great squares

Egerton Crescent Plan

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Plan illustrating horizontal dimensions. The average cornice height of the townhomes facing the crescent is approximately 44 feet with the roof elevation at about 49 feet. This creates a middle closure ratio of 4.5:1.

Egerton Crescent

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Egerton Crescent was created in the mid 1840s by James Bonnin, Sr. who earlier had built the nearby Pelham Crescent. The Crescent is noteworty for a variety of reaons including masterful architectural differentation and a very pleasant size. Crescents allow the creation of significant frontage for houses without the loss of a large number of buildable lots. The Crescent is 475 feet long when measured face to face of building and 220 feet wide. The middle closure ratio is 1:4.5. Unlike Pelham Crescent, there is no street break at the apex. the overall rhythm is DAAAABAAAABCCBAAAABAAAAD. Great attention was focused on the detailing of the entry porches and their differentation. Balconies are continuous for three or four units and then break for emphasis. Window treatments are carefully modified at each level. My favorite Belgrave square.

Place Royale (Place des Vosges) Plan

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First Parisian square that dates from 1605-1612 developed as a speculative venture by Henri IV. The square is approximately 465 feet square face to face, and is surrounded by an arched arcade and uniform "pavilions" whose coded facades were possibly developed by Metezean. The closure ratio is quite low (1:9) but effective because of the wonderful street lights, wrought iron fence and vegetation. the square directly influenced Inigo Jones at Covent Garden and others in England as well as others in Europe and the United States. Itself influenced by the earlier Italian squares such as Piazza SS. Annunziata in Florence. The "T" street configuration, though providing wonderful corner closure, prevents the value of the square itself from extending significantly into the surrounding neighborhood.

Palais Royale (Place des Vosges)

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Covered arcade below three stories of residential townhouses in the first Parisian large scale speculative housing development built around an open square. the square itself measures 72 toise on each side (face to face of building) which is approximately 465 feet. The passageway itself is 12.5 feet in width when measured to its inside dimension.  The arched openings vary between 8 feet wide on the west side of the square to 9.1 feet on the north side.

Place Royale (Place des Vosges)

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Built by Henri IV in 1605 as a speculative development where a uniform four story facade was imposed upon all purchasers. The buildings were possibly designed by Louis Metezeau, An evolution of the renaissance arcaded square (see SS Annunziata in Florence). There is the "big house" effect in the way the residential units are linked into more massive proportions. The proportions of the arched arcade openings are the lowest of the later Parisian squares. Their width varies from 8 feet on the west side to 9.1 feet on the north side forming a 1I1 raio when measured to the spring of the arch itself. The approximate height of most paviliions is 42 feet to the cornice line and 54 feet to the height of the roof beyond. The ground floor of these residences is now primarily devoted to restaurants and shops.

Palais Royale

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Corner of a portion of the first large scale mixed use speculative development in Paris created by the Duke of Orleans and opened in 1784. Designed by Victor Louis between 1781-84, it originally contained sixty identical residential units above a continuous arcade and shops designed to serve "a quotidian carnival of appetites." Unfortunately, the composition breaks street and access continuity on an east-west basis making the tranquil square difficult to access as well as cut off from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Palais Royale Arcade

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First large scale mixed use speculative venture in Paris developed by the Duke of Orleans between 1782 and 1784. The arcade feature, patterned after the Place des Vosges, linked under cover nearly 1800 feet of shop frontages. Columns are approximately 8.66 feet  on center with arched openings which vary (unintentionally) between 6.25 and 6.5 feet clear.  Access to the surrounding community was poor because of the excessive unbroken length, but today it forms a tranquil island within a congested international capital.

Palais Royale

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Passage into the NE corner of the gardens of the Palais Royal. This residential square, void of automobiles, is also void of urban noise and is one of the most peaceful spots in Paris. Designed by Victor Louis between 1781-84 as a speculative mixed use venture for the Duc D'Orleans, it originally contained sixty identical residential units above a continuous arcade and shops. The rectangular space measured approximately 306 by 760 ft (1:2.5). Perceivable height is approximately 52 ft. for a closure ratio of height to width of 1:6 and height to length of 1:14.6. These ratios are larger than recommended for an adequate sense of enclosure, but work because of the introduction of tight repeated rows of clipped trees and the power of the repeated architectural motif including superscaled columns which heighten the effect of grandeur. Jefferson was clearly influenced by this striking development when he served as Ambassador to France soon after the complex opened, and the concept of a covered and continuous pedestrian arcade is reminiscent of his treatment diagrammatically of the Lawn in the University of Virginia plan of 1819.

Place Royale (Place des Vosges)

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First Parisian square that dates from 1605-1612 developed as a speculative venture by Henri IV. The square is approximately 465 feet square face to face, and is surrounded by an arched arcade and uniform "pavilions" whose coded facades  were possibly developed by Metezean. The closure ratio is quite low (1:9) but effective because of the wonderful street lights, wrought iron fence and vegetation. the square directly influenced Inigo Jones at Covent Garden and others in England as well as others in Europe and the United States. Itself influenced by the earlier Italian squares such as Piazza SS. Annunziata in Florence.