Term Paper on "Robert Adam"

Term Paper 6 pages (2279 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Robert Adam

Adam's Compelling Designs

Robert Adam was a style-setter and leader in the classical antiquity movement in England during the 1700's.

Robert Adam is considered Scotland's most famous architect. But Adam was better known as the most popular designer in London and throughout England, sought after for the sophisticated and pleasant atmospheres that the rooms he decorated imbued. He was a leader of classical revival style in both architecture and interior decoration during the last half of the 1700's, and his designs dominated the focus of the most wealthy and noble. He was known for his use of lavish color, light, detailed ornamentation and above all, coordination of all parts of a room in its decoration. A good businessman, he was also a genius at design innovation. His work had its origins in classical antiquity, the Italian, French and Renaissance buildings that he visited as a young man, but he combined them with Greek, Baroque, Byzantine and other influences to create original and custom combinations for each home he decorated.

Perhaps Adam's most unusual designs were based on Etruscan vase decorations. The Etruscan Dressing Room at Osterley Park, Middlesex is the only surviving example of eight such decorative projects. (Sharp, 1991, p. 11)

The materials used by the designers during the 18th century reflected the industrial revolution, in that they were able to utilize improved older materials. Bricks were fired at higher temperatures and became different colors. Stucco and ceramic tiles were also utilized, with decorative or highly colored motifs that carried designs or imitated brick. Improved casting techniques allowed designers to use decorative ironwork to create delicate, Neoclassical patterns that were used in balconies and window frames. Structural ironwork was also used in staircases, increases and iron plates that helped fireproof structures.

Interior and Exterior Designs Preceding and during the time of Robert Adam

Palladian architecture was the leading style in Europe during the 17th and 18th century. Andrea Palladio actually lived in Italy from 1508 to 1580, designing buildings in a classical style, influenced by the principles of the Roman architect, Vitruvius and his disciple, Leon Battista Alberti, whose architecture was also based on the principles of classical Roman architecture. Classical architecture is based on mathematical proportions, rather than the elaborate, ornamental style characteristic of the later Renaissance, with straight lines and massive entrances flanked by high porches and columns. The interiors are based on the interrelationship of mathematics and the rooms are spacious and well-proportioned.

After the Renaissance in Italy, which was influenced by Greek and Roman styles, interiors began to employ leading artists and architects to decorate their interiors. The Palladian style began to become popular in the 17th century and continued to develop and dominated the scene until end of the 18th century. Based on Palladio's work and the designs he drew in the 1500's, the architecture popular during the mid 17th century was based on his drawings alone. It returned to favor in the early 18th century as Neo-Palladianism. Just as it was falling from favor in Europe, it had a surge of popularity in the United States, inspiring the architecture of Thomas Jefferson and numerous other architects.

Palladio designed his villas with equal views from every side, if possible, with porticos on each side to be used for enjoying the view while being protected from the sun. Palladio sometimes used a loggia, rather than a portico, for variety or need. This recessed porch was actually an internal, single-story room with pierced walls open to the elements. Sometimes the loggia would be on the second floor over the first-floor loggia, creating a double loggia. The front elevations looked like Roman temples and the floor plan was in a cruciform design. The villas were usually three stories tall, the basement (ground floor), the piano nobile (accessed by outside steps) and the mezzanine above that. The proportions of the rooms were interrelated by rations of 3:4 and 4:5. The country homes had long wings extending from them with colonnades that went to farm buildings that held horses, farm animals and produce.

As far as interiors, the Palladian window (also known as the Serlian or Venetian window) was a trademark of Palladio's work. It was arched and flanked by two lower rectangular openings. This style of window was used extensively, most notably in the arcades of the Palazzo della Raggione in Vicenza. The entrances of Villa Godi and Villa Forni-Cerato also feature this style in their entrances.

In England, Inigo Jones was directly responsible for importing Palladio's designs and incorporating them into the facades of the buildings he built. He also used this design in the Wilton House, the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House at Whitehall. Following the civil war associated with Charles I, Palladianism fell out of favor and the Baroque designs of William Talman, John Vanbrugh, Nicholas Hawksmoore and Jones' pupil, John Webb came into favor.

Over the next century, England notably developed the Elizabethan style, the Jacobean style and the Georgian style. The furniture was designed by Chippendale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite (who took his inspiration and some of his designs from Robert Adam) (Harwood, 2002, p. 497)

Robert Adam was the only architect who correlated the interior and exterior architecture, the furniture and the accessories, all in one unified style. His work contrasted with the Neo-Palladian trend. He actually was one of the major instigators of Neoclassicism, which became fashionable during the 1760's, eclipsing the Rococo, Chinese and Gothic Revivals. Tired of Neo-Palladianism, the British were influenced by the styles in the rest of Europe and sought designers who could incorporate other European trends into the British style mainstream. Robert Adam became the leading Neoclassical designer, designing town and country houses, though banks, churches and other public structures reflected his style (Harwood, 2002, p. 481)

Adam's Visual Design Composition

Adam's designs took their composition inspiration from the classical buildings he had exhibited and learned so much from in Italy. The golden mean was utilized in columns and column placement. The framing of doors, windows and other design features inside and outside the homes he decorated or remodeled was done in motifs that echoed the rest of the house. The design might outline the corners and fall to the floor with birds, leaves or fixtures echoing a classical theme. They incorporated natural and ornamental, baroque style decorative painting.

Facades created by Robert Adam replaced stiff, oversized fronts and other Neo-Palladian details on the front porches of country homes, with curving staircases and gracefully arched doorframes. Balconies were accessed by tall windows, which reached from floor almost to ceiling and created more light inside, while radically altering the exterior look of the homes. Larger panes of glass were made possible by improved manufacturing techniques.

Doors were framed by columns or pilasters and pediments with cases of stone or wood painted to look like stone. The fanlights became larger and more obvious. The doors themselves commonly have six panels and are painted dark brown or green with brass or cast iron hardware with classical motifs (Harwood, 2002, p. 485)

Contextural design.

Interior rooms designed by Robert Adam that were used for entertaining, dining, living and sleeping were often painted with murals from floor to ceiling and the ceilings were as often painted. The decorative motif in these cases were classical decorations inspired by Pompeii or other Etruscan cities, painted with ovals, rectangles or squares and other geometric shapes which divided the ceiling or wall. Colors used were vivid and rich, bright pinks, blues and greens, reds and blacks, set upon a neutral background of gray or pale pink, blue or yellow. The decorative surfaces of the walls, ceiling and even the furniture were delicately painted by hand in great detail. In Robert Adam's decor, every detail matched the rest of the room. The walls, ceilings and floors were assigned a theme and the furniture, drapes, rugs, painted decorations on the furniture, the lamps, vases and every accessory set about in the room reflected this theme. These decorations were true only for the most wealthy, as lesser homes had walls and ceilings of flat white.

Adam's dining rooms were the emphasis in his country homes. His plans and ornamentation for this room exceeded the entrances, salons, ballrooms or private rooms in the home. The dining room, he felt, was the room where business was actually transacted and political decisions made, once the ladies had withdrawn into the salon. (Harwood, 2002, p. 489)

Adam's influence on Early Neoclassical Design

Robert Adam was born on July 3, 1728 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and grew to become the best known British architect, even though he was Scottish. In the area of interior and furniture designs, he may be the best known designer of all time. He was the second of four brothers, all of whom became designers, but none of them as famous as Robert. He was considered by many to be the greatest architect of the late 18th century, though Sir William Chambers, a British architect,… READ MORE

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