- The basic tenets of the Arts and Crafts movement,
pride of work, connection to nature,
handmade over factory production,
and a simpler lifestyle easily translated into architecture.
The architecture was like the movement itself,
defined more by these ideals and principles
than a particular architectural style.
Coincidentally, the Industrial Revolution
was changing the culture of the home.
Cramped conditions in urban centers
led to disease and squalor.
The Arts and Craft's return to
an idyllic agrarian past was an appealing alternative.
William Morris and other leaders of the movement
believed design should be dictated by function
not style or ornament.
This is a precursor to the way we look at design today.
Following Louis Sullivan's term,
"form follows function".
One of the principles, to produce by hand,
promoted local craftsmen using local materials.
The goal was to emulate a historical
style with these materials.
The house would not appear out of place
in its regional surroundings.
The revival of traditional building and craft skills
led to the design of a building
that looked as if it had grown
piece by piece over many years.
A building should integrate with the
surrounding landscape rather than compete with it.
And respecting the unity of gazacumschbert,
a structure should feel at one with the land
and create a harmonious unity.
The Arts and Crafts architects
also insisted that a house be designed
in a style that unified the exterior and interior.
They worked with all media and other designers
and artists to bring a greater unity to all the arts.
As a result, Arts and Crafts buildings often included
sculpture and carved or tile decoration,
built in furniture, and integrated
medieval symbolic imagery.
The result was an approach to design
including houses for the middle class
that was deemed by architectural critics at the time
as fresher and more aesthetically adventurous
than anything done at the same time abroad.
Philip Webb designed the Red House
for William Morris in 1859.
Although Webb had never completed a building,
Morris hired him to collaborate on the design.
The goal was to create a house
that reflected his ideals and celebrated
craft and craftsmanship.
Morris and Webb based the house
on a Tudor Gothic style
eluding to the Tudor era in England.
Following that style, the house has steep roofs,
large chimneys, cross gables,
and exposed beam ceilings.
Webb and Morris also placed an emphasis
on natural materials.
In this case, exposed red brick
leading to the house's name.
Windows and doors are designed to appear
natural and organic, as if they
had been added over centuries.
And the asymmetrical layout creates
the sense that the house is part of the gardens.
William Morris, his wife Janie, Philip Webb,
and Edward Burne Jones worked together
to design everything for the interior in the house.
From the wallpaper to the stained glass windows
to the built in cabinets and furniture.
These combined to celebrate the
beauty of nature and the working ethic
of a medieval guild.
Webb designed the house from inside out,
looking first at the interior rooms,
corridors and stairwells, and then to the exterior.
Red House is one of the most influential
buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The idea of truth in materials,
form following function,
and the unified aesthetic would lead
to all major 20th century movements
such as the bow house and international style.
We still follow these principles
striving for a harmonious and unified interior.
Purchasing products that are functional and beautiful,
and integrating the local landscape into the design.