Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/1137

 EXPRESSION OF PURPOSE. 1113 and over them, indicate wide and lofty apartments within ; whereas numerous small windows, with narrow piers between tliem, and small spaces over them, indicate nu- merous small and low apartments, or apartments extending in length, but not in height, and without space for large pieces of furniture ; consequently, ill-proportioned and badly furnished. Windows in the roofs of dwelling-houses are also expressive of imperfect accommodation and ventilation, as are small windows in sunk stories. The windows of entresols (floors with low ceilings introduced between floors with high ceilings), which are common in France and Italy, are expressive of servants' apartments, and seldom fail to convey the idea of want of space, and of bad ventilation. ^ hen the base line of the windows on the principal floor of a house is horizontal, it is favourable to the expression of large rooms, and of rooms on the same level : on the other hand, when the windows are placed irregularly, and on no regular axis, either horizontal or vertical, they convey the idea of small rooms irregular in every respect, and altogether the opposite of being either comfortable or elegant. Turrets and projections of every kind, viewed with reference to use, convey the idea of eonimodiousness and convenience ; it being supposed that their object, in modern houses, is to supply closets and cabinets, and other minor apartments. A square house may have all these conveniences included within its cubical form ; and they may have cost less, in building, than if they had been contained in projections : but the cubical form will give no indication of their existence to the external spectator ; and therefore, though it may be well adapted for economy, it cannot be considered as one expressive of ease and comfort. It will merely express, by its uniform-sized and regularly placed windows, apartments of equal dimensions and regular arrangement. Porticoes, colonnades, verandas, and balconies are all expressive, more or less, of comfort and elegant enjoyment on the part of the occupant. It is unne- cessary, however, to pursue this subject farther ; for every person of the slightest observ- ation can refer all the different external parts of a house, in the country where he lives, to their internal uses : in other words, he recognises their expression. 2199. The Expression of Use in farm buildings, though it can only be perfectly recognised by an architectural farmer, can yet be so, to a certain extent, by every one accustomed to live in the country. The barn is known by its large roof, or by its greater height ; or, in countries where threshing-machines are common, by the ap- pearance of the mill-shed ; the granary by its lufFer-boarded windows, and its elevated floor ; the feeding-house by its porthole windows, &c. The expression of the particular manufacture which is carried on in any large building can hardly be recognised by a stranger to that manufacture ; nevertheless, the general appearance of the walls and windows ; their great plainness, and even meagre effect ; the number and regularity of the windows ; and the comparative inattention shown to the beauty and clearness of the glass, enable almost any one to decide that the edifice is destined for manufacturing purposes. The expression of churches and chapels is recognised by all ; because all are accustomed to enter them ; so is the expression of schools, and of other buildings with which we are familiar, such as inns, corn mills, &c. That a building, when expressive of its use, affords more satisfaction than when it is either not expressive of that use, or expressive of some use to which it is not applied, every one must feel. A barn disguised as a church would afford satisfaction to none but those who considered it as a trick. The beautj' of truth is so essential to every other kind of beauty, that it can neither be dispensed with in art nor in morals. 2200. The Expression of adequate Construction is, to a certain extent, recognised by every beholder. Every one knows walls of brick or stone to be more durable than those of earth, of wood, or of plaster ; and no one considers a high and narrow building so strong as one which approaches nearer to the cubical form. Roofs which project con- siderably at the eaves, by exposing a part of their timbers to the eye, never convey the idea of the same degree of durability as when the walls are terminated by stone or brick cornices ; and walls thus finished never give the same idea of a permanent roof, as when to the cornice is superadded a blocking course or parapet. The roof, in the latter case, is supposed to be flat, covered with lead, and calculated to resist the effects of time. The common precept, that openings ought in general to be made perpendicularly over other openings, rather than disposed indiscriminately, is founded on the principle of strength ; for every one feels that the lighter members should be carried by the stronger. Without disputing this general rule, ^Ir. Wood observes, " perhaps two exceptions may fairly be made : the first in small buildings of no pretensions to magnificence, where the appearance of convenience may be allowed to overweigh the character of durability ; and the second, where the general appearance is so solid, and the openings are so small, that it matters not where they are put. In this last case, the very want of correspondence announces an exuberance of power, which disdains attention to trifles; and, what is, m some degree, in ordinary cases, a source of absolute weakness, becomes a means of ex- pressing strength." The indication of the thickness of wall, produced in a wall seen 6 Q