The Transformation of Classical Order in John Soane’s Architecture

The article provides a new approach to study the oeuvre of an architect-neoclassicist Sir John Soane. This approach is concerned to an original interpretation of architectural order by Soane. Studying the metamorphosis of classical order in Soane’s architecture can help to understand the evolution and particularity of Soane’s individual style and also to define the specific place of this style in the neo-classicist movement. The article describes the development of the architectural order in England (since the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century) and some specific features of the John Soane’s approach to the application of the architectural order system. The author analyzes different ways of interpretation of the order decoration in the work of John Soane, referring to such buildings as the John Soane House in London (the architect’s Museum now), the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Bank of England, which was heavily rebuilt in the 20th century, but well-known in its original appearance — from drawings, photographs and descriptions. Other buildings of Soane are also examined in the article. The research is based on two methods — stylistic analysis (of particular buildings and its details) and analysis of historic and cultural aspects of Soane’s work (for better understanding of its theoretical and practical origins and the very reason of its genesis). The preliminary results of the research show that the transformation of classical order’s key elements is going hand in hand with the development of two different phenomena — the style of Soane itself and the situation in European culture of the second part of the 18th century when some significant movements (Neo-classicism, Gothic Revival, etc.) were developing, intersecting and interchanging with one another.