1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826189503321

Autore

Porter Bernard

Titolo

Battle of the styles : society, culture and the design of the new Foreign Office, 1855-1861 / / Bernard Porter

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, [England] : , : Continuum, , 2011

©2011

ISBN

1-283-27209-1

9786613272096

1-4411-6872-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (257 p.)

Disciplina

720.9421

Soggetti

London (England) Buildings, structures, etc

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

CONTENTS; Illustrations; Preface; 1 The Battle Joined; 2 A Hybrid Society; 3 Early Skirmishes; 4 A Grand and National Work; 5 Worthy of our Imperial City; 6 The Lamp of Morality; 7 An Architecture for our Age; 8 Not the Most Interesting Public Question of the Day; 9 A Change for the Worse

Sommario/riassunto

The present-day Foreign Office in Whitehall is an imposing building whose genesis is bizarre. In 1857 a competition was held to pick an architect, which provoked a huge row between the rival 'Classical' and 'Gothic' schools, which a 'Goth' (George Gilbert Scott) won - but was then forced to re-design in Classical. The circumstances surrounding this fiasco furnish the starting-point for this book; which then goes on to analyse the debate that preceded this decision, for the light it sheds on the complex nature of British culture and society then. Among issues raise were contemporary and conflic