British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
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Enquiry, Evidence and Facts: An Interdisciplinary Conference
Building on the page - Building on the site: Christopher Wren's Italian sources
Dr Simona Valeriani
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street , London, WC2A 2AE
An
abstract presented to the conference
‘Enquiry, Evidence and Facts: An
Interdisciplinary conference’
at the British Academy, London, on 13 December
2007
Biography
Dr. Simona Valeriani is a research officer of the “How Well Do ‘Facts’ Travel?” group. She studied architecture in Italy where she specialised in the study and conservation of historical buildings (1997). At the Technische Universität, Berlin, she earned a PhD in Building Archaeology (2004), working with an interdisciplinary project along-side Medievalists, Restorers, Art Historians, and Sociologists.
Her research interests are in the field of Building Archaeology and Construction History, with special emphasis on the History of Carpentry (the subject of her PhD thesis, published as Kirchendächer in Rom - Capriate Ecclesiae in 2006). At present she is working on "Travelling knowledge: building techniques in Europe between 16th and 18th century". The first line of research inquires into the spatial transfer formalities of technical knowledge, where the following aspects are being considered: the single architectural theories, the building materials available in the specific area, the workers and designers, the site machineries, etc. The second area regards the same issue from the point of view of available sources. The inquiry into the relationship between empirical and theoretical knowledge is the hub of this part of the research.
Abstract
The historical and cultural setting
Starting from the 15th century, the influence of Italian culture on Britain grows and affects the society in various fields: court life, books, artistic and architectural tastes, and so on. It is in this period that the “Journey to Italy”, a tradition already established in the medieval time, is enriched with new meanings and aims. Between the 17th and the 18th centuries, the tradition of the Grand Tour will be established precisely out of this experience.
In this context Inigo Jones (1573-1652) is of particular interest. He was one of the first Englishmen to study architecture in Italy, making a least two visits to that country. The architecture by Andrea Palladio had a great influence on him and gave him inspiration for his projects (both architectural ones and in the field of stage design).
Because of the Civil war and the consequent political situation, Jones didn’t have the chance to build very much. It was to be Christopher Wren (1632–1723) who introduced with greater efficacy, the new Italian building style to England. His success resulted, in part, from his appointment as Surveyor of the King’s works after the great fire in 1666. He never traveled to Italy but is known to have studied Italian sources and publications.
What is that is traveling? Form and Technique
Until now, critical study has examined the aesthetic and formal aspects of these phenomena – focusing on the propagation of architectural forms. Much less studied is the transfer of scientific and tacit / technological-constructive knowledge needed to actually build each particular architectural form. From the many aspects of the building process, the focus here will be on roof constructions, which constitute a less frequently modernised and also an a posteriori easily recognisable portion of a building. The research methodology combines several methods: from the direct analysis and documentation of the material evidence in the buildings themselves (the ‘building archaeology’ approach) to the in-depth study of the written sources, both primary and secondary.
In the paper the analogies between the Italian structures and those designed by Jones and Wren will be analyzed in detail. Particular focus will be on technical ‘facts’: the use of composite rafters (the inclined beams composing the roof-triangle) and the possible origin of this technique; the junctions used in order to produce extremely long tie-beams (the horizontal beam at the “base” of the roof-triangle, in particularly large buildings -e.g. the Sheldonian Theatre- built as the composition of several pieces); the particular form adopted for the shape of the king post (the vertical element supporting the apex of the roof-triangle).
Vehicles for travelling
The introduction of the building techniques connected with the so called “Palladian” architecture to Britain by Jones and Wren in the 17th century is taken as an example of the transmission of facts about construction, largely through written or drawn “description” in books. The paper will analyse in detail the diffusion of Italian architectural treatises in England and particularly the work by Sebastiano Serlio (1475 – c. 1554), who in his seventh book, presents quite detailed instructions and pictures concerning carpentry.
More generally, the relationship between the structures illustrated in the treatises of the time and those actually built will be analysed. Relevant to this research question is also the use made by Jones of the many architectural books he acquired and used as course books or travel guides during his journeys, evident through the detailed technical annotations he made in their margins. Through this we come to think about another possible vehicle for the travelling of “technical” facts: the architects, craftsmen and educated noblemen travelling through Europe and annotating what they see, at times in a very detailed, technical way. The paper will analyse also Wren’s journey to France and try to clarify which ‘Facts’ he could have taken with him when going back to London and contributing so significantly to the reconstruction of the city after the fire.
Travelling through “science” and travelling through “experience”: Architects and craftsmen between the study of the written sources and tacit knowledge
The paper will also address the question of the relationship between the intellectual work of the English architects importing (and partly adapting) designs that had been used in other countries, and the tacit knowledge element provided by the carpenters. There can be no doubt that on the English side, changes were made to the adopted techniques in order to adapt them to local needs. In particular, the carpenters were probably in charge of solving detail-problems (such as junctions and so on), and they will have achieved these solutions using pre-existing skills and techniques.
Research done in this field shows that the introduction of the new building techniques to England was due to the efforts of the architect and not –as one would imagine– the carpenters. But the evidence collected in buildings designed by Wren will be taken to show the influence of the local carpenters’ specific skills and technical knowledge on the imported Italian exemplars. In particular, the focus will be on the assemblage methods and the carpentry marks.
Conclusions
In contrast to the standard literature that focuses on the travelling from Italy of architectural styles, this paper will argue that travelling facts about structures and technical solutions were at least as important to the way their buildings were designed and built. In fact Jones and Wren were influenced by Italian sources both in the general structural forms and the specific technical solutions. Differences in the organisation of the working process, related to the tacit knowledge of the carpenters, will be underlined