P36

;RACTICE OF
AIICHITECTUUE.
1}< ni
.T.a)- he sunk tiie clo))tli of the architrave, which may return in a direction towards the walls,
thus I'onning sunk p:\nvh in the ceiling, or the sinking of the panels may be as much as
the whole height of the entablature, whose
mouldings should then be carried round them.
When several ranks of columns occur in a portico the central part is sometimes vaulted, the
two central columns of the width being omitted. The method of disposing pilasters in
res|)ect of their diminution has been treated of in a former part of this work.
(267 1, vt seq.)
2841. The exterior walls which enclose the building should run as much as ]);)ssible in
straight continued lines froni one angle to another
;
a straight line being the sliortest that
can be drawn. The internal walls, which serve for subdividing the building into itsseveial
ai)artments, .should, as much as may be, extend from one side to the opposite one. Where
they are intercepted by openings, they should be connected again above by lintels or otlier
means.
2S42. In
/iff.
1013. is shown the method of Forming apian or horizontal distribution, aiid
combining it with, the vertical distribution in the section
and elevation. The thing is so simj)le that it can hardly
want explanation. The equidistant jjarallel axes being
drawn and cut at right angles by similarly equidistant
ones, the walls, according to the required accommoda-
tions, are ])laced centrally upon the axes ; and tlie
columns, ])ilasters, &c. upon the intersections of the
axes, 'i'lie doors, windows, niches, and the like are then
placed centrally in the interaxes, which must be bisected
for that ))urpose. Above and below the horizontal com-
bination the s.ctlon and plan are to be drawn. These
vertical combinations are infinite, and from every plan
many sections and elevations may be formed. The figure
exhibits a building of one story only, with a central
apartment occupying the heiglit of two stories. But on
the same j)lan a building of two or more stories may be
designed. These may have two tiers of jjorticoes, one
above the other, or one only on the ground story, form-
ing by its covering a terrace on the first floor ; or a
j)ort;co might receive on its columns the walls of the
next story, and thus beccmie reces.sed from the main
front. So, again, the stories may be equal in height, or
of different heights, as circumstances may require. The
most usual jiractice is, above a basement to make the
succeeding story higher; but above a princii)al floor the
height of succeeding ones is diminished. The method
of ))lacing orders above orders does not require that any
addition should be made to what has been said on that
Kul)ject in Chap. I. Sect. 11. of this Book, and by the
same metliods arcades over arcades may be conducted.
2843. Not the least imjiortant of the advantages re-
sulting from the method of designing just submitted to
the reader is the certain symmetry it ))roduces, and the
prevention, by the use of these interaxal lines on each
floor, of the architect falling into the error of false
bearings, than which a greater or more dangerous fault
cannot be committed, more especially in jjubiic build-
ings. The subterfuge for avoiding the consequence of
false bearings is now a resort to cast iron, a material
beneficially enough empli_>yed in buildings of inferior
rank
;
but in those of the first class, whurein every part
should have a proper point of supjjort, it is a practice
not to be tolerated. Neither should the student ever
lose sight, in respect of the ties he employs in a building,
of the admirable observation of Vignola on the ties and
chains projjosed
by Tibaldi, in his design for the bap-
tistery at Milan :
"
Che le fabbriehe non si hanno da
sostenere colle stringhe
;
"
Buiklings must not depend
on ties for their stability. The foregoing figure is from
Durand's Precis d'Aichi/ecfure. We now submit, in
_/?</.
1018., an illustration of the principles of interaxal division Fi^. 1013.
from the celebrated and exquisite Villa Capra, near Vicenza, by Palladio, wherein it will be
seen, on comparing the result with what has actually bei.n executed, how little the design
varies from it. It will from this also be seen how entirely and inseparably connected witli