Architect's Toolbox: A Room Within a Room
Architects and designers sometimes create a room within a room to reduce
the scale and provide a more intimate setting — nesting a space within a
space, a little like Shaker nesting boxes and Russian matryoshka dolls.
The grandest example of all is St. Peter's baldachin at the Vatican. Here Bernini's sculptural room sits within the great space of the cathedral, breaking down the vastness of the space while providing the stage for religious activities. Open on all sides and covered, the baldachin's four columns and roof define a most intimate and sacred of spaces.
So the next time you get under the covers of your four-poster bed or engage in a conversation in an inglenook by the fire, remember that you're enjoying the type of space architects have been creating for centuries.
A four-poster bed can be a simple and contemporary design and still create an intimate space in a large room.
A contemporary interpretation of the idea has the bed in a room defined by sheer fabric hanging from a raised ceiling.
A large living area can be enriched by a smaller room within. While the piano sits in the larger volume space, columns and a change in ceiling height create a more intimate conversation area.
Using a screen of columns at the side of a room creates an intimate place to read while maintaining connection to the larger room.
Browse for more photos here.
The grandest example of all is St. Peter's baldachin at the Vatican. Here Bernini's sculptural room sits within the great space of the cathedral, breaking down the vastness of the space while providing the stage for religious activities. Open on all sides and covered, the baldachin's four columns and roof define a most intimate and sacred of spaces.
So the next time you get under the covers of your four-poster bed or engage in a conversation in an inglenook by the fire, remember that you're enjoying the type of space architects have been creating for centuries.
A four-poster bed can be a simple and contemporary design and still create an intimate space in a large room.
A contemporary interpretation of the idea has the bed in a room defined by sheer fabric hanging from a raised ceiling.
A large living area can be enriched by a smaller room within. While the piano sits in the larger volume space, columns and a change in ceiling height create a more intimate conversation area.
Using a screen of columns at the side of a room creates an intimate place to read while maintaining connection to the larger room.
Browse for more photos here.
