Abbe Marc-Antoine Laugier 1713-1769

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Abbe Marc-Antoine Laugier 1713-1769

• Born January 22, 1713 in Manosque, Provence
• Family of upper-class bourgeoisie
• Studied at ages 14-17 at college at Avignon
• to become a Jesuit priest, then on to Lyons,
  Province.
• Participated in public education with the Jesuits
• Developed interest in architecture and began
• discovering buildings on his own.
• Spoke publicly to the king and his consorts
• regarding religious and political problems
• Wrote the Essai. Easy for people to read and
  understand.
• Became lAbbe Laugier by appeal and worked on
  his own
• Worked with embassy and devoted his time to
  writing
• Wrote Essai sur l'architecture (1753) among
  others including Observations sur
  larchitecture, Venetian history, Peace of
  Belgrade, Art criticism, History of troubadours,
  Commerce of the Levant, History of Malta, History
  of the Popes.
• Died April 5, 1769 in Paris, France

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The Enlightenment (The Age of Reason) 1680s to
1790s

• International, intellectual movement likely
  beginning with the political, economical, moral
  and religious struggles in Britain and France.
• Believed in reason (science and thinking), rather
  than faith or tradition The Rationalist movement
• The Enlightenments Creed Sapere aude! (Dare
  to know!)
• Enlightenment is mans release from his
  self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is mans
  inability to make use of his understanding
  without direction from another. Immanuel Kant,
  1784

Jean-Jacques Rosseau
Denis Diderot
Immanuel Kant
Voltaire
it is above all important to think. -Laugier
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Essay on Architecture

• Chapter I General Principles of Architecture
• Article I The Column
• Article II The Entablature
• Article III The Pediment
• Article IV The Different Stories of a Building
• Article V Windows and Doors

• Chapter III Observations on the Art of Building
• Article I On the Solidity of Buildings
• Article II On Convenience
• Article III On How to Observe Bienseance in
  Buildings

• Chapter IV On the Style in Which to Build
  Churches
• Chapter V On the Embellishment of Towns
• Article I On Entries of Towns
• Article II On the Layout of Streets
• Article III On the Decoration of Buildings

• Chapter II The Different Architectural Orders
• Article I What All Orders Have in Common
• Article II The Doric Order
• Article III The Ionic Order
• Article IV The Corinthian Order
• Article V The Different Kinds of Composite
• Article VI How to Enrich the Various Orders
• Article VII On Buildings without any Orders

• Chapter VI On the Embellishment of Gardens

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Chapter I General Principles of Architecture

• Founded on simple nature. Nature indicates its
  rules.
• Example The Primitive Hut
• Tells story of primitive man seeking shelter and
  building out of necessity.
• What this man built became the basis for all
  architecture
• The Hut is made of the following architectural
  elements
• The column
• The entablature
• The pediment

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Chapter I General Principles of Architecture
The Primitive Hut

• Architecture was founded on simple nature.
• Laugier wanted a "more rigorous" understanding of
  architecture and ornament look for precedents
  for classical architecture at the absolute roots
  of history.
• He searched for absolute beauty, which in his
  primitive hut came from nature.
• Was rooted in functional or structural basis.
  (This theory was the basis of the so-called
  Rationalist movement.)
• Little basis in archeology or fact, and tangental
  basis in historical text

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The Primitive Hut

• Like Vitruvius, Laugier places the origins of
  architectural forms in nature the first dwelling
  was built in the forest, with branches and trees.

• This differs from the previous theories of
  Vitruvius in one important aspect the hut is an
  abstract concept as much as it is a material
  construction.

• The Primitive Hut represents the first
  architectural idea.

• Shows beginnings of an understanding of column,
  entablature, and pediments. Future architecture
  is based on these principles.

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Article I The Column

• Columns must
• Be strictly perpendicular to the ground
• Be free-standing, to be expressed in a natural
  way
• Be round, because nature makes nothing square
• Be tapered from bottom to top in imitation of
  plants in nature
• Rest directly on the floor
• The faults
• Being engaged in the wall is a fault because it
  detracts from the overall beauty and aesthetic
  nature of columns.
• The use of pilasters should strictly be frowned
  upon especially since in nearly every case
  columns could be used instead.
• Setting columns upon pedestals is like adding a
  second set of legs beneath the first pair.

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Article II The Entablature

• The Entablature must
• always rest on its columns like a lintel
• In its whole length it must not have any corner
  or projection
• The Faults
• Instead of a beam-like structure it becomes an
  arch
• Against nature because
• require massive piers and imposts
• They become pilasters
• Force columns to give lateral support columns
  are meant to give vertical support only.
• Not straight, but broken with angles and
  projections
• Why? Never put anything into a building for
  which one cannot give a sound reason. Nature is
  so, buildings should also be.

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Article III The Pediment

• The Pediment must
• represent the gable of the roof
• never be anywhere except across the width of a
  building.
• be above the entablature
• The faults
• To erect the pediment on the long side of a
  building.
• To make non-triangular pediments
• Should not be curved, broken nor scrolled
• To pile pediments on top of each other

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Chapter II The Different Architectural Orders

• The Doric Order (in columns)
• Has the most beautiful base, but is difficult to
  use
• Doric columns can never be coupled successfully
• Interior angles become difficult because of the
  bases and capitals must penetrate each other
• The Ionic Order
• Almost faultless, lighter and more delicate than
  the Doric
• The column suffers because nature dictates that
  the heaviest part must always be at the bottom,
  but the Ionic column is heavy at top
• The base is ill-formed and could be eliminated
• Offends against the true principles of nature
• The Corinthian Order
• The greatest, most majestic order
• Beautiful, harmonious composition
• Architects should stop using anything by the
  acanthus leaf which has by nature the contour
  and curves which suit the leaves of the
  Corinthian capital.

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Chapter III Observations on the Art of
Building(Laugiers Commodity, Firmness and
Delight)

• Article I On the Solidity of Buildings
• Building must be solid for long life, much like
  the ancients did
• Solidity depends on two things Choice of
  material and its efficient use
• Article II On Convenience
• The situation (site) must be considered to
  include views and ventilation
• The planning (exterior and interior) must be
  suitable, comfortable, have good circulation, and
  always include a courtyard
• The internal communications (servants halls,
  stairways, etc) must be located for quick access
• Article III On How to Observe Bienseance in
  Buildings
• A building must be neither more nor less
  magnificent than is appropriate to its purpose
• Beauty of buildings depends on three things
  accuracy of proportions, elegance of forms, and
  choice and distribution of ornaments.