Adventures with Architecture: Somerset House

Hello All!

First and foremost, I just found this out maybe 30 seconds ago: series 3 of BBC's Sherlock (aka the BEST show you'll ever watch .... ever) will be aired in the US beginning January 19th!!  You're welcome.

Now for the afterthought of the post.  Mondays this half of the semester are my architecture class and field trip days, so you can expect lots of cool looking buildings in future posts.

A few centuries ago, the River Thames used to be much wider than it is today, which is why many of the older buildings near the Thames have wide entrances - they were originally designed to receive visitors arriving by boat.  It was even wide enough to comfortably hold the whole of the Royal Navy.  Now, the Thames is much narrower and roads now exist along its edges, in front of the aforementioned buildings.  On Monday we visited the Somerset House, London's first general office building for the various departments of the government, which means some parts of Somerset are much different than others.  Because many different kinds of people were going to occupy the space, the architect of the Somerset House designed almost a small city.  Each department occupied a vertical section of the building.  It is a beautiful space!

Somerset House, square floating staircase

Here is one of the many staircases in Somerset House.  This particular one is quite advanced for its time and definitely follows the form-fits-function rule.  This is called a floating staircase because its counter supports extend into the walls.  You may notice that the railings closer to the bottom are quite plain, and get fancier as it ascends.  This is very Downton Abbey-esque: evidence of upstairs/downstairs class divisions.  The railings have the fancier designs beginning at the ground floor level.

Oh, and because this absolutely matters .... we call the iron things that prevent you from falling over the edge of the stairs "railings," but here they call them "balustrades" because "railings" are what enclose yards and parks.  To summarize (British to American), railings are fences, and balustrades are railings.

Somerset House, circular floating staircase

This staircase is also floating, but is WAY cooler than the previous one, and is by far the greatest design in the entire Somerset House!  Not only does it spiral up a rounded space, but it also sweeps through the middle of the space (pictured) and splits at the bottom.  Also, its angle of ascension is not the same all the way up (steeper in some parts than others), but it maintains such an elegant design that it's actually hard to tell without a second look.

The woman in the red pants (or trousers) is my professor ... I know, she looks like one of us.  She's actually really cool and knows a lot about the evolution of London's architecture!

The other landmark of the Somerset House is its courtyard.  The architect specifically noted that there should never be any trees planted in that space because they would obstruct the effect of the courtyard.  Scroll down to see what he meant:

Interior North-Facing side of Somerset House

I will try my best to orient you in this courtyard, but first of all, how awesome is this fountain?!  The jets of water change heights every so often.  On warmer days I'm sure people run through this all the time.

The North side of the courtyard: If you walk through the building, under the dome, you will find yourself on a balcony overlooking a busy road (The Strand) and the Thames.  Two floors beneath that that balcony is where boats would have arrived.

Interior South-Facing Entrance of Somerset House

The South side of the courtyard: If you walk straight through those two arches, you will be on street/ground level and at the Main Entrance of the Somerset House.  If you look down the street to the left, you will be able to spot Horatio Nelson on top of his obelisk at Trafalgar Square, and if you look in the opposite direction, you will have a clear view of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral (it's those protected views I mentioned WAY back in September).

While Somerset House is still the home of many government departments and agencies, others have moved elsewhere, which has left space for temporary and permanent galleries.

Our last stop was the British Museum.  Unfortunately, you will have to wait to hear about what you can see there because (a) we only went in to see the Elgin Marbles (originally affixed to the Parthenon in Athens) and (b) I am saving the museum for when my family meets me here in December.  But, I can tell you that the British Museum houses the famous Rosetta Stone, and the Museum's inner Reading Room is where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital.

The British Museum

My professor volunteered my camera for this class photo in front of the British Museum, an excellent example of neo-classical architecture.

Vintage Mini

I've been waiting FOREVER to see one of these vintage Minis because they are so small and look like toy cars!  You should see how they zip around this city!  This one was the first I saw parked.

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading!