Neues Palais, Potsdam

Under heavy renovation and possibly finished by 2016, The Neues Palais (or new palace) in Potsdam is one of the more impressive structures in the area. Parts of Potsdam are basically a suburb of immense palaces, now nearly all museums.  There are many excellent books available on the many palaces and the area itself.

The Neues Palais wasn't meant as a home for the King when it was completed in 1769 but rather as official state apartments for entertaining other royals and ambassadors. Therefore it was built to impress and not necessarily be very homey for the monarch who retained a small apartment in the palace.

Opposite the palace (above) are the Communs (seen below), creating an entry courtyard. The Communs held the kitchens, service spaces, and offices for the palace - a sort of 'downstairs' if you will. The king had underground passages built connect the Palais to the Communs so servants could get between the buildings unseen but also undeterred by weather.

The ornate interiors are astounding. Designed in the Baroque style favored by the king they're beginning to show traces of upcoming Neoclassicism. Frederick the Great didn't like the strict lines of Neoclassicism so you have to look hard though!

The palace was originally designed by Johann Gottfried Buring.  Buring had completed other buildings in Potsdam for the king but was fired from the job after it was started after disagreements on the palace facade. Perhaps Buring wanted to bring in the 'new' Neoclassicm.

 I don't know, I think some of the rooms look pretty Neoclassical to me, wouldn't you agree? They could have been remodeled at a later date.

 The floors in the palace are stunning. The parquet floor above looks absolutely modern to my eyes.

 Carl von Gontard took over construction of the palace after Buring's dismissal.

 The salon above is really interesting -I love how the treatment continues to the ceiling.

Almost a sort of garden room. Also notice the modern light fixtures which are hung holding all of the modern necessities like security.

While these modern fixtures might seem strange to some, I like that they don't damage any of the delicate walls and finishes and stand separate and discreet as their own 'thing'. Europeans do this exceptionally well.

 More gorgeous parquet floors, almost like fine furniture.

 After awhile all of these grand rooms start to look the same; gold, gold, and more gold.

 I think we need to bring back the use of bed niches.

I imagine particularly in the 18th century Germany the alcoves felt really cozy and warm before central heating.

 More gorgeous painted paneling - chinoiserie here. No gold here!

The palace was later used by successive monarchs as a full time residence and it was therefore renovated with modern conveniences. I love the Victorian heat grate above.

But not all of the rooms are gold. A number of rooms are silver gilded like the bedroom below. I suppose the silver would reflect candlelight just as well if not better than the gold gilding.

As always thanks so much to my Australian penpal Neil for supplying us with these gorgeous images from his travels. If you find yourself in Berlin a visit out to Potsdam is really heavily encouraged: read more about visiting Potsdam palaces here.

Glamorgan Castle, Alliance Ohio

 image by don0626 on Flickr

One of my favorite parts of traveling, particularly in the northeast and midwest, is that you never know what you may stumble upon house-wise. Every city or town no matter the size has its area of inspiring houses.

Recently I was in Alliance, Ohio, and stumbled upon a castle. The castle seen here isn't in Wales or Scotland this is small town America!

Glamorgan Castle was built in 1904 by Cleveland architect Willard Hirsh for the Morgan family. Col. Morgan sent Hirsh to travel Wales and study medieval castles to come up with an original design for the family. I wish I could find a client like that!

I was recently reading about porte cocheres on Things that Inspire and this is an impressive example she could have added to her post!

I've never seen such a large porte cochere before, particularly one with a flight of steps up to the front door.

Don't let the scale fool you -this front door is massive.

This enormous ornate 'door knocker' actually isn't a knocker at all but merely decorative. I suppose with a butler in residence a knocker wasn't necessary.

The walls are built of a Vermont marble and the tiles appear to be Ludowici clay tiles which are still manufactured in nearby Ohio.

The upkeep on the property is phenomenal. For the past 20 years the castle has been home to the local Alliance school district. Tours are given on Fridays but unfortunately I just missed it.

The details were all astounding. Not only for their quality (and that they still exist) but also for shear scale.

 These large marble scuppers are found all over the house; probably a copy of medieval originals.

I imagine that the master bedroom is high in the main tower;  Thats where I'd want mine!

 The front door leads one through an enclosed loggia with a crest of the family over the entrance.

These large patinated bronze light posts may be missing their original globes (and sport much too small replacements) but are still impressive.

Based on what I could find online the interior is sadly un-inspired if grand and well preserved. No quirky 'castle' influence mars the period 1905 interiors unlike at Doylestown PA at Mercer and Fonthill.

As an example of the good job that Alliance is doing on preservation the worn marble steps on the kitchen side entrance have been replaced with identical new white marble slabs; Heart warming attention to detail! According to their website they are trying to raise money for the rewiring of original light fixtures. This is the kind of preservation I like to see!

If you find yourself passing through Ohio don't forget to schedule a trip to Glamorgan Castle!

Schwetzingen bathhouse -a private Italian Villa

The Schloss Schwetzingen which I mentioned last week (the Temple of Apollo) was essentially a very public space, even in the 18th century before becoming the even more public museum it is today. The elector, in order to get away from 'court life' and from the general public which were allowed into the grounds, built the Badehaus (bathhouse) as a private refuge from what was essentially his 'work'.  Imagine having to live at your office!

Built in the style of an Italian Villa the bathhouse featured not only a small sauna area but also a bedroom & sitting room - a sort of Petit Trianon at Schwetzingen!

While strictly classical I love the sense of playfulness found throughout the details. The round entrance hall is stunning.

Directly off the entry hall is the bath -thats what the building is for afterall!  You may recognize the spaces as they were featured in the May 2009 issue of World of Interiors Magazine (one of my favorites).

You also will catch a rare glimpse of my Australian Penpal in the mirrored door who is kind enough to always share his travel pictures with us here on ArchitectDesign!

Rather than a large palatial room the bedroom is quite residential, even featuring a now out-dated twin sized bed. Seriously - when was the last time you slept in a twin bed? Even kids seem to have bigger beds these days!

Don't miss the chamber pot pulled out of its' little closet with a porthole window for ventilation. Also the Wedgwood vases are unusual to spot in Germany rather than Meissen or another German porcelain.

The room above features a more typical German porcelain chandelier (Dresden or Meissen perhaps?) along with a number of very German looking figurines on the mantelpiece. I hope you enjoyed this very private look at the Schwetzingen Badehaus!

Inside the Villa della Regina; an 18th century chinoiserie fantasy

Located high in the hills above Turin, Italy, and surrounded by luscious Italianate gardens is the royal Savoy palace known as the "Villa della Regina".  Despite damage from WWII and years of neglect the villa has remained a fantastic example of the exotic 18th century chinoiserie style.

The building has been the property of the country since 1994 and maintenance is directly funded by visitors ( so make sure to visit! ). The views of Turin alone would be worth the trip.

Above you can see the highly terraced gardens with the house nestled into the hillside creating a protected entry court.

 The views down to Turin are stunning!

 I love these highly terraced, architectural gardens.

 The fountain at the entrance is large enough to be a pool!

 The fountain above is stunning even when not running.

 This teahouse terminates the view up the hillside.

The real thing to see here however are the interiors, preserved from the 18th century in all of their exotic-ness.

 The boiseries in many of the rooms contain panels of chinoiserie wallpaper.

 The details are gorgeous

 and the scenes intriguing.

Very few examples of the original furniture exist but the above cabinet gives one a taste of what once was.

 The room above has a bit of everything: rococo, chinoserie, Pompeian scenes, etc.

In the above enfilade you can tell just how big this place is although not all of the rooms retain their original decoration.

The rooms which still boast their frescoes make up for it though. Have you ever seen anything so fanciful?

The ceilings in most cases are more interesting than the walls.  Let this be a lesson to all of us; no more boring white ceilings!

 You almost need a microscope to take in all of the detail.

Some of the rooms have lost their original decoration but retain the plasterwork like above for a more modern look.

Comparing the same room's ceiling from 2 different angles shows one what a difference the decoration makes.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the Villa della Regina and found something to inspire you! Thanks again to my Penpal for sharing these gorgeous images. As always click on the photos to view in greater detail.