Design Post Update

I was thrilled to have lunch recently with one of my favorite bloggers, The Blue Remembered Hills, while he was traveling through DC. As so often happens when bloggers meet for the first time we began chatting at once like old friends and eventually the topic naturally veered towards design.
Both of us have 'pet peeves' with wordage, his being the incorrect use of the word couch instead of sofa (mine is the incorrect use of home vs. house). Above you see the famous couch of Madame Recamier.
The term sofa is what we normally are talking about, the article of furniture found in everyone's living room. It's not a 'formal' term or interchangeable with couch -they are DIFFERENT things. A couch is a specific term reserved for pieces of furniture on which one lies. I immediately thought of Madame Recamier, so well known for having been painted in repose by numerous artists.
While in the Louvre on my last visit I loved Madame Recamier's furniture made for her by Georges Jacob as well as 2 very well known paintings of her, in which she is lying on a couch.
 The rest of her furniture is really beautiful and I just had to have an excuse to post!
In the future think of Madame Recamier on her couch and the sofa you have at home; unless you have a fainting couch or daybed, well then that's another story!

This past weekend offered beautiful fall weather, perfect for our Mid-Atlantic ICAA tour of Dumbarton Oaks arranged by landscape architect and boardmember Jennifer Horn.
Dumbarton Oaks has been owned by Harvard University since the early 1940s and hosts a number of their graduate programs on campus.  Sections of the famous gardens are open to the public and their renowned museum has a separate entrance on 32nd street NW.
Although much changed and constantly evolving, the gardens are the the work of famous landscape designer Beatrix Farrand, seen in the portrait above.
Unfortunately the house is undergoing some renovation work (roof and some structure being replaced) so scaffolding covered the neo-Georgian facade. You can see photos of the house at my earlier post from 2009 HERE.
The library is housed in the wing seen above designed by Thomas Waterman -a really spectacular period room in which one can study the antique landscape books in an elegant setting.
This grotto is only one of the many charming spots to be found throughout the gardens. The modern balustrade is very plain-jane compared to others found throughout the property but I suppose it meets code (most ugly railings do).
One of the best parts of attending the ICAA tours (everyone is welcome btw!) is that you get an opportunity to see many behind the scenes areas not open to the general public.
I had never seen most of the campus before and was thrilled with many of the original structures like the green house above, where plants are still grown for the gardens. The brick structure in the center was originally designed to be the library until someone came to their senses and realized antique books and water don't mix!
Washington is enjoying a spectacular fall this year which doesn't often happen. So often I feel we move directly from summer into winter.
 Many of the older structures such as the garage above have been wonderfully preserved on the exterior while the interiors have been unfortunately gutted and rebuilt in an institutional manner. Don't even ask about some of the modern buildings I'm not showing here and other work done on campus by architectural firm Robert Venturi - the less said there the better ( # inappropriate, # generic, # ugly ).
Many of us architects marveled at the lovely back door above - nicer than the front doors on many houses! Also notice the intricate brick paving patterns designed by Farrand.
The use of ornate brick and stone walls throughout the hilly, terraced gardens is one of my favorite aspects.
 While these are special details, they are to be found throughout the entire property.
Above is one of the many railing designs by Farrand - this may not meet modern day codes but is none-the-less pleasing to the eye.
Even the simple wooden garden bench above has lovely details; notice the scrolled bracket to the sides.
Inside the museum there are more wonderful treasures to check out. I particularly like the antique byzantine mosaics which are built into the flooring. The rather strange addition by Phillip Johnson, celebrating its 50th birthday, is growing on me and is a great example of marrying a modern addition to a classical structure (Robert Venturi take note!). Please join the ICAA on our next adventures and be sure to check out Dumbarton Oaks while in Washington, you won't be disappointed!

I recently discovered that the Levi Morton house (1912) by John Russell Pope in my old neighborhood in Washington, DC, was for sale. For about a decade I lived a block away from this stunning mansion at 1500 Rhode Island Avenue, NW and always admired it.
For the past 75 years the National Coatings Association has been the (excellent) caretaker of this historic structure which has housed a former Vice President, a Russian ambassador, and even Alexander Graham Bell.
If you are familiar with a map of Washington, the regular grid of streets is broken by a number of Avenues which meet at traffic circles;  this creates some odd triangular building sites. The Morton house is within one of these odd shaped lots which explains the strange angles in the first floorplan above.
The gracious porte cochere sits on the north side of the property on Rhode Island Avenue. Pope cleverly used the irregular slanted front facade for service spaces, situating larger and more important rooms around the more regular square facades. In 1912 these rooms faced gardens which are now (partially) parking lots.
The odd service wing in the floorplan which included storage and servant apartments either was never built or was torn down at one point for more parking. I always wondered if the stucco part of the building which you see to the left of the photo above was original and apparently it was. It looks different than the elevation drawing earlier in this post and rather like an after thought. It houses the original dining room and butler's pantry.
The  (west) side facade above is the most prominent as it faces Scott Circle and affords beautiful views.
As with many parts of the city the area has changed significantly since 1912 and this mansion is surrounded mostly by large apartment buildings and hotels which you get a sense of in the above photograph or on google streetviews.
This existing house was an extensive renovation to an older red brick Victorian structure dating from 1879 designed by John Fraser, a well-known Philadelphian architect. The interior was completely redone by Pope in a Classical style which included this stunning staircase which includes Levi Morton's monogram.
The original fixtures are all extant and included with the sale offered by Lucia Wadeson of Cresa Corporate Real Estate. I can imagine this becoming rather grand condo's with a significant addition or ideally an embassy (Cuba?).
 Images are not my own: B&W Photographs and drawings from the book "Mastering Tradition" by author James Garrison and color images from this article in the Washington Business Journal.

One of my favorite buildings to visit on my walks around the city is the Hotel de Salm home to the Legion of Honour Museum next to the Musee d'Orsay along the banks of the Seine. I've never been inside however despite a rather fascinating collection and renowned building. There are simply always more pressing things to do or it's just too lovely of a day to spend inside.

The entry court probably looks familiar to you as it has been copied in many forms in public buildings around the world.

 I've always admired the 1920s quiet beaux-arts entry to the museum which faces the d'Orsay.
The interiors are quite spectacular and date to the rebuilding of the structure in 1871 when it was burned during the Commune. How  I would have loved to have seen the original! What is it with the French burning their heritage every few decades?
The main salon seen in the image above and below is the center of the river facade, obviously with water views.
The image below taken after the Commune shows the burned shell. In the background you can see the opulent Palais d'Orsay which was also burned during the Commune and eventually replaced with the train station which now houses the famous art museum.  The burned palace sat unused for 30 years, a daily reminder of the civil war.
The Hotel de Salm may be relatively obscure to the common tourist but has inspired many of our most beloved public buildings and been nearly replicated many times, most notably at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, seen below and at my previous post HERE, and also at the Chateau de Rochefort en Yvelines (a few images below).  It was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorite buildings, aspects of which he incorporated into his own home at Monticello.
The odd thing to me about the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is that the main facade of the original in Paris which faces the Seine and is most widely known, is actually the back of the museum in San Francisco which no one ever sees (below).
The museum should really provide a more landscaped courtyard to the rear of the museum to take advantage of the beautiful structure.
One really senses the similarity of the buildings most through these aerial views (the Chateau de Rochefort en Yvelines seen below).
The French book L'hotel de Salm published by Monelle Hayot further details the existing building and opulent interiors should you be interested.
Most images are not my own.  To see accreditation please refer to the image file names.

Nestled into the ancient Alhambra is the Palace of Charles V which dates to the early 16th century Renaissance. This palace was modeled on ancient Roman architecture which was heavily influential at the time period. Later these Renaissance examples would come to rule and guide Classical architecture.
Lets start outside as that's what one encounters first.  The strong rusticated base exudes strength but instead of small openings as in a fortress the palace is flooded with large windows and natural light. Fortification is not the primary goal here.
 I love the ornate bronze rings that line the lower level. Notice the recent restoration to the stonework with the new stone crisp and clean leaving the weathered stone alone (the way it should be!).
Once inside the gardens make a complete 180. When in Rome....or Granada in this case.....cooling water features are the focus of the gardens. The gardens were actually already in place when the palace was built having been started in the 14th century (the Palacio de Generalife). They were later restored in the 1930s to their current day appearance.
Architect Pedro Machuca was responsible for the building of the Renaissance palace which took over 20 years.
 The enormous round interior colonnaded patio is what really impresses me.
 Notice the detailed stone work on the interior face of the wall and the beautiful Ionic columns.

 In this cold winter weather here in Washington these gardens are speaking to me!
 Symmetry, balance, and simplicity are key here.
 The gardens terrace down the steep hillsides taking advantage of the view.
Thanks as always to my Australian Penpal for providing us with this inspiration!