character
The concept of character in architecture played a large role in the deterioration of the classical canon, which began with the scientific questioning and skepticism through the period of the Enlightenment. The empirical investigations of Claude Perrault led to discovery that all previous architectural treatises on the ideal proportion varied slightly from one another. Rather than a singular perfect proportion, a building was believed to be expressive in form. From these developments along with the developments of Germain Boffrand on the idea of style in architecture emerged the notion of character and open the door to a belief in relativism.
The architecture of Jacques-François Blondel applied the notion of clarity into architecture, writing in his treatise, "The Distinct and particular impressions that are never confused or synonymous, that need to be felt and later discussed, they contribute more than one ordinarily imagines in assigning to each building the character that is proper to it" (Mallgrave). Blondel was one of the first to advocate ornamentation in order to produce clarity of expression which would reflect the character of the building. It was Blondel's belief that a building should express its function and should express the proper character to fit the building, maintaining the notion of correctness.
The idea of character was taken to the extreme by avant-garde French architects, Étienne-Louis Boullée and Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Boullée uses the notion of clarity, in his definition of character, "To give a building character is to make judicial use of every means of producing no other sensations than that related to the subject"(Mallgrave). This meant making all design decision based on the position of clarity,. This would take character to its full potential in the design of the Cenotaph of Sir Isaac Newton by Boullée, to the point where function is removed in order to have a clear expression of the character of the building’s function.
The architecture of Jacques-François Blondel applied the notion of clarity into architecture, writing in his treatise, "The Distinct and particular impressions that are never confused or synonymous, that need to be felt and later discussed, they contribute more than one ordinarily imagines in assigning to each building the character that is proper to it" (Mallgrave). Blondel was one of the first to advocate ornamentation in order to produce clarity of expression which would reflect the character of the building. It was Blondel's belief that a building should express its function and should express the proper character to fit the building, maintaining the notion of correctness.
The idea of character was taken to the extreme by avant-garde French architects, Étienne-Louis Boullée and Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Boullée uses the notion of clarity, in his definition of character, "To give a building character is to make judicial use of every means of producing no other sensations than that related to the subject"(Mallgrave). This meant making all design decision based on the position of clarity,. This would take character to its full potential in the design of the Cenotaph of Sir Isaac Newton by Boullée, to the point where function is removed in order to have a clear expression of the character of the building’s function.