WEEK 1(A) - VERSAILLES, FRANCE

Versailles - is a fine archetype of urbanisation of the French Baroque period during the 17th - 18th Century and it was the de facto capital under the reign of King Louis XIII to King Louis XVI. Versailles consisted of four main sections - Château de Versailles [ The Palace ], The Garden, The Grand Trianon and Marie's Antoinette's Estate [ The Queen's Hamlet ]. 

 Versailles [ Oil on Canvas ] - Bird's Eye View

The planning and architecture of Versailles emphasis on the power of the French absolute monarchy. Strong axis extruded from the back the château [ The King's Hall of Mirror ] gives a strong axial vista to the end of the royal garden. Hence, the axial grammar of Versailles is different from Forbidden City in Beijing. The axial extrusion of the Forbidden City is different in which the axial grammar is sequential - the space and barricades by three main halls arranged along the axis but not giving a strong clear axial vista.

Plan of Versailles 

The Clear Axial Vista - View from the Latone Ornamental Pool

From the plan of Versailles [ above ], the pathways play a major role in the spatial sequences and circulation pattern within the garden - a very typical garden arrangement of the French Baroque. Thus, it is very different from the 18th Century English Gardens which coined as "Picturesque" [ which it means a peculiar kind of beauty in which it is as beautiful as a a picture ] wherein the spatial sequence or the journey in the English Gardens are informed by follies - less formal notation whereas the Garden of Versailles put strong emphasis forceful rigid spatial sequence and rigid direction with the aid of pavements - pathways and highly embellished fountains in the garden. 

Node and Route - Circulation Anatomy in Versailles

I have came up with an analytical diagram on "node and route" [ above ] after looking into the plan of Versailles. Fountains act as intersection nodes in the garden with the grand highly embellished fountains denote the main intersection nodes and the small scale fountains connote secondary nodes in the circulation pattern of the garden. From the diagram above, the red arrows indicate the main pathways - primary routes in the garden and the primary routes radiate in certain angles or directions to secondary or even tertiary routes when the primary routes meet the main and secondary intersection nodes [ fountains ]. 

Pathways - Spatial Confinement

From the diagram above, pathways define the spaces in the garden. Hence, the dimensions and geometries of spaces are confined by the intersecting pathways [ lines ]. Geometries of spaces - rectangular, square, trapezium and triangle are apparent from the confinement and I conceived [ though I am not sure this is a mere assertion of mine ] that the whole planning of Versailles initiated from pathways only then preceded by spatial planning and sequence. Thus, it almost reminiscing the sequence of drawing in which you start with a point/ dot [ fountain - intersection nodes ] and dots extruded become lines [ pathways - circulation routes ]; then multiple lines connect and intersect one and another transformed into shapes/ geometries [ confined space - gardens ]. 

The Château

The Plan of the Château

From the plan of the château, there three parti visible from the plan of the château - room matrix, corridor and courtyard. The dominating parti are room matrix and corridor but not courtyards because the courtyards before the château do not signify sense of gathering. The parti - room matrix and corridor are the major parti which define the spatial sequence, arrangment and confinement within the château. 

JUXTAPOSITION 
[ PERFECTION & IMPERFECTION ] - [ RIGID & LENIENT ] - [ CONTROL & FREEDOM ]


Although Versailles conveys absolutism [ control ] and perfection of royal lifestyle but there is always an imperfection within perfection. Imperfection I meant here is not about ugliness but the truth of beauty. Perfection and precision are factitious and artificial, and they deemed to be 'lifelessness'. Whereas, imperfection expresses flawlessness in a truthful manner and simplicity. Thus, within the 'perfect' Versailles, the Marie's Antoinette's Estate is the 'imperfection' portion in which the Queen's Hamlet portrays the tiredness of humanity to be stranded within the pomp of perfection - royalty and luxury. This also signifies the humanity's contemporary juxtaposition of city, suburbia and country life. Besides that, the King also has his own private retreat from royalty and diplomacy which is the Grand Trianon which is situated beside the Queen's Hamlet.

The Topiary Garden in Versailles [ Perfection & Precision - Control ]

Marie's Antoinette's Estate [ Freedom ] 

WHY VERSAILLES IS ONE OF MY FAVOURABLE URBAN & ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT ?


1) The juxtaposition of perfection and imperfection.
2) The juxtaposition of rigidness and lenient.
3) The juxtaposition of control and freedom.
4) The juxtaposition of intricateness of geometries and organic.
   
Versailles tells you the human hunger for perfection but yet when perfection is achieved, the pursuit of imperfection contravenes satisfaction of perfection. 




REFERENCE 
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/marie-antoinettes-estate
http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/France/france6.htm