Architecture and Allegory, A Tale of Three Sites

Lau, C. 2021. Architecture and Allegory, A Tale of Three Sites. 15th European Architectural Envisioning Association (EAEA) International Conference, Envisioning Architectural Narratives . Online, organised by the University of Huddersfield 01 - 03 Oct 2021 University of Huddersfield.

TitleArchitecture and Allegory, A Tale of Three Sites
AuthorsLau, C.
TypeConference paper
Abstract

Architectural narratives in this paper are used as means to interpret buildings and spatially reinterpret research material. History and/or historical events are not regarded as passive sources of information but are actively prescribed within current architectural sites and reworked as design proposals. Hence, events that would otherwise be consigned to memory or totally forgotten are retold and given new readings and meanings. These discussions concern the Ditchley Portrait, c.1592, and the National Portrait Gallery, London where this portrait of Queen Elizabeth I is exhibited. The three sites of interest are Ditchley Manor and Woodstock Palace , the original Gallery designed by Ewan Christian in 1896 and the outcomes of the major overhaul by Dixon Jones Architects in 2000.

The narrative and analysis of the first site starts with the stories of and in the Portrait, a painting that is embedded with symbols, adhere to Elizabethan ideas of allegory and the notion of ‘lost sense of sight’. These compositional techniques also allude to the Accession Day Tilts, a major sixteenth-century event that is tightly intertwined with the elaborate festivities concerning the inception of the Portrait. This study is essential for the reconstruction of the Manor and Palace as neither building survives, and the historical site confines are not definite. In this instance, the notion of history as manifested by means of associated memories and intangible allegorical narratives, are critical to the construction of the architectural narrative.

The next site regards Christian’s 1896 design that enabled the east wing of the Gallery to appear as integral with the National Gallery’s short façade. Visual deception was adopted as a design strategy to address the stipulated requirements through continuing the language of the first three corner windows of the National Gallery at the junction of Trafalgar Square and St Martin’s Place.

A century later, similar negotiations with the National Gallery resulted in another design solution that also concerned windows, this time to accommodate the ‘right of light’ easement. The ensuing NPG 2000 project was essentially a triple volume block that was inserted into the shared courtyard between both Galleries in exchange for the aforementioned east wing, and necessitated the bricking up of the original courtyard windows for protection due to conservation and planning laws. Hence this material feature of history is completely hidden from the views and knowledge of the current visitors. Consequently, the Ditchley Portrait is exhibited in the new NPG 2000 Tudor Gallery.

These design strategies and the notion of sites within sites demonstrate that the intertwined architectural narratives can be further devised as dialogues with the users to enhance the reading and experiential qualities of the works. Hence the idea of allegory and term ‘lost sense of sight’ can be simultaneously applied to the analysis and reading of all these sites and suitably demonstrate the term ‘layers of meaning’. The narratives serve to confront, place and integrate chronological shifts to initiate the notion of multiple interpretations in the meaning, reading and experience of these sites. The different aspects in terms of historical events, site features, and the allusion of these events and features to other narratives in relation to the contexts provide a landscape of different readings that not only contribute to their presence and historical significance, but further reveal different manners of envisioning architectural narratives.

KeywordsNational Portrait Gallery, London; Ditchley Portrait; History; Elizabethan Allegory; Allusion; ‘Lost Sense of Sight’; Issues of Site; Layers of Meaning
Year2021
Conference15th European Architectural Envisioning Association (EAEA) International Conference, Envisioning Architectural Narratives
PublisherUniversity of Huddersfield
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Web address (URL) of conference proceedingshttps://research.hud.ac.uk/architecture/events/eaea15/
Web address (URL)https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/envisioning-architectural-narratives-monograph-of-the-15th-bienni
File

Related outputs

Rethinking the Sites of the Ditchley Portrait through Notions of Polyvocality: Drawing upon narratives of place, time and medium
Lau, C. 2023. Rethinking the Sites of the Ditchley Portrait through Notions of Polyvocality: Drawing upon narratives of place, time and medium. AMPS Proceedings Journal Series: Representing Pasts - Visioning Futures. 32, pp. 207-219.

Montage and Dialectical History: The Accession Day Tilts, Whitehall and Embodied Participation
Lau, C. 2023. Montage and Dialectical History: The Accession Day Tilts, Whitehall and Embodied Participation. AMPS Proceedings Journal Series: (In)Tangible Heritage(s). 29.2, pp. 376-384.

Rethinking the Sites of the Ditchley Portrait Through Polyvocality: Representations of place, time, scale, medium and narrative
Lau, C. 2022. Rethinking the Sites of the Ditchley Portrait Through Polyvocality: Representations of place, time, scale, medium and narrative. Architecture, Media, Polities Society (AMPS): Lived Space, Past and Present, part of the conference series on Representing Pasts-Visioning Futures. Queens University Belfast 01 - 03 Dec 2022

Montage and Dialectical History: The Accession Day Tilts, Whitehall and Embodied Participation
Lau, C. 2022. Montage and Dialectical History: The Accession Day Tilts, Whitehall and Embodied Participation. Architecture, Media, Polities Society (AMPS): (In)Tangible Heritage(s): A conference on design, culture and technology – past, present, and future. Canterbury, Kent, UK 15 - 17 Jun 2022

Architecture and Allegory, A Tale of Three Sites
Lau, C. 2021. Architecture and Allegory, A Tale of Three Sites. Monograph European Architecture Envisioning Association (EAEA)15. Envisioning Architectural Narratives. pp. 50-60. https://doi.org/10.34696/xc3n-d030

Learning from World Architecture Festival 2015: Transitional opportunities and teaching in the new normal
Lau, C. 2021. Learning from World Architecture Festival 2015: Transitional opportunities and teaching in the new normal. Charrette. 7 (1), pp. 99-124.

Archiving the Barcelona Pavilion and the Cumulative Tale
Lau, C. 2020. Archiving the Barcelona Pavilion and the Cumulative Tale. Society of the Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) Annual Symposium. online 17 Jul 2020

On-site as an Interdisciplinary Practice
Lau, C. 2020. On-site as an Interdisciplinary Practice. Il Quaderno: #ONSITE. Spring, pp. 50-57.

A contemporary reading of the Accession Day Tilts in relation to festival and the Elizabethan notion of ‘lost sense of sight’
Lau, C. 2019. A contemporary reading of the Accession Day Tilts in relation to festival and the Elizabethan notion of ‘lost sense of sight’. in: Brown, J., Frost, C. and Lucas, R. (ed.) Architecture, Festival and the City Abingdon, Oxon Routledge. pp. 35-48

Site and Science-Fiction
Lau, C. 2018. Site and Science-Fiction. 'Here East', London 10 Jul 2018

Recontextualising the Practices of Action, Wisdom and Devotion in Relation to Dialogue in Design
Lau, C. 2018. Recontextualising the Practices of Action, Wisdom and Devotion in Relation to Dialogue in Design. Il Quaderno: #MAESTRO. Spring (3), pp. 18-23.

Reading the Accession Day Tilts in relation to Festival and the Elizabethan Notion of ‘Lost Sense of Sight’
Lau, C. 2017. Reading the Accession Day Tilts in relation to Festival and the Elizabethan Notion of ‘Lost Sense of Sight’. Architecture, Festival and the City. Birmingham City University, UK 16 - 18 Nov 2017

Singapore Pte. Ltd. : A Question of Limits
Lau, C. 2017. Singapore Pte. Ltd. : A Question of Limits. Postcards from the Anthropocene . Edinburgh, Scotland 22 - 24 Jun 2017

Reading Architecture and Elizabethan Allegory in Portraiture
Lau, C. 2015. Reading Architecture and Elizabethan Allegory in Portraiture. Reading Architecture Across the Arts and Humanities (AHRC). Stirling, Scotland 05 - 06 Dec 2015

Anticipating the Unexpected - 50:50, Looking Forward, Looking Back
Lau, C. and Chee, L 2015. Anticipating the Unexpected - 50:50, Looking Forward, Looking Back. Singapore 04 - 06 Nov 2015

Design by means of archival research : exploring the notion of multiple interpretations and the proposal for another Ditchley Portrait
Lau, C. 2014. Design by means of archival research : exploring the notion of multiple interpretations and the proposal for another Ditchley Portrait. PhD thesis The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL Architecture

The Notion of Exchange and Redefining the Idea of ‘Polyport’
Lau, C. 2013. The Notion of Exchange and Redefining the Idea of ‘Polyport’. Rome Tre University, Rome 23 - 26 Oct 2013

The Reading of Landscape Narratives by means of Allegory and Elizabethan Vision
Lau, C. 2010. The Reading of Landscape Narratives by means of Allegory and Elizabethan Vision. Emerging Landscapes: Between Production and Representation: An International and Interdisciplinary Conference. School of Architecture and the Built Environment / School of Media, Arts and Design University of Westminster, London, UK 25 - 27 Jun 2010

The Tactile Window
Lau, C. 2008. The Tactile Window. Research Projects 2008. London 04 - 04 Mar 2008 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Archivist, Archaeologist, Author and the Tactile Window
Lau, C. 2007. Archivist, Archaeologist, Author and the Tactile Window. Telling Places: Narrative and Identity in Art and Architecture. London 04 - 05 Dec 2007

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/v8454/architecture-and-allegory-a-tale-of-three-sites


Share this

Usage statistics

78 total views
47 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.