The Architecture of Robert Adam (1728-1792) Robert Adam's Castle Style - Home Page Seton Castle - Interior of the House - Second Floor Home History of Seton Castle Seton Castle Exterior Seton Castle Interior Glossary Links Bibliography
	The ceiling over the stairwell is designed as a shallow vault. Positioned centrally over the stairwell is a rooflight. A landing extends around three sides of the stairwell. On the North side the space is separated and differentiated by a classical screen consisting of two Doric columns supporting an entablaure. A downstand in the ceiling vault over this entablature forms a flattened arched opening over the screen entablature. This architectural "device" is used to provide spatial differentiation between the lesser space (the stairwell and South landing and subordinate rooms, and the North side landing and bedroom suite opening off this. Within the hierarchy set up by this spatial division, the principal room is in the centre, occupying the space over the library on the first floor and dining room on the ground floor. In a sense the progression of spaces through the house can be said to culminate in the rooms beyond the screen, even though they are in classical terms attic rooms and normally of less importance. The stairwell is is open and this provides dramatic views down into the first floor living room. Stairwell Fig1. Second Floor Stairwell. View looking East. This ceiling is a shallow vault spanning East West, into which a skylight has been cut. The circulation space is divided by a classical Screen with a pair of Doric columns. This view is taken from the West end from the landing at the top of the stairwell, looking East. The landing runs around three sides of the space provding access to all the room at this level Fig 2. Stairwell Screen. View taken from the North East corner looking South West. The screen which divides the landing spatially, sets up "lesser" and "greater" spaces. The opening between the second column in this view and the wall beyond, is the entry to this more important space, the landing outside the three bedrooms on the North side. It is a very elegant arrangement. Fig 3. Barrel Vault Ceiling and Classical Screen. The entablature supported by two Doric columns has counterpart in the dropped portion of the barrel vault ceiling immediately over. TYhree bedrooms open off the North Side, the open door leads into the main central bedroom which is located over the library on the floor below part of which is within the semicircular drum fn the North elevation. Bedroom Fig 5. Stairwell. The open stairwell provides dramatic views down to the open living room at First Floor level. This is a immensely sociable arrangement, with this space providing an informal intimate space that is visible from all the non-public parts of the house. One can imagine that this lower sitting room area would become to be the most important space in the day to day life in the house. Fig 5 Centre Bedroom Window. The size (height) of the windows diminishes at each subsequent floor level. The corresponding window to this at the ground and first floor is part of a tripartite Venetian Window in the Dining Room and Library respectively. At this upper level Adam has only allowed a single window in the elevation, but has included blank recesses externally coresponding to the side windows of the floors below.
	Home History of Seton Castle Seton Castle Exterior Seton Castle Interior Glossary Links Bibliography Robert Adam's Castle Style - Home Page Credits Multimedia Catalogue Catalogue Help Your Internet Browser must be set to read Java Applets to view the catalogue keywords: Robert Adam,architect,architecture,Castle Style,Seton, Castle,Country House,East Lothian,Scotland,Georgian Architecture,C18,eighteenth,century,visionary architecture,architectural visionary,visionary,Sandy Kinghorn,Cadking,visual catalogue,catalogues,NOF,RSL,SCRAN Published by Cadking Design Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland - Copyright © Sandy Kinghorn   This project is part of the RLS (Resources for Learning in Scotland) database held by SCRAN. The full RLS database can be accessed on http://www.rls.org.uk Optimised for Internet Explorer 5 and 6 (or later) and Netscape 4.5 (or later)