Design Lessons from Sir John Soane

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: An architect's home is a special place because it gives the architect the opportunity to experiment and develop ideas. Sir John Soane (1753–1837) worked on his home for forty–five years. Because it represents design ideas over this long period, the home can be studied for its content rather than its style. Soane's ideas and their roots, the role of drawing in the design process, and the cultural and aesthetic themes that influenced his work provide a way to discuss design ideas. RESEARCH DESIGN: The research was conducted on site at Soane's London home on Lincoln's Inn Fields with its vast collection of drawings and historical documents. The research was structured around a graduate history and theory program in London which focused on historiography. ANALYSIS: The methodology was to find reasons for Soane's design decisions through similarities and derivations in design and to make analytical and objective conclusions, especially in Soane's settings and narratives. KEY FINDINGS: There are three major lessons to be learned from Soane. First, he used the past as a guide to create original exteriors and interiors. Second, drawing was important for both experimentation and documentation in his design process. The third and most interesting lesson deals with the period's aesthetic and cultural themes. These themes give a richer and a more meaningful understanding to the man and his architecture such as his use of light and the sublime and his spatial interpretations of the picturesque, classicism, and primitivism. CONCLUSION: Content, not style, is the best approach in discussing Soane. Soane can be useful as a model in the classroom in discussing others who are more theoretical and for students in their search for role models or heroes.