Castle Tucker (1807), Maine, U.S.A.
It is always a seminal moment in any Cornell architect’s education when some careless professor suggests he or she first look at Colin Rowe’s “Mathematics Of The Ideal Villa”. This collection of essays, groundbreaking in its day, found that the same mathematical laws and proportions which governed the designs of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio are also the dynamo hidden in the plans and elevations of the great Modernist, Le Corbusier. The ardent traditionalist begins to see elegance of line, form, and volume in even the most Modern elevations and plans.
Villa Schwob (1916), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
I recently had a Colin Rowe moment when a friend who directs programs for “Historic New England“ sent me a link to their property, Castle Tucker (1807) , in Maine. I was struck by its similarity to Le Corbusier’s Swiss Villa Scwob (1916); one of that architect’s earliest residential commissions. Both residences are essentially cubes fronted by double-height studio windows. Apsidal volumes swell on either side of the central cube in each instance, creating a dynamic Greek Cross floor plan that strongly registers on the exterior. The restrained ornamentation on the early Nineteenth Century American villa compares favorably to the relatively exuberant (for Le Corbusier) ornament employed in the Villa Schwob. In many ways, the older house looks more “Modern” than the Modernist masterpiece. In fact, I would guess that if Corb had been aware of the historic Castle Tucker he would have viewed it as a promising early shoot of American proto-Modernism, struck down by the succeeding century of mass produced historical ornament.
Striking similarites (and I’d like one of each, please).
Hmm…I dunno, I continue to think the Emperor is essentially naked with the Great Corb – I did my highschool summer at Cornell and then lived four years working in the Carpenter Center, which is only in the least bit well-crafted because of Sert (who cared) being the executive architect and LeMessurier doing the engineering…Corbusier (philistine-me alert!) has always just struck me as a bloody-minded Frog who was good with a slogan and a sneer. MANY of his contemporaries produced far finer and subtler buildings, but his manifesto continues, inexplicably, to appeal. I kinda like the Villa Schwob, but as an oddity and for its relative traditionalism and quality of craft compared to his later work; Castle Tucker is by far the finer and more subtle and humanist building, to my mind. No purist-Trad sort here at all – I do love the strength of the Brutalism that The Crow’s latter-day work helped inspire, but in the hands of its real masters: Atelier 5, Paul Rudolph, Kallmann-McKinnell, and to some extent I.M. Pei. I can’t imagine idolizing an architect who seemingly cared not a whit for the sensual and material qualities of his buildings (whereas Pei’s or Rudolph’s concrete, say what ye will…WOW!).
The architecture of Castle Tucker is a stunning example of what was originally a Regency design with later additions so common to many houses in New England. Two hundred and five years after it was built, this home retains its traditional feel but yet still looks fresh and contemporary. Its use of double height windows to bring the northern light of Maine into the house is both functional and beautiful.
The Regency Style, also known as the “Federal Style” in the United States, is a stripped-down classicism relying on clean surfaces, elegant proportions, and harmonious massing, rather than profusion of ornament, for its chief aesthetic effects. Its lightness and grace contrasts nicely with the more massive “masculine” detailing of the earlier Georgian period. “Regency Modern” is a comfortable style that takes cues from both early Nineteenth Century and Mid-Twentieth Century ideas of calm simplicity in ornament and spacial organization. I think it should see more use by contemporary architects who strive to strike a balance between traditional forms and modern lifestyles.