Architectural Design Techniques of Urban Buildings in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

I'm very excited to present a new paper I've written titled:

Architectural Design Techniques of Urban Buildings in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

This illustrated essay explores specific physical design techniques employed by architects during this golden period of city-building to achieve their remarkable results.

It has just been published by Periodica Polytechnica Architecture (a peer reviewed scientific journal published by the Faculty of Architecture of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics).

[Click HERE to access the full essay in free pdf form]

Urban buildings constructed in historic city centers of Europe and America in the late 19th and early 20th Century demonstrate a remarkable consistency of architectural excellence and harmony which can be observed from the large urban forms down to minute details. 

The comprehensive system of design principles employed by architects of the time in the creation of these buildings has resulted in urban environments that achieve a very high degree of functionality as well as adaptability to the evolving needs of their modern populations.

(Note: For those who are interested in delving even deeper, Section 3 of the essay focuses on the rediscovery of lost classic architectural design instructional texts and contains a recommended reading list). 

Towncrafting Workout 01 - Classic Architectural Composition

Want to improve your architectural composition skills? Join me for this quick "how-to" drawing workout! 

We'll get our pens moving and practice how to break a complex classic architectural composition down into bite-sized steps:





Base Drawing:
Download the base drawing that I'm working from here (click the image and then save it). Print the image at 11"x17" or A3 size.

Materials:
You'll need a few simple materials to follow along with me. Here's a materials list (along with links if you'd like to buy them online).

1. Tracing paper: I prefer tracing paper with a high degree of transparency for an exercise like this, like the A3 Tracing Paper by Derwent.
2. Pencil: any normal writing or drawing pencil will work for this exercise. I'm using a #2 (HB) pencil by Dixon Ticonderoga.  
3. Pen: a felt or fiber tip pen is best when working on tracing paper to reduce the chance of smearing. I'm using a Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point.
4. Drawing triangle: any drawing triangle will work for this exercise. For example, the simple Alvin set containing both 30-60 and 45 degree triangles.
5. Parallel bar: you can get by without a parallel bar for this exercise, but I find it helpful to keep things orthogonal when I'm drawing quickly. I'm using a Faber-Castell A3 size lightweight TK System drawing board with parallel bar.

Les Concours Publics d'Architecture:
The base drawing I'm working on top of is from a magnificent 16 volume set titled Les Concours  Publics d'Architecture.  It's a French publication produced at the turn of the last century that compiled the submission drawings of numerous public professional architectural design competitions. The book set is a treasure trove of original 19th Century and early 20th Century architectural drawings - one of the best collections I've ever seen - and well worth the effort to see in person. I particularly like that it includes not only civic buildings, but also a wide variety of beautifully designed fabric buildings.

Here's a link to the HathiTrust listing for the complete set of Les Concours Publics d'Architecture.

HathiTrust's copies of Les Concours  Publics d'Architecture are scans from a complete set of the books located at the University of Michigan.

HathiTrust used to permit a full online viewing of pdfs of the books, but now unfortunately seems to allow only limited online viewing of search terms. But - to find a library near you with actual print copies, just click on their "Locate a Print Version: Find in a Library" tab. You can enter your address / zip code and it will give you a list of the nearest libraries with a copy in their collection.

(Incidentally, this is not the same publication as the Les Concours d'Architecture de l'Année Scolaire series, which is also a fantastic resource. Les Concours d'Architecture de l'Année Scolaire is an annual publication compiling architectural drawings produced by students at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from the turn of the last century).

Here's a link to the HathiTrust listing for the Les Concours d'Architecture de l'Année Scolaire. 

The Most Beautiful McDonald's in the World

When one thinks of sensitive rehabilitation and reuse of historic structures, McDonald's is not usually a company name that immediately comes to mind.  The American fast food company, however, deserves a great deal of credit for its elegantly-implemented restaurant in the historic Nyugati Train Station (Nyugati Pályaudvar) in Budapest:

The beautiful iron and brick Beaux-Arts train station was originally designed by August de Serres and built by the Eiffel Company.  The station first opened on August 28th, 1877 (12 years before Gustave Eiffel would go on to build his famous Tower in Paris for the 1889 Exposition Universelle).  The train station features a soaring, airy iron-ribbed central hall and a series of majestic and well-organized passenger ticketing and waiting spaces:

The station is embedded seamlessly into Budapest's urban fabric and fronts directly onto the sidewalk of the Grand Ring Boulevard (Nagykörút).  For this reason, the station is very convenient for passengers to access by foot, street car (Villamos), and bicycle.  As with many well-designed urban train stations, the vast majority of passengers arrive by these means, rather than by automobile:

During Hungary's post-WWII decades behind the Iron Curtain the Nyugati train station, like many structures in Budapest, grew in need of renovation.  The McDonald's corporation was one of the very first Western companies to establish itself in Budapest during Hungary's transition away from Communism upon its declaration as a Republic on October 23rd, 1989.  McDonalds' very visible location in one of the main train stations in Budapest was a potent symbol of the country's re-connection with the West:

The McDonald's corporation deserves accolades for the careful manner in which it painstakingly restored the architecture of the Nyugati Train Station's former dining hall, preserving the gorgeously-detailed original exterior as well as virtually the entire elegantly vaulted and ornamented interior.  This respect of the train station's magnificent historic architecture has earned the restaurant the affectionate moniker among locals as "The most beautiful McDonald's in the world".

Note: Click here to see my post on: The Most Beautiful Home Depot in the World!

Summary Part 3: Similarity - Architectural Composition by John Beverley Robinson

Today, we continue our examination of the classic book Architectural Composition, 1908 by John Beverley Robinson.  We've previously discussed Robinson's observations about Unity, and Individuality / Continuity.

Robinson continues with the principle of Similarity - creating power in an architectural composition by repetition of a chosen shape or motif.

Robinson observes:

"To achieve unity, similarity of shape should prevail among all parts of a composition from greatest to smallest, from dome to door panel.  Even in a modest work, a line reflecting another in a different part of the composition, whether interior or exterior, will give a pleasing effect which no richness of adornment could produce.  Similarity of forms of different sizes in an architectural composition is analogous to corresponding musical notes of different octaves.  In the Classical and Medieval styles, this similarity of form is carried into the smallest details."  

Robinson notes that "Medieval uses the repetition of spire and pointed arch forms."  This can be seen in the Collegiate Gothic buildings of the Yale University campus designed by James Gamble Rogers (between 1917-1921) in New Haven, CT.  Here, even the forms of the main building masses repeat at slightly different sizes:

Robinson remarks that, by contrast, "Classical architecture uses regular rows of vertical columns contained by the horizontal lines of the stylobate and cornice. Flutings repeat the orderly line of the columns themselves. Each column is thereby itself colonnaded although with concaves rather than convexes. Every enriched molding is a repetition of vertical lines contained between horizontal lines."  The repetition of orderly rows of vertical elements that are  contained between horizontal elements above and below can readily be seen in facade of the Field Museum of Natural History designed by Daniel Burnham (in 1921) in Grant Park - Chicago, IL: 

Robinson observes that "less perfect styles also show repetition of motives throughout.  I.e. Rococo under Louis XV used the double curve in both plan and elevation."

Robinson notes an important design consideration to keep in mind is that "dissimilarity between parts that have substantially the same function is always disagreeable."  

He reinforces that "the effect of a building is improved if all of the openings are of the same sort, all linteled, or all round, or all pointed.  The same sort of line that is used in elevation i.e. curves or semicircles, may as a general rule be used in the plan to good effect.  Curved roof forms, accordingly, appear out of place over rectilinear plan forms."  Similar curves are repeated at different sizes in the various arched windows, dormers and curved corner facade of this grand apartment building along Andrassy Boulevard in Budapest, Hungary:

In closing, Robinson observes that, generally, "pitches of all roofs of a building should be of equal inclination (there are exceptions). Treatment of both main gables and dormer gables should be the same, at least in general impression." This repetition of roof forms can be seen in Grace Hopper Hall, anchoring a new neighborhood within Baldwin Park in Orlando, FL:

Amazon: Architectural Composition, 1908 (by John Beverley Robinson)

The Attic Column Base

The attic column base is an elegant arrangement consisting of upper and lower convex torus moldings separated by a concave scotia molding between two fillets.  It was originally developed for use with the Greek Ionic order. 

Engraving of variations of the Greek Ionic order (top) and Roman Ionic order (bottom) - all with attic bases, by the French architect Julien-David Le Roy published in Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grace (1758)

The attic base can be seen used in the splendid interior circular peristyle of black granite Roman Ionic columns in the rotunda of the west wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC designed by John Russell Pope (from 1938 to 1941).

I was lucky to visit the National Gallery of Art during the Christmas holidays with my wife and young son.  The lower torus of these monumental attic column bases was quite useful to help 11-month old Benji, who is just learning to walk, to stand up.  The upper torus was ideal to hold onto while cruising sideways around the columns!  

The attic base received its name as it originated in antiquity in the Attica region of eastern Greece surrounding Athens where, over time, a large population of Ionian descent had settled after migrating from Asia Minor.

The Roman architect Vitruvius provides the earliest existing written documentation of the attic base in his Ten Books on Architecture (25 B.C.).  He describes its proportions (symmetria) and configuration (dispositio), and explains that it may be employed as a useful variation, instead of the typical Ionic column base.

The attic column base

The typical Ionic column base

During the Renaissance, the attic base found new life in the resurgence of classical architecture inspired by study of antiquity. The Renaissance architects, studying excavated ancient Roman ruins and Vitruvius’ then recently rediscovered writings, diverged quite a bit in their opinions of how extensively the attic base should be employed.

Palladio found the attic base so attractive that he shows it on all Ionic, Corinthian and Composite orders in his Four Books of Architecture (1570).

Palladio's version of the classical Roman orders.  Note use of slightly varying attic bases for the Ionic, Corinthian and Composite orders.

Vignola is more reluctant in his usage of the attic base in his Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture (1562).  He advocates use of the attic base only for the Composite order and occasionally for the Ionic order, preferring to instead use variations of the standard Ionic base.

Vignola's version of the classical Roman orders.  Note the use of the typical Ionic base instead of the attic base.

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For more information about the books:

The Ten Books on Architecture, Vitruvius

The Four Books on Architecture, Palladio

Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture, Vignola

Summary Part 1: Unity - Architectural Composition by John Beverley Robinson

As I mentioned in my previous post, this is the first in a several part series summarizing the classic book Architectural Composition, 1908 by John Beverley Robinson.  This wonderful book is a treasure trove of design principles written during the architectural zenith that occurred at the turn of the last century.  These design principles are quite universal as they grow from the way humans naturally perceive and process the built environment through their senses.  These design principles are therefore as useful for us today as they were in Robinson's own time.

Robinson begins his discussion with the design characteristic he considers most essential: unity. 

Robinson defines, "in all works of fine art there is one fundamental quality which from antiquity has been recognized as essential.  This quality is unity."  Great architecture provides a sense of clarity, harmony and legibility.  Architecture that embodies these traits, and that eliminates discord, is said to possess unity. 

Robinson explains, "one of the chief sources of unity in the arts of design, including architecture, lies in the placement and arrangement of parts, by which objects otherwise unrelated are so placed that the mind loses sight of them as separate objects, and notes only the combination as a single whole."  In the same way that a friend’s face is more than just an assortment of eyes, nose, mouth and ears, a collection of columns and moldings, if arranged properly, becomes a portico.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Robinson illustrates, "a number of lines taken at random and laid in no particular order, cannot impress the mind otherwise than as a multitude of objects (Fig. I, a).  Placed thus (b), radiating from the centre, the mind regards the combination as a single star or flower, and forgets to enumerate its parts at all.  So such forms as these (c) remain isolated individuals until they are combined in a honeysuckle (d).  Another source of unity is the intrinsic power of certian forms when properly placed.  Thus, in an enriched moulding the forms of the enrichment acquire unity merely by their arrangement in a straight line (e), just as in (b) unity was given by arrangement in a circle.  The addition of horizontal straight lines on each side, as at (f), at once gives a complete union of parts, so that an observer, if asked what he saw in (f) would answer, a border, or an ornamental band, and not, ten ovals, eleven dashes, and two lines."

"So fundamental is this quality of unity that scarcely any other is needed for excellence in a work of art.  If we can succeed in producing something in which no part seems to be extraneous [or arbitrarily stuck on], we may be confident that we have done a fairly good thing.  If, in addition, every part is exactly suited to its place in shape, size, and relative dimensions, the result will be not far from perfection."

Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia 2008

"A number of tools are available to the designer in pursuit of unity...  For example, straight lines to give unity are used constantly in architecture in the horizontal moldings.  These long uninterrupted horizontal lines visually hold vertical elements like columns in place and keep them from appearing ready to march away...  A firm base line does this, and a cornice does it even more.  Think pictorially primarily, structurally secondarily...  The structural reason for horizontal lines is not important, other than that nothing should shock the judgment with illusion."

Robinson continues his discussion with important compositional principles that can be applied to imbue an architectural design with character, while maintaining a strong sense of unity.  

We'll explore these over the next few posts...

Amazon: Architectural Composition (1908, by John Beverley Robinson)

Architectural Composition by John Beverley Robinson

During recent trips to historic cities in Europe and America, I have grown increasingly amazed at the level of consistent design proficiency demonstrated in the historic architecture.  The astoundingly sensitive attention to architectural proportion and detail is such that these cities (often built as recently as the early 1900s) sometimes appear to have been conceived by a species other than our own!

Vienna, Austria 2007

At the turn of the last century, traditional architecture reached a zenith.  The classical art of architectural composition, revived during the Renaissance, was refined through the efforts of many talented architects and through the numerous ateliers and schools of design that orbited the great Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (1648-1968).  The Ecole des Beaux Arts is today often remembered for grand and ornate buildings, but upon closer inspection, its practitioners demonstrated equal proficiency at the design of beautifully proportioned and modest structures with quite reserved details.  

Great effort was made to teach these principles of architectural composition to new generations of designers in order to keep this noble tradition alive. This period saw the publication of many wonderful texts about the art of architectural composition.  These books, which detail the process used to create the astoundingly beautiful architecture of this period, unfortunately fell largely into disuse and were forgotten during the radical cultural shifts and experimentation that occurred during the Modernist era of the early and mid 1900s.  Luckily, efforts to digitize our literary heritage, such as the Google Books Library Project, are making these tremendously valuable and useful volumes easily available once again!

One such book worth reading is Architectural Composition by John Beverley Robinson, first published in 1908.  The book is subtitled "An Attempt to Order and Phrase Ideas Which Hitherto Have Only Been Felt by the Instinctive Taste of Designers" and attempts to articulate universal principles of architectural composition, regardless of style.  Its words are every bit as applicable to the design of urban buildings today as they were during Robinson's own time.  Over the next several posts I'll summarize this wonderful book's primary points. 

Amazon: Architectural Composition (1908, by John Beverley Robinson)