As well as practicing as an architect, Boyle became a noted architectural historian and collector, owning several original Palladio drawings, which by Boyle’s time were already some 200 years old. To develop his craft, he toured Europe studying architecture and when he visited the Veneto region he carried with him a copy of Palladio’s “Four Books”. Richard Boyle (1694-1753) was the the 3 rd Earl of Burlington and is recounted as the “the architect Earl”. Boyle’s rendering of his design for Burlington House, Piccadilly. But two architectural giants who embraced Palladian design principals stood out – An 18 th century Earl, and a president of the United States. The work of numerous big hitters in architecture was displayed including Inigo Jones and Terry Quinlan. This enlightening and very well yet simply curated display of drawings and models spanned from Palladio’s hand to today’s architects who still embrace Palladio’s philosophy.
Whilst it has unfortunately just finished, the RIBA ran an exhibition of Palladio’s work, and his subsequent influence, at its London headquarters called PALLADIAN DESIGN: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UNEXPECTED. An extract from one of Palladio’s “Four Books”. Copious use of mathematical proportions (after Vitruvius) porticos, colonnades, loggia, and of course the Venetian window. In summary, Palladian architecture is characterised by symmetry and order.
It was over 100 years before the books were first translated into English. This body of work, first published in Italian in 1570, comprises guidelines, rules, design solutions, classical proportions, and everything else that design practitioners need to deliver the style that is has been known for 300 years or more as “Palladian”. Palladio shared his philosophy not only by his practice and prolific design and construction during his lifetime, but also by writing and publishing his seminal work called I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture). His influence and his work can still be seen today in our historic buildings, and 21 st century design solutions around the world. Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) was a Venetian architect whose design philosophy summarised much of the worthy architecture that had gone on before his time, particularly Greek and Roman, and set the standard for most of the architecture that followed.