alladio's villas in the Veneto are made from render which is a cheaper alternative to stone, but it looks similar from a distance ... I think even if the Villa Rotonda was made of cheese, it would still look splendid from afar.
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Architects for millennia have sought to find rules to determine the proportions of every aspect of a building. A window, for example, can look too narrow and thin or conversely it can look squat and fat.
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We recently bought a puppy and discovered that he much prefers classical music to pop. It seems that dogs are born with discernible musical tastes which effects their moods and this seems to be consistent throughout the species.
...and what does this tell us about classical architecture? A discussion with Alfie and Francis Terry.
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“Why did the chicken cross the road?” is not a great joke. What interests me more is where the chicken crosses the road in people’s minds. When asked the question, what do you imagine?
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Quality is so important. It is the different between mass produced bleached white sliced bread assembled in a factory and bread lovingly made in small batches by a baker who really cares. The ingredients are much the same, but the differences are enormous.A discussion with Alfie and Francis Terry.
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How much should I, as an architect, push my opinions? Should I simply take instructions from clients and blindly obey, or should I insist on buildings being a particular way?
A discussion with Alfie and Francis Terry.
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The proportions and defining features of the five orders of columns are a fundamental part of classical architecture. In this video, Francis and his father Quinlan Terry CBE delve deep into this cornerstone of the profession. From the rustic undecorated Tuscan order to the detailed and ornate Composite, they reflect on their usage over the years, their rich symbolism as well as the mysterious question of their distant origins.
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Many people, perhaps you, would love to build yourself a new house in the country where you could live with your family and work from home in rural tranquility. It is perhaps the English dream. The problem is getting planning permission. But don’t despair, NPPF paragraph 84e is the planning legislation which is specifically written to allow this to happen. The clause states that the new house has to be an ‘exceptional’ work of architecture and so it is not easy to get planning permission… but not impossible. In this video architect Francis Terry and planning specialist Martin Leay discuss how this can be done in practical terms using examples of their many past successes of ‘paragraph 84e’ houses.
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This video is an interview between Francis and his father Quinlan Terry CBE, discussing the many unforgettable moments in his highly successful sixty-year career.
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In this video Francis Terry discusses with his son Joey what ways architects can address these pressing issues, and how traditional construction methods and materials can contribute to the debate.
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Francis gave a zoom talk on his sketching through the decades to the Traditional Architects Group recently. In this talk, Francis discusses his work from his various sketchbooks and focus on how these drawings inspired his work.
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Many people, perhaps you, would love to build yourself a new house in the country where you could live with your family and work from home in rural tranquility. It is perhaps the English dream. The problem is getting planning permission. But don’t despair, NPPF paragraph 80e is the planning legislation which is specifically written to allow this to happen. The clause states that the new house has to be an ‘exceptional’ work of architecture and so it is not easy to get planning permission… but not impossible. In this video architect Francis Terry and planning specialist Martin Leay discuss how this can be done in practical terms using examples of their many past successes of ‘paragraph 80e’ houses.
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The highest praise one can give an artist is to say he or she draws like Raphael. It comes in the same package as writing like Shakespeare or ‘bending it like Beckham’. As I can’t write poetry and don’t play football the latter two challenges are not open to me, but drawing like Raphael... how hard can it be?
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Many people, perhaps you, would love to build yourself a new house in the country where you could live with your family and work from home in rural tranquility.
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It is hard to imagine the decimation caused by the First World War. Understandably, a growing number of people started to feel that there was something terribly wrong with a civilisation which caused young boys from neighbouring countries to commit murder for a purpose that no one really knew or understood.
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The Victorian age inherited the battle of styles which defined the end of the Georgian era, a battle which was not convincingly won by either side. Gothic, Classical and even Mughal style architecture were all available to patrons and architects.
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The 18th century is where I go routinely for inspiration. There is something magical about Georgian architecture which everyone seems to enjoy no matter who they are. Historically I see the 18th century as the transition from traditional society to the modern world. As catholicism gradually lost its power, the Baroque style also began to lose its grip and evolved into the Rococo. Like the last moments of a dying star which produces the many and varied elements of the universe, the Rococo was Baroque in an explosive, dynamic and beautiful decline.
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This is a lecture I gave to the office about the baroque movement in architecture. It follows on from a lecture I gave about the renaissance and is the precursor to a future lecture on neoclassicism.
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On occasions I meet architects who think that they are, or more often should be, 'in charge' of every aspect of their buildings. These people are either very naive or deluded. They harp back to a golden age when architects were taken seriously like doctors or lawyers...
A discussion with Alfie and Francis Terry.
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There is no correct way to pursue a career in architecture. In Francis’ most recent podcast, he debunks the myths and offers advice for young people interested in perusing a similar occupation. Francis is joined by his daughter, Claudia, who interviews him one on one.
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The definition of Pastiche is 'an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.' I imitate historic buildings, rather than inventing new styles, and with this in mind, it may seem fair game to direct the word at my work...
A discussion with Alfie and Francis Terry.
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Part of 'Catalysized: Outcomes of Catalysis' at the Seventh Catalysis Conference, 24-26 March 2017, Downing College, Cambridge.
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One of the most universally adored details of all classical architecture is the Ionic capital at the Erechtheion on the north side of the Acropolis, built between 421 and 406 BC. Phidias was both sculptor and mason of the structure and was employed by Pericles...
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Classical architecture in modern times: A talk by George Saumarez Smith and Francis Terry at TEDxLondonBusinessSchool. Six commonly asked questions.
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On the 1st of April 2011 Francis entered the unfamiliar territory of ‘Banksy’s Tunnel’ in London’s Leake Street to spend the whole day treating the graffitied walls as a classical facade.
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For the Mantownhuman Winter School, the Three Classicists - Francis Terry, Ben Pentreath and George Saumarez Smith - spent a day drawing a classical scheme which was immediately rubbed out on completion.
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