The Architecture Lover's Guide to London by Sian Lye

Author:Sian Lye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: TRAVEL / Europe / Great Britain
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2022-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

The British Museum.

In 1823, the eminent architect Sir Robert Smirke designed the core of the building in the Greek Revival style, planned as a quadrangle featuring four wings. This style had become more popular as the British began to explore sites in Ancient Greece in the late eighteenth century.

There were many decorative features incorporated in the design. Smirke drew inspiration from the temple of Athena Polias at Priene and added 44 columns in the Ionic order, each 14 metres high. He also designed the pediment along the south entrance which comprises sculptures illustrating the ‘progress of civilisation’, with a series of 15 allegorical figures. The quadrangle won the RIBA Gold Medal soon after its completion in 1852.

Sydney Smirke

The brother of Robert Smirke, Sydney designed Weston Hall in 1845, again using inspiration from the patterns and colour palette of classical Greek buildings for the ceiling. He was also responsible for the design of the Reading Room at the centre of the Great Court, which features a dome inspired by the Pantheon with a diameter of around 42.6 metres.

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