Glossary:
Words from art, architecture, interior, and landscape design
Arcade
A covered passageway, often
a series of arches on columns. At Longue Vue House and Gardens, arcades connect
various buildings, such as the main house with the Whim House and
the Playhouse. The arcades allow the passageways to be protected from
rain and direct sun, while retaining the advantages of an outdoor
space.
Arch
A curved structure, usually made of wedge-shaped stones (voussoirs), which spans an opening. A flat arch has little or no curve. The arcades at Longue Vue House and Gardens
have flat arches.
Architect
A person whose job is to design
and draw up plans for a building and to supervise the construction
of a building. Often an architectural firm employing several architects
is referred to as the "architect" of a building. Sometimes,
architects specialize in a particular type of building or phase of
a building project. On the Longue Vue II project, the architects William
and Geoffrey Platt, who more often designed commercial and industrial
buildings, applied similar technologies from those building types
to the residential building type here. It is believed that Ellen Biddle Shipman, landscape architect
and interior designer to Longue Vue, was the principal designer for
the entire site, overseeing the Platt brothers, staff from her office,
and the general contractor.
Architecture
1.)
The art and science of designing and erecting buildings.
2.)
Buildings and other large structures: the low, brick-and-adobe
architecture of the Southwest.
3.)
A style and method of design and construction: Byzantine
architecture.
4.)
Orderly arrangement of parts; structure: the architecture
of the federal bureaucracy; the architecture of a novel.
5.)
Computer Science. The overall design or structure
of a computer system, including the hardware and the software required
to run it, especially the internal structure of the microprocessor.
Art
1.) Human effort
to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.
2.)
a.
The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms,
movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of
beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic
or plastic medium.
b.
The study of these activities.
c.
The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered
as a group.
3.) High quality
of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic
value.
4.) A field or category
of art, such as music, ballet, or literature.
Axis
An imaginary straight
line that indicates movement and the direction of movement. Also, especially in architecture, an imaginary
straight line about which a work, parts of a work, or a group of works
are visually or structurally arranged. Plural: axes. The
major axes of Longue Vue House and Gardens are the North-South axis
and the East-West axis. The
East-West axis divides the Southern half of the site, which is devoted
to rooms for gathering and entertainment and the gardens, from the
Northern half of the site, which is devoted to service spaces like
the stair, the elevator, the kitchen and pantry, and the garages. The North-South axis connects the two monumental points of
the loggia and the house stair along the dramatic Spanish Court (garden).
Bay window
A window, curving
or projecting out from a building and usually rising from the ground. The bay window at Longue Vue House and
Gardens literally rises from the ground, as it is detailed to mechanically
descend into and rise from the basement.
Chaise-longue
A reclining chair
with a long seat that supports that outstretched legs. Edith Stern had a chaise-longue at the foot of her master bed
at Longue Vue House and Gardens. Other chaise-longues can also be found around the gardens.
Chinoiserie
A Western style of
architecture and decoration utilizing Chinese elements. This style was very popular in the eighteenth
century and has become a classic in interior design. The Dining Room at Longue Vue House and
Gardens is considered to be of the chinoiserie style, illustrated
through the use of Chinese rice paper on the walls and displaying
china collections in the niches.
COLONADE
A series of columns
set at regular intervals and usually supporting the base of a roof
structure. Breezeways between the main house and the Play House and
Whim House are examples of colonnades at Longue Vue.
COLUMN
A cylindrical, vertical
support, usually tapering upward and made either in one piece (monolithic) or of shorter cylindrical
pieces the full diameter of the column (drums). In Classical architecture a column consists of a base,
a shaft, and a capital. See also order. The
columns at Longue Vue House and Gardens are of the Doric order.
Client
The party for which
professional services are rendered; a customer or patron. Edgar and Edith Stern were the clients
for Longue Vue House and Gardens.
Composition
The combining of
distinct parts or elements to form a whole; a work of music, literature,
or art, or its structure or organization. Longue Vue House and Gardens is a classical composition. Similarly, pieces of art and design within the house are compositions,
such as Landings, a reproduction of which hangs in the Blue Room,
or the papier mache chair in the Ladies Reception Room.
Contour
The outline and other
visible edges of a mass, figure, or object.
Decoupage
The technique of decorating surfaces by adhering cutouts, most commonly
of paper, and then coating with one or more coats of a transparent
(or translucent) finish, usually a lacquer or varnish. Decoupage was very popular in the Victorian era (1840-1900). The short hallway that connects the Upper
Hall with the Sleeping Porch exhibits decoupage detail on the storage
doors.
Estate
A landed property, usually of considerable size. The Longue Vue House and Gardens estate
is 8 acres.
FACADE
The face of a building,
especially the principle face. The principle (West) facade and South facade of Longue Vue
House and Gardens were modeled after the LeCarpentier-Beauregard House
(now the Beauregard-Keyes House) in the Vieux Carre. The East facade was inspired by the plantation Shadows on the
Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana.
Faux bois
False wood graining,
a centuries old craft that originated in China. At Longue Vue House and Gardens, faux bois technique was used
in Edgar, Jr.'s Bedroom.
FRIEZE
In a Classical order,
the middle horizontal division of an entablature. It is often decorated with sculpture. Also, an elevated, horizontal decorative
band on a wall.
General Contractor
The contractor is responsible
for turning an architect's design into buildings and commits to a
particular price for the work and hires the workforce, contracting
out such specialist work as needed. The General Contractor for Longue Vue House and Gardens was
John Mooring.
GREEK REVIVAL STYLE
Dominant from about
1830-1860 in American Architecture, characterized by gabled or hipped
roof of low pitch; cornice line of
main roof and porch roofs emphasized with wide band of trim (this
represents the classical entablature and is usually divided into two parts: the frieze above and architrave below); most have porticoes (either entry or full-width) supported by prominent square or rounded columns, typically of Doric style, but also Ionic and Corinthian; front door surrounded by narrow sidelights and a rectangular line
of transom lights
above, door and lights usually incorporated into more elaborate door
surround; window sashes most commonly with six-pane glazing; small
frieze-band windows, set into the wide trim beneath the cornice, are
frequent. These are often covered with an iron or wooden grate fashioned
into a decorative Greek pattern.
human-scaled
Refers to a building whose
size-in terms of doors, windows, ceiling height, relates closely to
that of the size of a human. A human-scaled building is the opposite
of a building that is monumental in scale. Longue Vue House and Gardens
has both human-scaled and monumental spaces.
Kinetic
Expressing movement. In art,
kinetic refers to sculpture that moves, such as a mobile. The Lin Emery aqua-mobile in the Spanish
Court at Longue Vue House and Gardens is an example of kinetic art.
KNOT
GARGEN
A small, rectangular garden that consists of an intricate, geometric pattern,
or knot, laid out in dwarf plants such as boxwood or rosemary. There are several knot gardens in the
Spanish Court of Longue Vue House and Gardens.
Loggia
A roofed walkway open on one or more sides, sometimes with pillars. It may also be a separate structure, usually
in a garden. The Spanish
Court at Longue Vue House and Gardens ends with a loggia furnished
with custom-designed furniture.
LOUVER
A window furnished with a series of sloping slats arranged so as to
admit light and to control light intensity. The vernacular use of shutters in New Orleans and Louisiana
exhibits such environmental control. In particular, louvers are used in the East facade and in the
porticoes at Longue Vue House and Gardens.
Medallion
A relief sculpture
resembling a medal, usually of circular or oval design, used as a
decoration. The medallions
at Longue Vue House and Gardens are crafted from plaster and are continuous
with the ceiling material.
Millefiore
From the Italian,
meaning "Thousand flowers," millefiore are glass rods, typically
one foot in length, each with a diameter of about 3 millimeters. From the outside, they appear to be simple glass canes, but
when seen in cross-section, each piece reveals a multicolored radial
design. Blown-glass doorknobs
with millefiore glass canes can be seen in the Powder Room and in
Editors Bath and Dressing Room.
MOLDING
A contoured decorative
band applied to a wall surface or to the edge of a building part.
Niche
A recess in a wall,
especially for the display of a statue, bust, vase, or other standing
ornament. Notable niches
can be found in the entry vestibule at Longue Vue House and Gardens. These niches display statues and recessed
accent lighting.
Optic
Of or relating to
sight; visual. In the
case of Longue Vue House and Gardens art collection, "Op Art"
on refers to the art that "tricks" the eye through optical
illusion.
PALLADIAN
(style/ plan)
Largely an English
development of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Palladian
architecture is characterized by symmetry and by elaborated adaptation
of classical architectural elements. The plan of Longue Vue House and Gardens has many Palladian
elements, although it is not a pure example.
Pan
A Greek god, who
is typically pictured with the body of a small man and the hind legs
of a goat and plays the pan flute. A statue of Pan can be found in the Pan Garden, outside the bay window of
the Dining Room, at Longue Vue House and Gardens.
Papier machE
A material, made
from paper pulp or shreds of paper mixed with resin, wallpaper paste,
or flour and water, which can be molded or modeled into various shapes
when wet and becomes hard and suitable for painting and varnishing
when dry. The black chair in the Ladies Reception Room at Longue Vue
House and Gardens is papier mache over a wood frame with mother-of-pearl
inlay work. Mardi Gras
floats are a popular way papier mache technique is used in the New
Orleans area.
PARTERRE
A flower garden with
beds and paths designed to form a pattern, like an outdoor carpet;
literally "on the ground" in French. At Longue Vue House and Gardens, parterre gardens can be found
in the Spanish Court.
PEDIMENT
Originally the triangular
gable end of an ancient Greek or Roman temple; later, any similar
crowning feature over a door or window.
period
rooms
A type of gallery where objects are displayed in a room whose floor
coverings, wall finishes, and furniture provide a setting related
to the period of the objects. The most dramatic period room at Longue Vue House and Gardens
is the Back Porch/ Art Gallery.
PORTICO
A covered entranceway
or porch with columns on one or more sides. At Longue Vue House and Gardens, porticoes connect the main
house with the Whim House and the Playhouse.
Post-and-lintel
A construction system
using vertical supports (posts) spanned by horizontal beams (also
called lintels). Clear
post-and-lintel structures at Longue Vue House and Gardens can be
seen in the porticoes and in the loggia in the Spanish Court (garden).
site
The place where a structure, or group of structures, was, is, or is to
be located. The site
called Longue Vue House and Gardens is 8 acres and contains 10 separate buildings.
Site-specific work of art
Refers to a work of art created
for a particular site, and that the artist's inspiration and design
for the piece was drawn from the site itself. Longue Vue House and Gardens is a site-specific work of art,
as are other smaller pieces on the site, such as the Lin Emery kinetic
aqua-mobile (1974) in the Spanish Court.
Stenciling
A design made by
forcing ink or paint through a hard paper cutout design template that
produces a print on a flat surface under the design. The stenciling on the walls of the Sleeping Porch at Longue
Vue House and Gardens was probably from a kit sold by Ward & Rome
of New York, but was installed by Ellen Biddle Chicanos office. The stenciling detail on the floor was Pennsylvania Dutch inspired.
subcontractor
The specialists hired by the contractor to build a building, i.e.
steel workers, concrete pourers, carpenters, and plumbers. At Longue Vue House and Gardens, the millwork was accomplished
by Waddleton & Sons, of Bronsville, New York.
TERRACE
A level embankment
top, roof, or raised platform adjoining a building, often paved or
landscape for leisure use, with plants, statuary, etc.
Tete-a-tete
From French, literally
Bowhead to head ." A French-style
tete-a-tete chair can be found in the Back Porch/ Art Gallery at Longue
Vue House and Gardens.
topography
The surface features of a region, including its elevation, rivers,
and lakes.
Transom
A horizontal bar
across a window; or a small, hinged window above a door or another
window.
The following resources
were used for help in compiling these definitions:
Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings
and Rituals. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
