

Case Studies: National Library

chitect-constructor Henri Labrouste”.29 Bruno Foucart “emerging as the great champion of the nineteenth-century architecture and soon of the contextualist urbanism of Maurice Culot, Leon Krier, and others”30 critiques Giedion by arguing: “We have finally to let Labrouste get out from under the peremptory claims of theoreticians and from his over simplified reputation as a functionalist and user of metal.”31 Indeed, to this day, Labrouste remains one of the most controversial architects of the nineteenth century, with an almost unprecedented cipher of conflicting agendas. Regardless of this, he managed to contribute to notions of rationalist architecture, modernist heritage in the “engineer’s architecture” and the genealogy of an architecture of signs and signification in the articulation of post-modernism. 29 Giedion 1941: p.224 30 Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition, p.34 31 Bruno Faucart, Labrouste et ses contemporains, Les Monuments Historiques de la France 6 (1975): 7.

Fig. 4.36 (right) Fig. 4.37(next pages)

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Conclusion

The historical framework analysed in this dissertation allows us to see how Labrouste was able to embark in a journey through the past that helped him master his skills in both draughting and in incorporating iconography in his work. Yet, his role as an architect is even more crucial as a whole, as it helped promote the idea that historical architecture could be integrated in modern society. The underlying theme of this thesis has shown how he managed to draw together the advancements in technology, his theories generated by observing historical sources and the use of such antiquity in his work, making it more current than ever. But Labrouste’s true innovation has been his social interpretation of ancient ruins, and even more so his ability to use this knowledge to characterize his buildings with a strong identity. He does this so successfully in the National Library that French film director Alain Resnais tries to capture this concept in his movie titled Toute la mémoire du monde (All the memory of the world). This 20-minute-short aims to unveil the power a public building of such stature has in retaining universal memory. Moreover, it looks at the intricate solutions orchestrated in order to catalogue an overwhelming quantity of information. Yet, in these black & white images,

Screengrabs from the movie “Toute la mémoire du monde” by Alain Resnais

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what is truly fascinating is the grandeur of Labrouste’s structure, that lightly floats over the readers fulfilling the architect’s will to celebrate books and knowledge, making it accessible to all, whilst truly embodying both the identity and history of France as a nation and that of the world by being a constant reminder of the importance and supremacy of antiquity.

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architecture, to test boundaries and question the unquestionable, just like he did.

In a more tangible way, Labrouste’s work is echoed today by architects such as John Simpson and John Utram, to mention a few. In the new Nash Gallery at Buckingham Palace (Fig. 5.1, Fig. 5.2). Simpson ties the design of the new “Here we glimpse [at] a future were all interior to the existing exterior by mysteries are solved” and all questions featuring hanging arches and glazed answered. saucer domes inspired by Nash’s As a student of architecture I ask: what original picture gallery and using style should I chose? and what will I acanthus leaves to decorate the leave behind? brackets supporting the ceiling beams. Nearly 200 years later Labrouste teaches me that there is always Utram’s buildings, on the other hand, something to learn from the past that embody a very personal interpretation will be applicable today and resonate of post-modern canons. His reading with a modern audience. As a soonof history of architecture is best know to-be architect, in a quest for my own for its eccentricity and inventiveness. personal style and design identity, His designs are underpinned by an Labrouste’s drawings and buildings attempt to create a new symbolic have shown me how accuracy, grammar and syntax around the materiality, light and iconography of realities of contemporary construction narrative, when working in symbiosis, techniques, and in this approach transcend time and place, elevating Labrouste’s influence is undeniable. into spaces that are quite magical. His built work is characterized by an In a way, it is almost like opening almost frenzied amount of decorative doors and finding new rooms in a detail but is also solid and bulky (Fig. house you thought you knew, without 5.3). ever stepping outside of its threshold. I am grateful to Labrouste for leaving Looking to the future, inspired by behind such a legacy that reflects the past, I expect to witness and hope that the possibilities of architecture to cotribute to even more daring are limitless because it motivates me, architectural solutions than ever and I am sure many other students of before. Fig. 5.1 (top right) Fig. 5.2 (above) Fig. 5.3 (next page)

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Conclusion

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Screengrabs from the movie “Toute la mémoire du monde” by Alain Resnais

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Conclusion

Henri Labrouste, A M. le Directeur de la Revue d’Architecture, Revue générale de l’architecture et des travaux publics 10, no. 11/12 (1852). Jean-Baptiste Lassus, De l’art at de l’archéologie, Annales archéologiques, vol. 2 (Paris: Bureau des Annales Archeologiques, 1845), 77, cited in Foucart 1978:79.

Bibliography

Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Reflections on the Imitation of the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks, published in Gert Schiff (ed.), German Essays on Art History. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1988. John Summerson, Soane: The Man and the Style in John Soane, London: Academy Editions, 1983 Louis Sullivan, The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered, first published in Lippincott’s Magazine 57 (March 1896), pp.403-9, reprinted in Leland Roth, America Builds: Source Documents in American Architecture and Planning (New York: Harper & Row, 1983).

Books Alf Desessarts, Panorama Incendie de Moscou. La France littérarie, 8th year, vol. 35, 1839. Alphonse Gosset, Les Coupoles d’orient & d’occident, Travaux de l’Académie nationale de Reims 87 (1891). Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture 1750-1890,(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Bridget Riley, Colour for the Painter, Cambridge University Press , 1995. Bruno Faucart, Labrouste et ses contemporains, Les Monuments Historiques de la France 6 (1975). Corinne Bélier, Barry Bergdoll, Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light , The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 01 edition. David Van Zanten, Architecture and Pierre-Fracois-Henri Labrouste. In L’Art eb France sous le Second Empire, 57-65. Paris: Réunion des muséesnationaux, 1979. (American edition: The Second Empire, 1852-1870: Art in France under Napoleon III. Philadelphia and Detroit: Philadelphia Museum of Art/The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1978.)

Marc Antoine Laugier, An Essay on Architecture (2nd edition, 1755), trans. By Wolfgang and Anni Herrmann. Los Angeles: Hennessy & Ingalls, Inc., 1977. Philippe Perrot, Les Dessus et les dessous de la bourgeoisie: Une histoire du vetement au XIX siecle (Paris: Librarie Artheme Fayard, 1981).

Journals & Articles Alfred Darcel, La peinture vitrifée et ‘architecture au Salon de 1864, Gazette des Beaux-Arts (July 1, 1864): 86: A. Gaspard, “Autout de Sainte-Blandine”, Lyon-Revue (september 30, 1882): 163-64: Daly 1887. Charles Blanc, Félix Duban at ses dessins, Le Siècle, April 4, 1872, [p.3]; A. Gaspard, op. cit. F., “Diorama. Vue du Mont-Blanc, Prise de la vallée de Charmouny,”Journal des artistes (November 20, 1831). Helen Dorey, Exquisite hues and magical effects, The British Art Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring/ summer 2004). Peter Smithson, “Once a Jolly Swagman: Some Thoughts after Seeing Labrouste’s Drawing of Paestum” AD Profiles 17: The Beaus-Arts, ed. Robin Middleton (London: Academy, 1978)

Fischer von Erlach, Civil and Historical Architecture, 1730, English edn, author’s preface, as quoted in Eileen Harris with Nicholas Savage, British Architectural Books and Their Writers. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1990),

Letters

German Bapst, Essai sur l’histoire des panoramas et des dioramas (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1891).

Letter from Labrouste to his brother Theodore, November 20, 1830: cited in [Laure Labrouste] 1928:24.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Diverse maniere d’adornare i cammini ed ogni altra parte degli edifizi, Rome, 1769. Henri Labrouste, Mémoire explicatif de la restauration des Temples de Paestum”, école des BeauxArts, ms. 240.II, f. 31 and 32 and its draft, ibid. PC 77832-7-200. Labrouste 1877. Henri Labrouste, Projet de restauration et d’agrandissement des bâtiments de la Bibliothèque Impériale, April 1859.

Correspondance des directeurs de l’Académie de France à Rome, tome 1.

Letter from Labrouste to Vernet, July 8, 1830 (Fossier Chave, and Kuhnmunch 2010: 125) Letter from Labrouste to the Minister of State, January 25, 1858, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Archives, C-328 (@), 1858. Letter from Labrouste to the Minister of the Emperor’s Household and of the Fine Arts, April 29, 1864, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Archives, C-328 (2), 1864. Letter from Prosper Mérimée, February 19, 1858, op. cit.

Other sources Antoine-Nicolas Bailly, [Institut de France, Académie des beaux-arts] Notice sur M. Henri Labrouste, Lue dans la séance du 16 décembre 1876. Paris: Firmin-Didot Delaborde, 1878: 19 Giedion 1941: p.224

List of figures

“Henri Labrouste”, Deutsche Bauzeitung 9 (1875). Soane’s lectures to the Royal Academy No. VIII in David Watkin Sir John Soane: Enlightenment thought and the Royal Academy lectures, Cambridge University Press, 1996. Rapport fait au Conseil [General des Bâtiments Civils], “April 27.

Abstract Figure 1 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-05. Figure 2 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-04. Figure 3 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-06. Figure 4 Henri Labrouste, Imaginary Reconstitution of an Ancient City, undated, Académie d’architecture, Paris, 255.1. Figure 5 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-08. Figure 6 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-07. Figure 7 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune à Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-08. Figure 8 Henri Labroustee, Paestum, fragments from a single edifice, fourth-year submission from Rome, 1828-29, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Env 22-22. Figure 9 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, transverse cross section of the reading room, late 1850, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (41).

Chapter I : Historical Context Figure 1.1

Plate depicting “Gravure” (engraving) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.2 Plate depicting “Marine” (ship building) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.3 Plate depicting “Mosaique, Attelier et Ouvrages” (mosaics) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.4 Plate depicting “Art d’Ecrire” (handwriting) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.5 Plate depicting “Imprimerie en lettres” (compositors from a printing house) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.6 Plate with the musical score for “Chasse du Loup” from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.7 Plate depicting “Manege, La Capriole” (horse riding) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France.

c.1813. Figure 1.14 George Bailey, section through the ‘Dome’ of the home and museum of John Soane at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, c.1810. Figure 1.15 Joseph Michael Gandy, perspective view of the ‘Dome’ within the home and museum of John Soane at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, c.1813.

Chapter II : Challenging Academic Dogma Figure 2.1 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-09. Figure 2.2 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-10. Figure 2.3 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-11. Figure 2.4 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-12.

Figure 1.8 Plate depicting “Arte Militaire, Fortification” (fortification and trajectory) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France.

Figure 2.5 Henri Labrouste, Temple de Neptune, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-13.

Figure 1.9 Plate depicting “Sellier-Carossier” (saddler, carriage maker) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France.

Figure 2.6 Henri Labrouste, Paestum, 1828, Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure, Dessin scolaire d’archtitecture Env 22-23.

Figure 1.10 Plate depicting “Fromage de Gruieres et de Gerardmer” (cheese making) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France.

Chapter III : The Influence of Soane & Piranesi

Figure 1.11 Plate depicting “Verreire Angloise” (English canopy) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.12 Plate depicting “Vitrier outils” (Glass tools) from Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, 1751, Paris, France. Figure 1.13 Joseph Michael Gandy, interior of home and museum of John Soane at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields,

Figure 3.1 Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 - 1778), Paestum (Italy), Temple of Neptune: view of interior from the W, taken from within the cella area, looking E and showing the internal superimposed colonnades, study for Différentes vues de Pesto..., plate XVI, c.1777-78 Museum number: P139 Figure 3.2 John Soane, Drawing of a primitive hut, undated, for Royal Academy lecture 1. London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, 27/2/4. Figure 3.3 Dulwich Picture Gallery. Photograph: https://www.southlondonclub.co.uk/blog/a-brief-history-ofdulwich-picture-gallery Figure 3.4

Dulwich Picture Gallery Mausoleum. Photograph: https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/ the-mausoleum-is-a-theme-round-which-the-imagination-can-freely-play/10009385.article Figure 3.5 John Soane’s Museum, the Breakfast Room. Photograph: https://www.pooky.com/inspiration/welove-interiors/amazing-interiors-sir-john-soanes-museum-london Figure 3.6 John Soane’s Museum, the Little Study P86 (detail). Drawing Source: https://www.soane.org/ collections-research/key-stories/understanding-architectural-drawings

Figure 3.19 Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Tempi del Sole e Della Luna e com’altri di Iside e Serapi, rom ‘Roman Views’, circa 1775. Figure 3.20 (73-77) various Soane office hands no Day Book, [73-77] Further alternative designs for the Pitt Cenotaph, 9-12 April, 1818 (5), Source: http://collections.soane.org/OBJECT6685 Figure 3.21 (73-77) various Soane office hands no Day Book, [73-77] Further alternative designs for the Pitt Cenotaph, 9-12 April, 1818 (5), Source: http://collections.soane.org/OBJECT6685

Figure 3.7 Joseph Michael Gandy, Section through the rotunda at the Bank of England, 1798.

Chapter VI: Case Studies

Figure 3.8 Joseph Michael Gandy, Bank of England in ruins, 1798.

Figure 4.1 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, study of iron shelves for the reading room (not as built), 1848, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (63).

Figure 3.9 Bibliothèque Nationale. Photograph: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/433682639114431979/ Figure 3.10 Joseph Michael Gandy, 56 Interior View of the “Bank Stock Office” at the Bank of England looking toward the North, 1798. Figure 3.11 Bibliothèque Nationale, Salle Labrouste. Photograph: Jean-Christoph Ballot (close-up) Figure 3.12 Bibliothèque Nationale, column decoration detail. Photograph: https://www.flickr.com/ photos/25831000@N08/32340877127/ Figure 3.13 Henri Labrouste (1801-1875). Record drawing of the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, Appian Way, Rome: frieze of bucranium and swag; detail, 1826. Figure 3.14 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, elevation of the southwest angle of the facade, late 1850, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (33). (close-up)

Figure 4.2 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, plans of the upper level, the rafters, and the roof, October 1850, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (9). Figure 4.3 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, longitudinal cross section of the vestibule, late 1850, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (37). Figure 4.4 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, reading room, herm personifying night. Photograph: Jean-Claude N’Diaye. Figure 4.5 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, elevation of the southwest angle of the facade, late 1850, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (33). Figure 4.6 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, view of the vaults in the reading room. Photograph: Jean-Claude N’Diaye.

Figure 3.15 John Soane, Old Colonial Office in the Bank of England (1818)

Figure 4.7 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, detail of bookshelf. Photograph: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/ architecture%2Clabrouste

Figure 3.16 Joseph Michael Gandy ‘Various designs for Public and Private Buildings 1780-1815’. Source: https:// shop.soane.org/products/various-designs-for-public-and-private-buildings-1780-1815-print

Figure 4.8 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, detail of staircase. Photograph: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/ architecture%2Clabrouste

Figure 3.17 Henri Labrouste, Temple of Minerva Medica in Rome, cross section and partial plan of the dome, 1828, Académie d’architecture, Paris, Prints, VZ-1030 (9)-FOL

Figure 4.9 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, detail of statue. Photograph: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/ architecture%2Clabrouste

Figure 3.18 Giovanni Battista Piranesi, (s. XVIII). Vista del templo de Minerva Medica, from ‘Roman Views’, 1764. Source: https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-battista-piranesi/view-of-the-temple-ofminerva-medica

Figure 4.10 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, main facade, details of spans. Photograph: Jean-Claude N’Diaye. Figure 4.11

Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, study for the reading room’s cast-iron trusses and iron rafters, c. November 1846, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, Ms. 4273 (21).

Figure 4.26 Bibliothèque Nationale, dome detail. Photograph: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/labrouste/Timeline

Figure 4.12 Labrouste, drawing of Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, details of iron structure of reading room. Engraving by Huguenet (from Revue générale de l’architecture et des travaux publics 11, no. 12 [1853], pl. 22)

Figure 4.27 Bibliothèque Nationale, dome and column structure. Photograph: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25831000@ N08/32340872257

Figure 4.13 “Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Reading Room, Interior Perspective”, Trianon 1851:29.

Figure 4.28 Bibliothèque Nationale, column decoration detail. Photograph: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25831000@ N08/32340877127/

Figure 4.14 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, vestibule. Photograph: http-//www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/ images/full/9413181daa186a1970c82c8af2821924a58588b5.html

Figure 4.29 Bibliothèque Nationale, dome detail. Photograph: http://www.parisdeuxieme.com/2010/03/dead-emptysalle-labrouste-national.html

Figure 4.15 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, maquette d’Alain Duperron.

Figure 4.30 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Nationale, model for the heaters in the reading room, overall elevation and detail, undated, Bibliothèque nationake de France, Paris, Prints, HD-1019 (5)-FT 6

Figure 4.16 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, interior view. Photograph: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ pin/508062401691757743/ Figure 4.17 Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, view of the intrados of the reading room windows. Photograph: Jean-Claude N’Diaye. Figure 4.18 Bibliothèque Nationale, interior view. Photograph: https://www.lumas.com/pictures/rafael_neff/ bibliotheque_sainte_genevieve_paris-1/

Figure 4.31 Henri Labrouste, Bibliothèque Nationale, model for the central columns in the reading room, elevation and profiles of gthe base, details of the frieze, undated, Bibliothèque nationake de France, Paris, Prints, HD-1019 (5)-FT 6 Figure 4.32 Bibliothèque Nationale, Salle des Periodiques. Photograph: https://normashearer.co.vu/post/2521614897 Figure 4.33 “Inauguration of the New Reading Room at the Bibliothèque Impériale,June 15,” Bernard 1868:408

Figure 4.19 Bibliothèque Nationale, interior view. Photograph: https://www.liberaldictionary.com/beaux-arts/

Figure 4.34 Bibliothèque Nationale, Salle Labrouste. Photograph: Jean-Christoph Ballot

Figure 4.20 Bibliothèque Nationale, detail of vestibule’s stone wall. Photograph: David Paul Carr.

Figure 4.35 Bibliothèque Nationale, marble disk detail. Photograph: Xavier de Juaréguilberry

Figure 4.21 Bibliothèque Nationale, Labrouste Hall. Photograph: : Takuji Shimmura.

Figure 4.36 Bibliothèque Nationale, Reading Room. Photograph: Xavier de Juaréguilberry

Figure 4.22 Bibliothèque Nationale, new glass gallery by Atelier Bruno Gaudin and Virginie Brégal. Photograph: Takuji Shimmura.

Figure 4.37 Bibliothèque Nationale, Reading Room. Photograph: Marchand Meffre

Figure 4.23 Bibliothèque Nationale, reading room vaults’ springing, near the hemicycle. Photograph: Alain Le Toquin Figure 4.24 Bibliothèque Nationale, pain detail. Photograph: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1295 Figure 4.25 Bibliothèque Nationale, column detail. Photograph: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacqueline_ poggi/

Conclusion Figure 5.1 John Simpson Architects, The new Nash Gallery at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom. Source:http://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com/pa/Buckingham-Palace.html Figure 5.2 John Simpson Architects, The new Nash Gallery at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom. Source: http://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com/pa/Buckingham-Palace.html Figure 5.3 John Utram Architects, Inside the Judge Business School, Cambridge. Photo: Historic England.