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another in the AVA Academia series...
F The Fundamentals
of Interior
Architecture
John Coles & Naomi House
The Fundamentals of Interior Architecture
John Coles/Naomi House
An AVA Book
Published by AVA Publishing SA
Rue des Fontenailles 16
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Distributed by Thames & Hudson (ex-North America)

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

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All reasonable attempts have been made to trace, clear and credit the
copyright holders of the images reproduced in this book. However, if
any credits have been inadvertently omitted, the publisher will
endeavour to incorporate amendments in future editions.

Cover image © photobank.ch

F The Fundamentals
of Interior
Architecture
John Coles/Naomi House
contents 012
Introduction SPACE/form SITE/function

How to get the most Space & place 16 Analysing the site 46
out of this book 6 Elements & composition Types of interior 58
Introduction 8 of interior space 24
 4/5

3456
MATERIALS/texture LIGHT/mood PRESENTATION/
representation
Conclusion

Understanding Understanding light 120 Key stages in design 148 Conclusion 170
the interior 78 Using light 130 Representing design 154 Sources of information
Selecting materials 88 Calculating light 142 and inspiration 172
Perception of quality 98 Buildings of interest 173
Architectural materials 108 Index 174
Acknowledgements
and credits 176
 how to get the most out of this book
SPACE/form 14/15
There is no limit to the type or size
of building that can fall within the
practice of the interior architect
and, equally, no limit to the range
of activities which they may design.
This chapter will explore the way in
which the existing building affects
the designer’s response to the
client’s brief and will identify the
devices used by the designer in
order to achieve the appropriate
spatial and functional experience.

1 Chapters
Each chapter opens with
an introductory spread
containing a brief precis
and image.

Navigation
Chapter titles are shown in the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form 24/25
the top-left of every spread,
elements & composition of
Thomas Cook, Accoladia, view
of restaurant at office fit-out

page numbers in the right. (left)

interior space
Location: London, UK
Date: 2002

Sub-section titles are also Designer: Bluebottle

This seating environment for
Thomas Cook Holidays uses plane

shown at the bottom-right of in this section

elements to define space,
separating one activity from another;
while the perforations give clues as
plane / scale / proportion / vista / movement / transition / accessibility
each spread. to what lies behind the plane.
Photograph courtesy of
Frans Burrows

The following section introduces the elements, and the vocabulary used
to describe them, that are key to the creation and understanding of interior
architecture. These elements can be used to express the character and
quality of the interior, and used either individually or as a combination,
will impart atmosphere and personality.

plane
The plane is the most fundamental element of interior The realities of construction mean that built planes
architecture. Essentially a two-dimensional form, it have thickness. How much of that thickness is visible
serves, when employed as floors, walls and ceilings, (or, indeed, whether it is accentuated for aesthetic
to enclose and define space. Smaller planar elements purposes) is a judgement for the designer to make. In
contribute doors, stairs and other interior elements traditional architecture the massive materials employed
such as shelves and furniture. As well as enclosing and ensure that, where visible, the edge of the plane will
Section openers modulating space, the plane becomes the carrier of
the required material, texture and colour qualities of
have substantial thickness; but the advent of new
materials and processes permits slimmer structures
elements & composition of interior space

Each sub-section opens the interior as well as, by absorption or reflection,

controlling acoustic and lighting values.
and this slimness is often used as an expression of
modernity. A building providing excellent illustration of
the expressive use of planar structures is Schröder
with a list of topics to be The absence of a plane, or the perforation of one, may
be used to direct attention to some other part of the
House. Designed by Gerrit Rietveld it reads, both
inside and out, as a series of independent slim planar
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

site or interior as well as permitting physical movement elements virtually hovering in space.
covered and a brief and the passage of light, air and sound.

introductory text.
introduction
 6/7
the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form 36/37
London Loft, staircase view
Le Corbusier claimed that ‘a stair separates – a around a hollow, cone-shaped void. In doing so (left)
ramp connects’, and it is certainly true that the ramp he created a system that was both gallery space Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
contains possibilities of flow and gentle transition that and access system and which, while presenting
Designer: Jonathan Stickland
the fundamentally jerky movement (both visually and problems to exhibition curators ever since, created
practically) of the staircase finds difficult to embody.
Like all architectural devices the ramp has both
an iconic building.
This staircase is not simply a
functional device – it provides a
strong sculptural focal point to
Image captions
the space.
pragmatic and aesthetic qualities that have been
employed in different proportions for different reasons
Escalators and lifts work slightly differently. Glass lifts,
particularly those climbing the external façade, are no
Photograph by James Morris
<www.jamesmorris.info>,
provided courtesy of
Each image is displayed with
throughout history. The important point about ramps longer a novelty but still have a powerful appeal. In
Jonathan Stickland
is that to be effortless in use they need to be shallow,
but being shallow means that they need to be lengthy
many ways the escalator provides a composite of the
experience of lift, ramp and stair because of its self-
an accompanyig caption,
and it is often difficult in real-world situations to propelled trajectory; but so often the form and
accommodate that length. In the case of Richard
Meier, who has used ramps more consistently than any
materials of the device itself and the awkward
transition between human and mechanical propulsion
giving details of the project
other contemporary architect, a significant proportion
of the building volume is devoted to ramp access (look
at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona and
at the beginning and end of the journey are less than
satisfactory. However, here too glass is playing an
increasing role in diminishing the slab-sided aspect of
depicted as well as the specific
the Museum of Decorative Arts in Frankfurt). Many
years earlier Frank Lloyd Wright had adopted a
the traditional installation so that one hopes that in the
not-too-distant future the sculptural form will achieve view shown.
different approach when creating the Guggenheim the refinement that it deserves.
Museum in New York by winding the ramp into a spiral

‘I strive for an architecture from which

nothing can be taken away.’
Helmut Jahn

elements & composition of interior space

Frank Lloyd Wright (USA)
1867–1959 materials, he experimented with screening devices, subtle
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

Notable projects: changes in ceiling height and floating planar elements in order to
Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, USA do this. Wright practised what is known as organic architecture,
Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA making use of simple materials such as brick, wood and plaster.
Prairie House, New York, USA During his lifetime he was also instrumental in the move to begin
A key figure in interiors, Lloyd Wright is frequently credited with protecting old buildings.The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation now
instigating the move away from single-function, box-like room exists to conserve the work of the architect and advance the
living to a more communal, shared space concept. Using simple organic method of architecture and teaching that he promoted.

Quotations Architect biographies

Quotations from well-known Throughout the book, the
interior architects and reader can find out about the
designers are used to work of practising architects
put content into context. and designers who have
contributed to the subject of
interior architecture.

the fundamentals of interior architecture

questions in summary 116/117

questions in summary
architectural materials

1234 5678
how to get the most out of this book
What range of To what elements What sort of How can the interior What sort of For what elements What range of How can the choice
materials and does timber lend environment does architect make use responses can might glass be plastics is available of fabric create
finishes are itself well? stone and marble of concrete and metallic materials suitable? to the interior coloured, textures
available to the create? terrazzo? invoke? architect? and patterned
interior architect? effects?

Questions in summary
Chapter 3 / MATERILAS/texture

Each sub-section ends with a

architectural materials

selection of questions, designed

to summarise what has just
been discussed.
introduction
introduction 8/9
Open the door of any building, in any part of the world, At a more pragmatic level, the use of the term ‘interior
and enter. As you do so you will be aware that, with no architecture’ is a response to the uncertainties inherent
conscious effort on your part, you experience a in the title ‘interior design’. These uncertainties have
response to the space beyond the door. Subsequent been accentuated by the increasing use, in magazine
responses may reinforce or modify that first one. These articles and television makeover programmes, to
sensations are not accidental. They are the result of describe the process of choosing curtains, furnishings
the senses (sight, sound, smell and touch) conveying and surface treatments: activities which might be
messages to the brain, which analyses them with better titled ‘interior decoration’.
reference to previous experience, to a sense of
balance and proportion and to a psychological (and Over the course of the last thirty years the title ‘interior
often very personal) reaction to the stimuli of light, architecture’ has acquired a growing acceptance and
colour and acoustics. an increasing sense of identity. That identity is
distinguished by the following ideas:
It is these sensations that the effective designer
orchestrates in the design of interiors and which we • It acknowledges and respects the enclosing
experience when we enter them. Of course there is structure and its context as initiators of
more to this than generating a theatrical experience. design strategies.
Using the skills and understanding borne of study and • It is an activity that is involved in the manipulation
practice, the designer is endeavouring to create an and enjoyment of three-dimensional space.
environment that not only feels appropriate, but also • It employs the sensory stimuli of sound, touch,
functions in a way that supports the needs of its users. smell and sight as essential parts of the
interior experience.
The term ‘interior architecture’ emerged in the 1970s • It recognises light as a medium for defining space,
as the description of a discipline that employs creating effect and producing well-being.
architectural theory, history and principles in the design • It employs materials and colour as integral
and creation of interior space. Its growth was in part components of the designed environment.
due to a perception that by employing the rigour of
architectural thinking together with the sensory
understanding of interior design, a synthesis could
be produced that was both intellectually and
humanistically satisfying, and which overcame the
narrow specialisms of façade-driven architecture
and context-free interior design that were prevalent
at that time.

Millennium Dome, rest zone (facing page)

Location: London, UK
Date: 2000
Designer: Richard Rogers
Not all designed spaces have a particular function. The form,
introduction

colour and light quality of this space combine to create a

meditative experience with which the user can connect both
physically and emotionally.
Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Mortimer
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
introduction

In terms of philosophy and practice interior architecture The role of the interior architect will vary from
is a discipline that is heavily (although not exclusively) practitioner to practitioner and from commission to
involved with the remodelling and repurposing of commission. It will involve understanding and
existing buildings and so has an important role to play interpreting the needs of a client, who may be an
in the sustainable reuse of the built environment. This individual, a public organisation or a commercial
reuse finds expression in an enormously wide range of business, and creating a collaboration with other
buildings and activities. There is no building, however professionals: architects, structural engineers,
grand or humble, that is exempt from the interior craftsmen, quantity surveyors, heating and ventilation
architect’s portfolio. Palaces, hotels, airports, offices, engineers among others, to develop a creative
department stores, restaurants, railway stations, corner response to those needs and to oversee their
shops and apartments all offer the opportunity to translation from a concept to a built reality. During this
reformulate, update and improve living and working process the interior architect will be responsible for
environments. To undertake this work requires an specifying and documenting the myriad decisions and
ability to analyse the existing building and its environs, activities required by the building process and will
to understand the needs of the client and the wider ensure the fulfilment of legal and regulatory obligations.
society and to generate a concept and a design All these things add up to a demanding professional
that creates a synergetic relationship between life; but a life in which one is uniquely able to make a
these elements. real difference to the conditions and experiences of
people in their day-to-day lives.

Cuckoo Club, concept sketch (left)

Location: London, UK
Date: 2005
Designer: Blacksheep
A design concept is arrived at once a design brief has been
created, and the designer has begun to research the existing
building and its context. A design concept is an expression of the
key ideas with which the designer intends to work in order to
generate a scheme. The image on the left would have been
presented to the client in order to communicate the design
intentions, and begins to express decisions that have been made
about the relationship between form and materials.
Photograph courtesy of Blacksheep
introduction
 10/11
Canary Wharf Underground
station (left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2000
Designer: Foster + Partners
Interior spaces are not always
domestic in scale. The
cathedral-like quality of Canary
Wharf Underground Station
celebrates the movement from
the subterranean environment
of the station platform to the
light at ground level.
Photograph courtesy of
Jonathan Mortimer

introduction
the fundamentals of interior architecture
introduction
 12/13
MBAM (Marble Bar Asset Management) trade floor, Each chapter in this book introduces and examines
reception (facing page) the key ideas and processes involved in the practice
Location: London, UK of interior architecture; describing not only the practical
Date: 2004 goals and activities but the values and meanings
Designer: Blacksheep
Designers continually explore the relationship between the overall
that are incorporated within, and conveyed by,
design statement that they are making, and the detailed design of design decisions.
individual components of a scheme. The image shown here
describes a clean, minimal approach to space and form with no As well as skills and understanding the book
superfluous detail – an approach that is evident both in the formal introduces the descriptive and technical vocabulary
relationship between key elements and in the treatment of the
materials themselves. Note the junction between floor finish and
used by the professional designer.
glazed room, and also between the reception desk and its
glass top. Throughout the book we use the term interior architect
Photograph by Francesca Yorke, provided courtesy of Blacksheep as the generic description for someone who practices
interior architecture; but it is important to say that not all
interior architecture is produced by interior architects.
Indeed there are parts of the world, and the United
Kingdom is one, where, because of legal limitations on
the word architect, there can be no such professional
title. Historically, what we would today recognise as
interior architecture has been produced by enlightened
architects and designers who worked to the principles
of the discipline long before they were formally defined,
and this continues to be the case today.

‘I see architecture not as Gropius did,

as a moral venture, as truth, but as
invention, in the same way that poetry
or music or painting is invention.’
Michael Graves
introduction
SPACE/form 14/15
There is no limit to the type or size
of building that can fall within the
practice of the interior architect
and, equally, no limit to the range
of activities which they may design.
This chapter will explore the way in
which the existing building affects
the designer’s response to the
client’s brief and will identify the
devices used by the designer in
order to achieve the appropriate
spatial and functional experience.

1
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

space & place

in this section
understanding the sense of place / building reuse

In his writings, Le Corbusier identifies the idea of the tabula rasa –

the blank slate on which design and experience may be written. In particular
he pinpoints the concept of starting from nothing and generating a sense
of place. Place refers to a particular point in space – one that has either
singular or multiple identities, and is often a space that comprises a particular
relationship between architecture and site. In recent times it has become
increasingly important for us to identify ourselves with the spaces that we
occupy and use, and to understand them both physically and emotionally.

understanding the sense of place

Places are spaces with meaning and that meaning is Understanding the sense of place engendered in a
often constructed through time, so that history is seen building and its spatial context is an essential aspect
to be necessary in the creation of place. That history of the design process. Very occasionally an architect
might be accessible to a wide audience or it might be may be involved in developing from a blank slate in the
intimate and individual – Trafalgar Square engenders Corbusian sense; but the interior architect – never.
a sense of place that we can all understand in terms The interior architect’s role is to transform, to
of power, but the sense of place that you experience repurpose: to breathe new life into spaces and places
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

when you walk down the street where you lived as a that have a history and existing character but which,
child may only be understood by you. A sense of place because of social or economic pressure, fashion, or
therefore can be both constructed (as in Trafalgar simply change of ownership, require a new existence
Square) and personal – and these experiences can and identity. In order to achieve this transformation
often overlap. the designer must understand the contribution that
history has provided and use this to create a design
 16/17
Battersea Power Station
(right)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2008 (projected)
Designer: Universal Design
Studio
The industrial past and present
of this prime London location
provides the designer with an
entirely different set of
constraints. The surrounding
site is as much an issue
to consider in any design
proposal, as the language and
typology of the building itself.
Interior architects need to pay
close attention to the location in
which a project sits, and
research into any given site will
yield information and material
essential to the creation of a
successful final scheme.
Photograph courtesy of
Universal Design Studio

proposal that – as well as fulfilling the practical and Within existing buildings there is always evidence of
aesthetic requirements of the design brief – the forms, materials, craftsmanship and details present
understands, respects and engages in a dialogue at its construction, as well as the additions and
with the existing building. alterations that have accrued over time. These create
a richness and vibrancy with which the designer can
There are excellent reasons for employing old buildings work in the creation of the design scheme. The form
in new situations rather than simply demolishing them and proportions of space, the shape and positioning
and starting afresh. In the first place the materials and of windows, the surfaces created by materials and
energy locked into an existing building comprise a form structures all contribute to what is sometimes referred
of financial and environmental value that would be to as the genius loci – the spirit of the place. It is the
expensive to replace. But, perhaps as important, their interior architect’s responsibility to recognise that spirit
space & place

use enriches our experience by creating a tangible link and to use the qualities and opportunities that it offers.
between the past, present and future.
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

building reuse
Employing existing buildings will almost inevitably Renovation renews and updates the building to
involve work on the structure and fabric of that make it suitable for contemporary life, perhaps by
building; to stabilise it, improve it or prepare it for its incorporating a modern bathroom, kitchen or heating
new purpose. This work may be categorised in one system. Renovation work implies that there will be
of four ways: no major change of function or form.

Preservation fixes the building in its found state, Remodelling (referred to as Adaptive Reuse in America)
making no attempt to repair or improve it but ensuring locates an entirely new function within an existing
that, so far as such a thing is possible, it is immune building, which may be substantially modified to
from further decay. This could well be an appropriate accept that interjection. As described above it uses
response to an important building where it would be the cultural and material capital intrinsic to the
historically unacceptable to attempt to return it to its building shell to make connections between the old
original state but where, without such preservation and the new.
work, the effects of time and weather would result in
its ultimate destruction. It is in the renovation and remodelling of buildings that
the majority of interior architects will operate, but these
Restoration returns the building to its as-built state categories are not mutually exclusive and may be used
using period materials and techniques to create the in conjunction with one another in different parts of the
illusion that it has been untouched by time. It should project. As an example, the remodelling of the Great
be said that this is a contentious activity, there being Court at the British Museum undertaken by Foster &
a fine line between restoring a building and creating Partners involved not only a re-skinning of the Reading
a pastiche. Room and the creation of the new roof, but also
restoration of the existing internal façades to remedy
years of neglect and misuse.

structure fabric function façade

The arrangements of the The main ‘body’ of a The practical use or purpose The exterior planes on the
various parts of something building – usually the walls, of a design. front of a building.
and often referred to in floor and ceiling.
architecture as the
assembled or constructed
parts of a building.

Carlo Scarpa (Italy)

1906–1978 His work has become an inspiration to many architects/designers
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

Notable projects: wishing to revive craft and luxurious materials in a contemporary

Castelvecchio Museum, Verona, Italy fashion. Scarpa taught drawing and interior decoration until the
Brion–Vega Cemetery, San Vito d’Altivole, Italy late 1970s and, though most of his work is based in northern Italy,
Carlo Scarpa is well known for his deep understanding of raw he designed buildings, landscapes and gardens as far afield as
materials, architectural technique and the history of Venetian art. the USA, Canada and Saudi Arabia. He took much of his
He resisted the attempts of other twentieth-century architects to inspiration for a project from the existing building so his work was
strip building methods down to their most functional and simple. often a long process of archaeology, analysis and construction.
 18/19

Barbican Tower Apartment, view of bedroom (above)

Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: Nick Coombe
The long, flush-mounted wall mirror in this Barbican apartment
bedroom reflects the spatial context within which the scheme
sits, offering a panoramic view of the city. The urban location of
this apartment has been celebrated in its interior, which is bright
and hard-edged.
Photograph by James Morris <www.jamesmorris.info>, provided
space & place

courtesy of Nick Coombe

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 20/21
‘All over the world, buildings that
have been recycled from an earlier
function to a new one seem to serve
their users better today than they
ever did before...’
Peter Blake
Stella McCartney UK flagship store, interior view (right)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2002
Designer: Universal Design Studio
The natural light that floods this interior enters the building through
tall openings in the façade. These door/windows were a feature of
the building when it was originally constructed, and have been
used to their full-effect in this contemporary remodelling – note the
lack of screening, which ensures maximum daylight penetration to
illuminate the clothing on sale.
Photograph by Richard Davies, provided courtesy of Universal
Design Studio

Stella McCartney flagship store, exterior view (facing page)

Location: London, UK
Date: 2002
Designer: Universal Design Studio
Interior architects work with a range of building typologies that
establish a number of useful design constraints. The property that
houses Stella McCartney’s London flagship store perfectly sets the
scene for her collection, drawing on its bourgeois history to inform
the scheme.
Photograph by Richard Davies, provided courtesy of Universal
Design Studio
space & place
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

questions in summary
space & place

12
How do we perceive
the spaces that we
What makes a
space a place?
occupy and use?
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 22/23

345
What is the role
of the interior
How does the
interior architect
How might the
existing internal
architect? transform and structure influence
repurpose a space? the way the interior
architect works with
the interior?

space & place

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

elements & composition of

interior space
in this section
plane / scale / proportion / vista / movement / transition / accessibility

The following section introduces the elements, and the vocabulary used
to describe them, that are key to the creation and understanding of interior
architecture. These elements can be used to express the character and
quality of the interior, and used either individually or as a combination,
will impart atmosphere and personality.

plane
The plane is the most fundamental element of interior The realities of construction mean that built planes
architecture. Essentially a two-dimensional form, it have thickness. How much of that thickness is visible
serves, when employed as floors, walls and ceilings, (or, indeed, whether it is accentuated for aesthetic
to enclose and define space. Smaller planar elements purposes) is a judgement for the designer to make. In
contribute doors, stairs and other interior elements traditional architecture the massive materials employed
such as shelves and furniture. As well as enclosing and ensure that, where visible, the edge of the plane will
modulating space, the plane becomes the carrier of have substantial thickness; but the advent of new
the required material, texture and colour qualities of materials and processes permits slimmer structures
the interior as well as, by absorption or reflection, and this slimness is often used as an expression of
controlling acoustic and lighting values. modernity. A building providing excellent illustration of
the expressive use of planar structures is Schröder
The absence of a plane, or the perforation of one, may House. Designed by Gerrit Rietveld it reads, both
be used to direct attention to some other part of the inside and out, as a series of independent slim planar
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

site or interior as well as permitting physical movement elements virtually hovering in space.
and the passage of light, air and sound.
 24/25
Thomas Cook, Accoladia,
view of restaurant at office
fit-out (left)
Location: Peterborough, UK
Date: 2001
Designer: Bluebottle
This seating environment for
Thomas Cook Holidays uses
plane elements to define
space, separating one activity
from another; the perforations
give clues as to what lies
behind the plane.
Photograph by Frans
Burrows, provided courtesy
of Bluebottle

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

scale
The term ‘scale’ has two meanings for the designer: The second meaning of scale concerns the apparent
the first involves a method of drawing buildings to size of something in relation to something else. Since
reduce their real-life size to fit the piece of paper we the interior architect is usually concerned with
are using. To do this we draw to scale – that is, we providing space for human activity we use the size of a
visually reduce every part of the design using a chosen human as that ‘something else’ and in doing so are
ratio. If we are drawing something very large, a plan of able to refer to ‘human scale’. If we perceive a space
the site for instance, we might use a ratio of 1:200 or or an object as a comfortable fit with our own
1:500, meaning that each thing we draw will be one dimensions we are able to say that it has human scale.
two-hundredth or one five-hundredth of the size of the
real thing. When drawing smaller things, details of
cabinetwork perhaps, we may be able to draw things
at 1:5 or even full size, while between those extremes,
say when drawing the layout of a space, we might
employ a scale of 1:50 or 1:100.

Patek Philippe, exhibition stand (left)

Location: Basel, Switzerland
Date: 1998
Designer: Virgile and Stone
This glazed elliptical ‘pavilion’ sits within a large, clear-span space.
Rather like a building within a building it retains a form and function
independent of the surrounding environment.
Photograph by Ian McKinnel, provided courtesy of Virgile and Stone

Arne Jacobsen (Denmark)

1902–1971 a range of plywood-and-steel (Ant and Series 7) and upholstered
Notable projects: (Egg and Swan) furniture, and Cylinda Line tableware. All his work
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

National Bank of Denmark, combined modernist ideals of rationalism and simplicity with a
SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen Nordic love of naturalism. His integrated approach to design and
Born in Denmark, Arne Jacobsen made every aspect of an architecture can be seen in the SAS building in Copenhagen and
architectural commission his responsibility: the landscape, the in St Catherine’s College, Oxford. He was educated at the Royal
building structure and fabric. Even the detail design of door Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture and was a
handles and table cutlery were the focus of a rigorous attention to professor at the academy from 1956–65.
detail, craftsmanship and proportion. As a designer he produced <www.arne-jacobsen.com>
 26/27
Villa Arena Furniture
Shopping Mall (left)
Location: Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Date: 2001
Designer: Virgile and Stone
The atrium below allows natural
light to filter down into the
circulation areas of this large
shopping complex.
Photograph by Jannes Linders,
provided courtesy of Virgile and
Stone

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 28/29
Eliden, Lotte department store, general view (below)
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Date: 2001
Designer: Universal Design Studio
The proportions of this space emphasise width over height.
The patterned glass panels interrupt this horizontally, breaking it
down into a number of overlapping components. Note that these
elements are the full height of the space.
Photograph courtesy of Universal Design Studio

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

proportion
Where scale describes the size of elements compared Swiss architect Le Corbusier proposed a system he
to some standard measure, proportion refers to the titled The Modulor which incorporated both
dimensional relationship of the design elements – anthropometry and a mathematical proportioning
one to another or one to the whole. The human eye system. It is difficult to be sure to what extent these
recognises the qualities of a space by its proportions in systems were used as a part of the creative process
relation to its size. Low-ceilinged spaces of large plan and how much they are the result of a post facto
areas will feel oppressive, when a smaller space of the analysis of existing, widely admired, designs focusing
same height might feel entirely comfortable. Very high on such things as classical Greek temples and the
spaces, as found in cathedrals and important public volutes of seashells. It has to be said that, although
buildings, can generate a sense of awe and elation. interesting, the application of these ideas is hard to
The relationship of plan area to height is important not achieve in any complete and consistent way, not least
just because of its spatial effect but because it is an because they are essentially two-dimensional
important determinant of the ability of daylight to constructs in a three-dimensional world. Of more
penetrate the space. It is frequently the case that the practical, if prosaic, importance is the work that has
height required for the practical functioning of a space been done to identify and record anthropometric data
will not be sufficient to allow daylight to illuminate it from contemporary societies. This information is
properly: this is often observed in large open-plan invaluable in creating spaces, processes and products
offices where the limited floor-to-ceiling height limits that are in accord with the proportions and movements
daylight penetration and requires the use of permanent of the human body.
artificial lighting at a financial and environmental cost.

The importance of scale and proportion has been

appreciated for millenia and has been the subject of
much observation and theorising by architects, artists
and thinkers anxious to discover and promote a
universal system that would guarantee visual perfection
in artefacts and buildings. These systems have ranged
from the purely mathematical, such as that of the
Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Section, a
proportioning system used by the ancient Greeks, to
the proposal by Leonardo da Vinci that the reach and
proportions of the human body be taken as a
lodestone of design. In 1947 the great modernist

Adolf Loos (Austria)

1870–1933 of superfluous decoration, establishing instead a building method
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

Notable projects: supported by reason and necessity only. His writings and beliefs
Steiner House, Vienna, Austria gave rise to the concept of ‘Raumplan’ or ‘space-plan’, an
Müller House, Prague, Czech Republic intricate three-dimensional organisation of space, where building
Karntner Bar, Vienna, Austria design is thought of as a system of interlocking volumes, perfectly
Adolf Loos is often credited with the appearance of Modernist realised in the Moller House and Müller House. His fight for
architectural design. He is perhaps better know for his ideas than freedom from the decorative arts of the 1800s led the way for
his buildings, having been one of the first to argue against the use many twentieth-century architects and designers.
 30/31
Golden Section
Dividing a line in the ratio 8:13 creates a situation where the
relationship of the longer part to the shorter is virtually identical to
the relationship of the longer part to the whole. This ratio was
thought by the ancients to produce beautiful proportions. The
ratio is very similar to that produced by the Fibonacci Sequence.
Shapes defined by the Golden Section have been used by
mankind for hundreds of years – its use may go back as far as
the design of the Egyptian pyramids, Greek temples and the
Renaissance. It continues to form the basis of much art,
architecture, and design today.

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,

144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584,
4181, 6765, 10946…

Fibonacci Sequence The Modulor

A series of numbers where each is the sum of the preceding two, Devised by Le Corbusier and patented by him, the Modulor was
identified by Fibonacci (Leonardo of Pisa) in the Middle Ages and the subject of his 1948 book, Le Modulor. Intended to be a
used as the basis of proportioning systems ever since. harmonious scale applicable to architecture and engineering, it
Proportions of this ratio are particularly pleasing to the eye and has seen widespread use in all aspects of the design industry. It
are commonly found in nature. As the series progresses, the ratio uses the main proportions and dimensions of the human body in
of a Fibonacci number divided by its predeccesor gets closer to conjunction with the Golden Section, Fibonacci Sequence and a
1.618: the Golden Section. ratio of spatial distances to devise a system of measurements to

elements & composition of interior space

be used when designing buildings and their interiors.

Charles Édouard Jeanneret Le Corbusier (Switzerland)

1887–1965 styles, with bold colours, sculptural forms and harsh materials. His
Notable projects: work drew much criticism internationally but he produced many
Villa Savoye, Poissy, France town planning schemes with an emphasis on vehicular, pedestrian
Perhaps the most influential figure in modern architecture, Le and functional zones. His project at Firminy, in France, has only
Corbusier developed a radical functionalist architecture of building recently been completed.
and planning that made him one of the most regarded (and
quoted) architects of the Modern Movement. His early work was
heavily influenced by nature but he later utilised heavier, industrial
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

vista
The form of space is not simply defined by the house, the house into the garden; blurring the line
requirements of one individual space. It is often the between the ending of one and the beginning of the
case that a number of spaces need to co-exist and other and treating the external space as a ‘room’ in its
that visual (and practical) links need to be incorporated own right, with hard floor and semi-permanent
between them and perhaps with the world outside. furniture. This tendency has been characterised by
‘Vistas’, a term borrowed from the vocabulary of the foldaway walls and innovative use of glass structures;
landscape designer, are devices often used to frame or the latter probably spurred by the extraordinary glazed
extend the outlook from key viewpoints of grand house extension created by Rick Mather Architects in
houses and their grounds. The principle remains valid 1992 that used glass for both structure and envelope.
and is viable in buildings of all sizes and types. Indeed
it could be argued that generating the illusion of space Throughout history, designers have used form,
by creating a vista is one of the most valuable acts that proportion and vista to generate practical and
a designer can undertake in a crowded urban delightful spaces, but there are other tools available to
environment. Such vistas may be part of a private them. One of them is surprise. The public entrance to
internal world (the houses of Adolf Loos provide Vladislav Hall in Prague Castle is an ordinary door
eloquent examples) or offer visual stimulus and leading into a rather awkward antechamber of slightly
opportunity within a public or semi-public domain (one depressing form and finish where admission tickets are
thinks of railway termini and shopping malls). In each sold. At the end of the antechamber is a very small,
case the vista creates in the viewer a sense of very ordinary door to which the ticket seller points the
possibility: a possibility that may be illusory or visitor. So far the experience has been distinctly
theatrical but which fulfils the desire for visual underwhelming. Open that second door, however, and
novelty and expansiveness. the result is stunning. The world explodes into space
and light: an experience impossible to forget. Of
Related to vista is the contemporary interest in linking course it is a trick: the same trick that is employed in
internal and external spaces. Historically, buildings and film and television when the crocodile bursts out of the
their settings have often had a carefully considered tranquil lagoon; the landmine explodes in the jungle
relationship, but one where the building was intended clearing. The trick is to recognise the trick and to use it
to be seen as backdrop to the garden, or the garden – sparingly and appropriately.
seen as backdrop to the building. The houses
designed by Edwin Lutyens with gardens by Gertrude
Jekyll epitomise this approach. Recently this concept
has been expanded by bringing the garden into the

Richard Meier (USA)

1934 designs resemble those of Le Corbusier, often making use of
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

Notable projects: white planar elements with enamelled panels and glass. His use
Museum of Decorative Arts, Frankfurt, Germany of ramps and handrails is also commonly found in examples of
Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain good, accessible interior and architectural design. His works
Richard Meier has kept a constant style throughout his career. He have been popular throughout the 1980s, 1990s and the
is well known for his neo-modernist, purist designs for museums, twenty-first century.
residential and public spaces. Meier’s work can be found <www.richardmeier.com>
worldwide and his buildings have received many awards. His
 32/33
Hampstead House, kitchen
(left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: Blacksheep
The glazed extension to the
rear of this kitchen articulates
a relationship with the existing
building, and also enables the
designer to explore the
threshold between interior and
exterior space. This relationship
is further expressed through
the continuity of materials.
Photograph by Gareth
Gardner, provided courtesy
of Blacksheep

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

Hampstead House, dining

area (left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: Blacksheep
The dining space to this
house in Hampstead is an
independent environment,
which is visually connected
to the adjacent room. This
impacts on our perception
of the volume of this space in
that it seems larger than it really
is, whilst nevertheless limiting
its actual size.
Photograph by Gareth
Gardner, provided courtesy
of Blacksheep
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 34/35
movement
We have already mentioned vista, an essentially static The stairs may be considered the most common of the
promise of future possibility. But the interior architect three devices, but the physical form of the staircase
must not discount the potential of delight created by offers huge possibilities – both as a sculpture in its
real movement through space. Routes within buildings own right and as a device for linking or counterpointing
may take many forms, but become especially forms and materials on consecutive levels. The
interesting when they invoke all three dimensions. materials of which stairs can be made are marvels in
Stairs, ramps, escalators and lifts can all play their themselves; the glass staircases created by the Czech
practical part in moving their users through space, engineer and architect Eva Jiricna should be valued
but they can also simultaneously create possibilities as some of the wonders of our age.
of revelation and intrigue.

Villa Arena Furniture

Shopping Mall (left)
Location: Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Date: 2001
Designer: Virgile and Stone
The horizontal and vertical
circulation through this
shopping mall is key to the
form and successful
functioning of a large space.
Photograph courtesy of Virgile
and Stone

elements & composition of interior space

Zaha Hadid (Iraq)
1950 modern-day life. Her work has been said to reject modernism, in
Notable projects: the quest for a ‘neo-modernism’ that shatters rules of space such
Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, Ohio, USA as ceilings, walls, front and back, and re-assembles them in an
Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany unconventional way. Her projects, found throughout the world,
Zaha Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for continue to push the boundaries of urban design and
Architecture in 2004. Her designs are well known for their chaotic architecture. She has designed interiors as far afield as Hong
and modernist composition, often utilising fragmented geometry Kong, Italy, Spain, USA, Denmark and Japan.
and multiple points of perspective to represent the chaos of <www.zaha-hadid.com>
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

Le Corbusier claimed that ‘a stair separates – a around a hollow, cone-shaped void. In doing so
ramp connects’, and it is certainly true that the ramp he created a system that was both gallery space
contains possibilities of flow and gentle transition that and access system and which, while presenting
the fundamentally jerky movement (both visually and problems to exhibition curators ever since, created
practically) of the staircase finds difficult to embody. an iconic building.
Like all architectural devices the ramp has both
pragmatic and aesthetic qualities that have been Escalators and lifts work slightly differently. Glass lifts,
employed in different proportions for different reasons particularly those climbing the external façade, are no
throughout history. The important point about ramps longer a novelty but still have a powerful appeal. In
is that to be effortless in use they need to be shallow, many ways the escalator provides a composite of the
but being shallow means that they need to be lengthy experience of lift, ramp and stair because of its self-
and it is often difficult in real-world situations to propelled trajectory; but so often the form and
accommodate that length. In the case of Richard materials of the device itself and the awkward
Meier, who has used ramps more consistently than any transition between human and mechanical propulsion
other contemporary architect, a significant proportion at the beginning and end of the journey are less than
of the building volume is devoted to ramp access (look satisfactory. However, here too glass is playing an
at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona and increasing role in diminishing the slab-sided aspect of
the Museum of Decorative Arts in Frankfurt). Many the traditional installation so that one hopes that in the
years earlier Frank Lloyd Wright had adopted a not-too-distant future the sculptural form will achieve
different approach when creating the Guggenheim the refinement that it deserves.
Museum in New York by winding the ramp into a spiral

‘I strive for an architecture from which

nothing can be taken away.’
Helmut Jahn
Frank Lloyd Wright (USA)
1867–1959 materials, he experimented with screening devices, subtle
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form

Notable projects: changes in ceiling height and floating planar elements in order to
Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, USA do this. Wright practised what is known as organic architecture,
Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA making use of simple materials such as brick, wood and plaster.
Prairie House, New York, USA During his lifetime he was also instrumental in the move to begin
A key figure in interiors, Lloyd Wright is frequently credited with protecting old buildings.The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation now
instigating the move away from single-function, box-like room exists to conserve the work of the architect and advance the
living to a more communal, shared space concept. Using simple organic method of architecture and teaching that he promoted.
 36/37
London Loft, staircase view
(left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: Jonathan Stickland
This staircase is not simply a
functional device – it provides a
strong sculptural focal point to
the space.
Photograph by James Morris
<www.jamesmorris.info>,
provided courtesy of
Jonathan Stickland

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

‘All architecture is shelter, all great

architecture is the design of space
that contains, cuddles, exalts, or
stimulates the persons in that space.’
Philip Johnson

transition
Of course much of the day-to-day movement in the Are doors necessary or could a screened opening
buildings we use is from space to space, room to achieve a more satisfactory result? Does opening a
room, inside to outside. Pragmatically we only need a door provide the first, sudden, intimation of what is to
bit of corridor, or a doorway. But if we stop to consider come or does a carefully positioned aperture offer a
what might be achievable rather than what we need, preparatory hint? If a door is necessary is it something
the possibilities become more interesting. Any space identifiably different from its surround, or is it an
linking two others is a transitional preparation. This is adjustable component of the wall that vanishes when
not a negative space, but one capable of supporting closed and open and becomes an infinitely variable
its own character – an event in its own right. By screen at positions in between? There are no
thinking about the form, proportions, lighting and predetermined answers to any of these questions; the
mood of that event we can make it a social space or potential solutions are answerable only to the context,
an individual one, a portent of spaces to come or a the brief and the designer’s conceptual approach, but
reminder of things past. To do this we need to make it is in the exploration of these ideas that we begin to
decisions about the direction of travel and the sizes of identify the difference between the activities of
openings. Should the user move directly or obliquely ‘building’ and ‘interior architecture’.
through the space?
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 38/39
MBAM (Marble Bar Asset
Management) trading floor,
view of corridor (left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: Blacksheep
Transient environments operate
on the threshold between
spaces. Corridors are typical of
such environments and serve
to link together the different
areas of an interior. Although
corridors may be defined as
secondary spaces they play an
important role in the narrative of
any given building.
Photograph by Francesca
Yorke, provided courtesy
of Blacksheep

elements & composition of interior space

 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 40/41

‘Architecture is basically a container of

something. I hope they will enjoy not
so much the teacup, but the tea.’
Yoshio Taniguchi

accessibility
Much of this chapter has been devoted to the spatial these issues to the forefront of designer thinking and
experience and to movement in the interior. This, of made building owners and the professions accepting
course, makes the assumption that the interior is of a responsibility to create accessibility and usability
accessible in the first place. Until comparatively for all sectors of society. These responsibilities were
recently buildings have been unthinkingly designed for enshrined in the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995
that proportion of society which is strong, mobile and and are applicable to all new buildings and most
with good vision, completely discounting those – the rehabilitation work and must be seen as an opportunity
young, the elderly and the disabled – for whom heavy to create good, inclusive, design that is accessible
doors, stairs, narrow openings and lack of visual and enjoyable by the diverse components of
contrast are a real barrier to their use. Tireless modern society.
campaigning by the Helen Hamlyn Foundation and an
awareness of the ‘Design for Our Future Selves’ work
at the Royal College of Art have done much to bring

elements & composition of interior space

British Red Cross headquarters, interior view (facing page)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2005
Designer: Universal Design Studio
A sense of privacy is generated here without creating a separate
room. The etched glass panels and screens enable degrees of
privacy to be achieved whilst retaining some spatial continuity
between the enclosure and the surrounding space.
Photograph courtesy of Universal Design Studio
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SPACE/form

questions in summary
elements & composition
of interior space

1234
What are the
fundamental
How does the
interior architect use
How can an interior
impart character
How do we perceive
ourselves within a
elements key to the walls, floors and and quality? space?
creation of interior ceilings?
space?
Chapter 1 / SPACE/form
 42/43

5678
What role do
external elements
How do we move
within interior
Do devices such as
doors play a role in
How do we move
between interior and
play in the space? the composition of exterior?
composition of interior space? If so,

elements & composition of interior space

interior space? how?
SITE/function 44/45
The interior architect never works in
the abstract. The host building and its
surroundings and the client’s requirements
(as well as the need to respect building and
planning regulations) all define a contextual
framework within which the design must
exist. This framework will create both
potentials and restrictions. Although it
may seem counter-intuitive, it is often the
restrictions that allow the designer to
narrow down what would otherwise be

2
a bewildering array of design possibilities.
In order to appreciate the contextual
framework, one of the first tasks when
confronted with a new design commission
is to gain understanding of the host
building and its surrounding environment:
this applies whether it is a new building,
as yet invisible except as series of
drawings and models, or an existing
building that is being repurposed. This
understanding will be related to the building
and its function as it was, and will be
used to inform the design of the building
and its future function.
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SITE/function

analysing the site

in this section
position / history / building typology / orientation / structure / services

The section that follows describes the issues that need to be appreciated
in order that the designer has a proper understanding of the site. The word
‘site’ can be used in reference to the piece of land on which a building sits,
or to describe the totality of the building and its location; encapsulating all
the qualities that are currently present while at the same time acknowledging
the variables brought about by time and change.

position history
The architect will analyse a building in the context of The building will have a physical position in its
its surroundings: assessing its relationship to existing environment, but it will also have a social one. The
routeways (pedestrian and vehicular), topography latter is often made evident by its building typology
and its physical and visual connections with adjacent (see page 48). Buildings that play an important social,
buildings. This is important in order to understand religious or commercial role in society are designed
constraints and to identify possible noise sources, and positioned in a way that makes them stand out
overlooking, shadow patterns, aesthetic links and from their surroundings and usually employ
access possibilities. Some of these things may be architectural forms and materials that are indicative of
apparent from maps and photographs but it is their importance. Churches, banks and government
essential to gain first-hand understanding and that buildings are instantly recognised by their physical
means visiting the site; exploring both it and its presence, and the materials from which they are built
Chapter 2 / SITE/function

surrounding area, not just once but a number of times usually accentuate this. Reading some architectural
under a range of different conditions. Environments histories one might be forgiven for thinking that only
and buildings change character from morning to constructions having size and status deserve the term
evening, from weekday to weekend and from ‘architecture’ – everything else being simply ‘building’ –
winter to summer, and it is important that these but even the humblest dwelling needs doors, walls, a
characteristics are recognised and then assimilated roof and, usually, windows, and in the position and
within the design process. treatment of these can often be seen an aspirational
 46/47
echo of grander buildings and materials. As an thinking about design 1.
example of the way these echoes track down through The design process has been the subject of much
history, the modern Georgian-esque town house is scrutiny and debate over centuries. This fascination
itself an impoverished version of the eighteenth-century with the subject is partly due to the huge range of
original that – with its vertical procession of semi- interacting demands and relationships that need to
basement, raised ground floor, first floor reception be resolved in every project. The number of
room, bedroom floor and attics – reflected in miniature variables to which the designer must attend is
the vertical arrangement of grand country houses. immense and incapable of resolution en masse. It is
The designer will not simply be concerned with the site only by tackling them sequentially that we can deal
as it is, but will want to understand the site as it was, with the complexities of the process. The chapter
in order to discover possible references for the design headings of this book – and, of course, the contents
strategy. The building was created in a particular way of the chapters – suggest topics that might be used
to accommodate the needs of its first owner or user, in this sequential process.
and shaped to suit particular processes or activities.
Since its creation a variety of changes may have
modified its form and appearance. Some of those
changes may have been brought about by the natural
rhythm of human activity: environments that serve a
particular need change and expand to meet that
requirement, but ultimately are made redundant by
new requirements and new processes that may adopt
and adapt the original building. Other changes may be
brought about by weathering or by natural or man-
made disaster, others still by changes in technology
and building practice that replace original materials and
components with ones that are more effective,
cheaper, or more readily available.

Some sites reflect a history of stable continuity, others

of change and modification. Part of the interior
architect’s role is to recognise this history and develop
a strategy that integrates the old with the new in a
considered and productive relationship.

Renzo Piano (Italy)

1937 and airport terminals. He is well known for his ‘high-tech’ designs,
Notable projects: often using established technology as the starting point for
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France building projects. Perhaps one of his most famous projects was
analysing the site

Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy the Pompidou Centre in Paris, France. This uses colour-coded
Renovation and expansion of Morgan Library, New York, US service and structure elements on the exterior of the building and
Renzo Piano’s work can be seen all over the world, from Australia even the escalators are situated on the outside of the structure.
and Japan to Germany and France. His projects range from The entire place, interior and exterior, is built to an 8mm grid.
apartments, shopping centres and factories, to bridges, boats <www.rpbw.r.ui-pro.com>
 the fundamentals of interior architecture
SITE/function

building typology
Building typology is a phrase that describes the
architectural form, construction and original purpose
of a building. Recognising and understanding these is
essential in order to create a spatial, material and
structural strategy for new interior work that will
institute a dialogue with the existing building, which
will be both cost-effective and safe. In order to do
this an early part of any project is likely to be a detailed
survey of the building. This survey will combine
measured, structural and material information and
is often one of the most useful tasks that a young
designer can undertake at the beginning of a
professional career. By looking closely at how things
have been put together in the past, the designer
acquires an understanding of materials, structural
systems and fixings that can inspire the design
decisions of the future and, more prosaically, ensure
that there are no surprises when construction starts.

Looking at things as they are could be a very

superficial process, concerned only with the
immediately visible surfaces and edges. It is important
that the designer appreciates and learns to recognise
the underlying materials and structures on which the
visible surface depends. Some building types are so
monolithic that what appears on the surface is an
thomascook.com, office fit-out, external view (above)
accurate representation of the intrinsic structure of the
Location: Peterborough, UK
building, while in others the structural layering of the Date: 2001
building is invisible to the casual observer and requires Designer: Bluebottle
understanding and experience on the part of that This is an example of a building type the designer may need to
observer in order to decipher it. The ability to recognise utilise. This contemporary ‘shed’ has no historical detail to inform
the design process, but the nature of its construction means that it
and ‘read’ this information is an important skill.
is a flexible and adaptable space with which to work.
Photograph by Nathan Willock, provided courtesy of Bluebottle

construction dialogue
The placement and The word dialogue is used in
Chapter 2 / SITE/function

interrelationship of everyday speech to mean a

structural elements. verbal interchange between
people. In the language of
design the same word is used
to describe the practical or
sensory interaction between
the components of a scheme.
 48/49
orientation
Orientation is important to the interior for two reasons: of the building, hidden from public view, was very
the position of the building in relation to the path of the often less generously glazed, irrespective of which of
sun is the key to making best use of the available the elevations were best-placed to take advantage of
daylight and sunlight, and orientation also determines available light.
the way that the building is perceived in its
surroundings and the views that can be achieved of It is often the case that in old or much-modified
those surroundings. buildings, the existing spaces make poor use of natural
light. In such cases part of the design strategy may
Few buildings, particularly those in urban surroundings, be to re-organise them to redress this shortcoming –
are positioned to take best advantage of available light. perhaps by changing the form or position of the
The principle positional determinant is more likely to be spaces themselves, perhaps by ‘borrowing’ light by
that provided by the relationship with the street pattern creating openings.
and, perhaps, other key buildings. The pressures of
social standing decree that the street façade of the The close relationship between light and colour will be
building is the one that heralds the values and discussed in a later chapter. The effects of orientation
aspirations of the architect, builder and owner, may extend to affecting the choice of colour for
expressing these values in terms of composition and in internal spaces: for instance colours in the red or
the use of materials. Historically, glass was an yellow part of the spectrum might be employed in
expensive material that, when used extensively in the north-facing spaces to counter the lack of direct
front façade, denoted the status of the building and sunlight and to help create the illusion of warmth.
the affluence of its owner. As compensation, the back

Stella McCartney UK flagship store, view of conservatory

(left)
Location: London, UK
Date: 2002
Designer: Universal Design Studio
The extension to this store in London is constructed almost entirely
of glass. Not only does this enable the space to retain the same
amount of natural light that already enters the courtyard, it
creates a relatively ‘invisible’ structure within the space, thus
avoiding compromising the availability of light to the
surrounding environment.
Photograph by Richard Davies, provided courtesy of Universal
Design Studio analysing the site
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
protested against any interference whatsoever with chartered rights
which they were perfectly able to uphold and vindicate. The opposite
extreme was touched by Fox during a preliminary debate on the affairs
of the Company, when he declared that body to be a sink of corruption
and iniquity, a mere conduit for bringing home the wealth acquired by
its servants in India. If, said he, the patronage of the India service must
be vested either in the Directors or in the Crown, let the Crown take
that influence from hands which had so shamefully abused it.
Pitt’s position, it soon appeared, was intermediate between these
extremes. Four days later, on 6th July 1784, he introduced his second
India Bill in a speech marked by great circumspection. He started from
the same principles which had fashioned the outlines of his former
measure (see chapter vii), that, though a charter ought not to override
the needs of the State, yet nothing but absolute necessity could justify
its abrogation. The affairs of the Company, he claimed, did not warrant
so extreme a measure. His aim would be, not to abolish, but improve
on, the existing plan of government for India. There were two
essentials to be aimed at, namely, a due share of activity and
resourcefulness in the Indian Government and obedience to the
measures dictated by Parliament. The former of these requisites could
be attained only by according to the Indian Government a certain
degree of power, and from the latter it resulted that that power must be
subject to the control of a regulating Board at home.
Pitt therefore recurred to his former plan. He left to the
Governments of the Presidencies, above all, to the Governor-General,
enough authority to enable them to cope with emergencies; but he also
proposed to subject them to a Board consisting of members chosen by
the Crown from the Privy Council. To this special committee of the
Privy Council would be entrusted the power of devising legislation for
India, of controlling Indian policy, and of recalling any of the Company’s
officials. It was not, however, to have a voice in those questions of
patronage which might deflect it from the path of duty and impartiality.
The proceedings of the Board might be open to perusal by the
Directors of the Company; but its behests would be final. In case of
flagrant disobedience, or of other grave offences, the officials and
servants of the Company were to be tried by a Commission consisting
of members of the two Houses of Parliament chosen by ballot shortly
before the trial.
Such were the chief proposals. As for the spirit which informed the
measures, it may be divined from that part of the speech in which the
Prime Minister set forth the fundamental principles of our Indian policy.
They were in brief these, the avoidance of war and of alliances that
might lead to war, and the use of such conciliatory methods as would
290
further the aim which we had chiefly in view—pacific commerce.
Neither the spirit of enlightened patriotism, which pervaded the
speech, nor the practical nature of the proposals screened the
measure from fierce opposition. That acrid opponent of Warren
Hastings, Mr. Francis, taunted Pitt with leaving to the Directors of the
Company the mere shadow of authority, but he prophesied that the
large powers vested in the Governor-General and in the Governments
of the Presidencies would be abused as flagrantly as ever they had
been in the past. Fox expanded these objections with his usual force,
asserting that far too large powers were given to the Crown, and that
the proposed Board would be quite as partisan a body as the
Commissioners to whom he in his India Bill had entrusted the
regulating power. He further insisted that to leave appointments to the
Company, while depriving it of authority, was a miserably weak
expedient which must sap the base of government. On their side, the
Directors of the Company complained that the present Bill at several
points trenched on their trading rights, which they had always
expressly reserved to themselves; and they urged that they must retain
in their own hands the right of recalling their own servants. As for the
proposed tribunal for the trial of disobedient officials, it seemed to them
an unsatisfactory experiment, seeing that both trial by jury and
impeachment were ill adapted to the complex questions of Indian
291
administration.
Nevertheless, the Company had to give way at nearly all points.
The powers of the Court of Proprietors almost entirely lapsed (to the
satisfaction of all but themselves); and a clause was passed,
compelling the Company’s officials to state on oath the amount of their
fortunes at the end of their service, Pitt himself suggesting that private
gains up to £2,000 a year after the first five years of service should not
be deemed culpable. Though the Bill prohibited the receiving of
“presents” from natives, it was clear that officials would use other
equally objectionable means in order to arrive at that unobjectionable
sum.
On the whole, however, the principle of controlling Indian affairs
from Westminster, which Lord North had rather haltingly asserted
eleven years earlier, now became the dominant fact of the situation.
This will be clear if we review the constitution and powers of the new
Board of Control. It was to consist of six members of the Privy Council
chosen by the King; the Chancellor of the Exchequer and one of the
Secretaries of State being always included. In the absence of these
two, the senior member of the remaining four was to preside; and
finally the conduct of the Board’s affairs came to rest virtually with him,
so that he became, in all but name, Secretary of State for India. For
the present, however, as appears from a letter of Dundas to Cornwallis
of 29th July 1787, Pitt attended the Board regularly and thoroughly
mastered its business.
To this Board were submitted all letters and despatches between
the Company and its officials in India, except those which referred
solely to trade. Every proceeding and resolution of the Court of
Directors must come to it; and from it there issued orders which the
Directors were bound to enforce. Further, at the second reading Pitt
amended his Bill so as to allow the Board in urgent cases to frame and
transmit their commands to India without communicating them to the
Directors. Finally, if the Company appealed against the Board’s
decisions, the ultimate judgement lay with the King in Council, that is,
292
with a body largely the same as that from which it appealed. While,
therefore, Pitt instituted what was called a system of dual control, that
control, save in the lower sphere of commerce, was really exercised by
the Home Government. In the long series of changes which
transformed the venture of a company of London merchants into an
Empire administered by the British people, no step is more important
than that taken by him in this, his first great constructive effort.
But this was not all. Various circumstances in the next eighteen
months showed the need of still further strengthening the Indian
executive. Certain ominous moves of the French caused anxiety. In the
spring of 1785 their East India Company was revived on an imposing
scale; and the close relations subsisting between France and the
Dutch Republic augured ill for the British dominions in the Orient.
Everything, therefore, tended to emphasize the need of strong
Government at Calcutta; and the attention directed to Indian affairs,
consequent on the charges brought against Warren Hastings early in
the year 1786, further convinced many competent judges of the need
of strengthening the Indian executive. These considerations furnish the
reasons which led Pitt to bring in an Amending Act.
If we may judge from Pitt’s speeches of 17th and 22nd March of
that year, he had been much impressed by the sagacity of the
Governor-General in seeking to frame an alliance with the Great Mogul
for the purpose of counterbalancing the offensive league of Tippoo
Sahib with the French. The action of Hastings’ Council in frustrating
this statesmanlike plan, because it contravened the instructions of the
Company, showed the unwisdom of doubly tying the hands of a
competent governor, first by instructions drawn up in Leadenhall
Street, and secondly by a Council in which pedantry or personal spite
could paralyze great enterprises. Obviously what was required was to
choose the right man as Governor-General, then to grant him powers
large enough to meet serious crises, and to place him in such a
relation to the Home Government that those powers would not be
abused. None of these conditions could be satisfied so long as the
Company appointed the supreme officials and prescribed their
functions.
But Pitt’s Bill of 1784 had changed all this. As we have seen, the
British Government was now the driving force of the Indian machinery,
the Company acting merely as an intermediate wheel. The
responsibility of the Governor-General to the new India Board and to
Parliament having been decisively asserted, his powers could now
safely be increased.
This formed the raison d’être of Pitt’s Amending Act of March
1786. Though introduced by Dundas—a graceful compliment to his
exertions in Indian matters in time past—it emanated from the Prime
Minister. It applied the principles of the India Bill of 1784 to the
servants of the Company in Great Britain. But, what was far more
important, it enabled the Governor-General to override the opinions of
his Council at Calcutta, the members thenceforth merely recording in
writing their protests or the grounds of their opposition. The like powers
were also conferred on the Governors of Madras and Bombay. Finally,
the Governor-General was empowered to fill up any vacancy in the
Council occasioned by death, and was also to act as Commander-in-
Chief.
These far-reaching proposals caused Burke’s spleen to overflow.
He burst forth into a violent diatribe against this “raw-head and bloody
bones Bill.” Pitt’s first India Bill, he declared, was an abortion of
tyranny, an imperfect foetus in a bottle, to be handed about as a show,
but hypocrisy had nursed it till now the full-grown monster was before
them.

And at his heels,

Leash’d in like hounds, shall famine, sword, and fire
Crouch for employment.

It was absurd, he said, to expect energy and despatch from a

despotism like that about to be set up in India. Democracy owed most
of its triumphs to the openness and strength of its operations. The joint
experience of many must prevail over the fallible judgements even of
the best mind on earth. After this outburst, which Burke must have
regretfully recalled when he undertook his crusade against French
democracy, Fox emptied the vials of his wrath on the measure,
especially taunting Pitt with robbing the Council at Calcutta of all
administrative functions. This was not surprising, he said, as the
Minister so obviously preferred speech to action. His speeches were
splendid, his actions presented a long record of failure. “Let others act,
the honourable gentleman desired only to argue.” Pitt wisely declined
to notice heated personalities, and limited his speech to the task of
proving that the Bill cured several of the weaknesses of the Indian
Government, and met the needs of the situation. This reply, quiet,
dignified, and practical, carried the House with him by a majority of
eighty-nine. The Bill passed the third reading without a division on 27th
March. Such was Pitt’s retort to the windy declamation of his
opponents.
 Thus was completed the fabric begun two years before.
Thenceforth the Governor-General wielded a concentrated power such
as India had not known since the decline of the Moguls. No longer
could he be thwarted by the members of his own Council as Warren
Hastings had often been by the intrigues of Monson and Francis. In
truth the Viceroyalty was now an autocracy such as orientals could
understand and respect. But this autocracy was, after all, local and
conditional—a fact which Burke overlooked or ignored. While wielding
despotic authority in India, the new Viceroy was but an adjunct of the
British constitutional machine. It is perhaps the highest of Pitt’s
achievements that he saw how to combine two ideals of Government,
the oriental and the occidental, in a way that conduced to vigour of
action in Bengal, and did not impair popular progress at home. While
investing the real ruler of India with powers far greater than those
wielded by Warren Hastings, he subordinated them to the will of King
and Parliament.
293
It has been asserted that Pitt was weak as a legislator. It will be
well to notice this charge at the close of these volumes. But surely,
when judged by all conceivable standards, his India Bills must take
rank amongst the greatest of legislative achievements. For by those
measures, Pitt subordinated the most powerful of all Companies to the
British Parliament. By it, as we have seen, he harmonized the claims
of a viceregal autocracy in the Orient with those of popular government
at home; and he thereby saved the British Empire from the fate which
befell that of Rome. Historians of the Roman Republic agree that the
favourites of the Senate of the type of Verres who were let loose on the
provinces beyond the sea, not only proved the most frightful scourge to
the subject peoples, but also undermined popular liberty at home by
the unscrupulous use of their plundered hoards. The same system
palsied the limbs of that Empire and drugged its brain. Whether the
“nabobs” who rolled off from India and settled down in England would
finally have exerted this doubly baleful influence, it is futile to inquire;
but, had they gorged and bribed for several generations, the results
must have been serious among a people that look on politics from a
very practical standpoint.
On the other hand, to have run amok at that class, like Burke,
might have yielded them the ultimate victory. Pitt observed the golden
mean. For the present, the Company hailed him as its champion. But,
while saving it from the Quixotic crusader, he bound it and its servants
by strong ties, which it was found easy to tighten at every renewal of
the Charter. Above all he strengthened the hands of the Viceroy even
while binding him more closely to the Home Government. Has any
other statesman succeeded in the task of linking an oriental autocracy
with the ancient parliamentary system of a Teutonic race?
The first of the parliamentary Governors-General was the man
whom Pitt early in 1784 designed for the equally difficult post of Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland. In the summer of that year, as also early in 1785,
he urged Earl Cornwallis to combine the functions of Governor-
General and Commander-in-Chief of India; but the earl at that time
declined, partly because the powers of the Commander-in-Chief were
294
unduly restricted. The high hopes which Dundas had long
entertained of the abilities of Cornwallis, shown by his desire to offer to
him the Viceroyalty in 1782, now led the Ministry to meet his objections
by introducing the Amending Act for extending the powers of the
295
Governor-General in cases of emergency. Cornwallis accordingly
accepted office; and in the seven years of his Viceroyalty (1786–1793)
British rule was so far strengthened as to withstand the attacks of the
Mahrattas and the far-reaching combinations of Bonaparte.

* * * * *
The same year which saw the dawn of a new era for India,
witnessed also the impeachment of Warren Hastings. We are not
concerned here with the series of events which provided material for
that longest and most famous of our State trials. What does concern
us is the behaviour of Pitt in what was perhaps the most complex
problem confronted in his early manhood. Seeing that he was chiefly
responsible for the vote in the House of Commons which made
impeachment inevitable, this part of the question cannot be passed by.
Difficult though it is to separate one of the charges brought by Burke
and Fox against Hastings from the others, yet limits of space compel
us to restrict our survey to that one which induced Pitt to vote for the
impeachment. It related to Hastings’ treatment of Cheyt Singh, the
Zamindar (not quite correctly termed the Rajah) of Benares.
 The reader is doubtless aware that Hastings’ tenure of the
Governorship of Bengal in and after the year 1772 coincided with a
period of exceptional difficulty, which was enhanced by the acrid and
often underhand opposition of Francis, Clavering, and Monson in the
Governing Council at Calcutta. Further, the East India Company was
often on the verge of bankruptcy. Undoubtedly the perpetual want of
money led Hastings to the most questionable of his enterprises, the
letting out of the Company’s troops to the Rajah of Oude for the
purpose of driving out or subjecting the Rohillas, a race of freebooters
on his north-western borders. But difficulties thickened with the
outbreak of the war with the Mahrattas and the French. The climax
came in 1780 when Hyder Ali, the usurper of Mysore, let loose his
hordes upon the Carnatic, and threatened to sweep the British into the
sea. Then it was that the genius of Hastings awoke to full strength. He
strained every nerve to send from the Hooghly a large force of troops
to the relief of the despairing settlement at Madras; and, money being
an essential, he cast about for all means of finding it without wholly
depleting the exchequer of the embarrassed Company. Among other
devices he pressed one of his feudatories, Cheyt Singh, Zamindar of
Benares, for a sum of £50,000 in addition to the annual tribute. Seeing
that the British held the paramountcy in India, and therefore enjoyed
the right of calling on the vassal princes for help in time of emergency,
the claim was reasonable, especially as Cheyt Singh’s father owed his
position to the East India Company. After giving extra assistance in
each of the years 1778–80, Cheyt Singh began to grow restive in 1780
when the demand was renewed, and showed signs of disloyalty.
Hastings thereupon imposed a fine of £500,000. More than this, he
went to Benares in person, hoping to browbeat the Zamindar; but, his
following being scanty, the troops of the latter rose against him, and
cooped him up in his residence. With the splendid coolness which
never deserted him, he manfully faced the danger. Secretly he sent
warning to some of the Company’s forces not far distant, and British
valour rescued him from his desperate plight. An Englishman in
resolution, Hastings was an oriental in his methods of punishment and
revenge. Forthwith he deposed Cheyt Singh, and set in his place
another Zamindar with a much enhanced tribute (September 1781).
The same plea of overmastering necessity impelled him to
interfere in the affairs of Oude, an episode which, when tricked out in
the gorgeous rhetoric of Burke and Sheridan, shocked the conscience
of the British people. Sheridan’s oration on “The Spoliation of the
Begums of Oude” is perhaps the most thrilling Philippic of the modern
world; but its force is sensibly lessened when we know that Burke
derived his version of facts from a poisoned source. Francis, the bitter
enemy of Warren Hastings, had been worsted by that master-mind in
the Council-chamber at Calcutta; and, on challenging him to a duel,
had been wounded in fair fight. It was this man, beaten twice over, who
in 1781 returned to England to brood over means of revenge, and
found them incarnate in Burke.
The genius which enabled that great Irishman to pour out serene
and soul-satisfying judgements on the affairs of nations was allied with
a more than feminine sensitiveness that often left him at the mercy of
first impressions and Quixotic impulses. On all points of honour,
whether personal or national, his chivalrous nature carried him to
extremes bordering on the fantastic. The two incidents recounted
above kindled in him a passion of indignation, which cooled but slowly,
even when hatred of the French Revolution obsessed him. All attempts
to ascribe Burke’s crusade against Hastings to partisanship or
personal spite have egregiously failed. As Macaulay has shown in his
brilliant but untrustworthy essay on Warren Hastings, Burke’s
opposition to Hastings began in 1781, survived the kaleidoscopic
changes of the next decade, and lived on into the new world of the
Revolutionary Era. Clearly it resulted from a profound difference of
view on Indian affairs. Even to-day, when the justificatory facts of
Hastings’ career are well known, his actions are wholly condemned by
men of a similar bent of mind. On the other hand his policy appears
statesmanlike to those who look first at the wealth of benefits conferred
on India by the British Raj and pay little heed to miscarriages of justice
which they regard as incidental to an alien administration. The
Hastings episode will ever range in hostile groups men of strongly
marked dispositions; while the judicial minority will feel themselves
drawn perplexingly first to the sentimental side and then to the
practical side as new facts and considerations emerge from the welter
of evidence.
From midsummer 1785, when Hastings landed at Plymouth and
repaired to the Court at Windsor, England was rent asunder by these
prepossessions. The King, as might be expected, received him with
marked favour; but it caused some surprise that Queen Charlotte, who
was propriety personified, should affably receive his wife, the divorcée
of a complaisant Baron Imhoff. For a time it seemed that Hastings
could afford to scorn the efforts of his opponents. Burke had given
notice of a hostile motion in the House of Commons; but, in the then
discredited state of the Opposition, it was unlikely to pass. Ministers for
the most part approved the conduct of Hastings. Pitt also is said to
have been favourably impressed by an interview which they had
towards the end of June. Unfortunately no account survives of what
must have been a memorable meeting. Hastings was then fifty-two
years of age, exactly double the span of life passed by the Prime
Minister. But the young statesman had by instinct the same faculty of
controlling his feelings under a calm exterior which the Governor-
General had perfected during years of vindictive opposition at Calcutta.
The countenance of each was thin and worn by the workings of a too
active brain, reminding the beholder of the noble lines of Milton:

Deep on his front engraven

Deliberation sat and public care;
And princely counsel in his face yet shone
Majestic.

Undoubtedly they were then the ablest men of action of our race; and,
despite envious surmises to the contrary, we may be sure that Pitt
looked with admiration on the placid intellectual features of the man
whose gigantic toil had saved British India. Both of them had the power
of throwing off the cares of state and of indulging in playful intercourse
296
with friends; and charm of manner and conversation must have
enlivened the interview.
Yet each was closely on his guard. The opposition of Dundas to
Hastings (for he it was who moved the vote of censure on him in May
1782) must have coloured Pitt’s feelings; and Hastings, as we know,
believed that the India Bill of 1784 was a veiled attack upon himself.
The interview certainly did not reassure him; for he thenceforth
 297
informed his friends that he could not depend on the support of Pitt.
The doubts were strengthened by the omission of the honours that so
distinguished a man might have expected; but this fact was attributable
to the motion of censure of which Burke had given notice in the House.
Thus Pitt maintained a cautious reserve. To say that he was
waiting to see which way the wind would blow is manifestly unjust. He
was awaiting further information in what was a most complicated case.
We know that he sent to Hastings for an explanation of the terms of a
zamindar’s tenure of office, evidently in order to clear up some of the
298
questions respecting the Zamindar of Benares. Thus, while
Lansdowne, Mansfield, and Thurlow loudly proclaimed their confidence
in Hastings; while the King continued to converse with him most affably
at the levées, and Queen Charlotte accepted a splendid ivory
bedstead presented by his wife, Pitt remained guardedly neutral.
Many members of the Opposition wished to let the motion of
censure drop, and urged this at a private meeting held at the Duke of
Portland’s residence shortly before the meeting of Parliament in
January 1786. But the zeal of Burke and Fox had not cooled with time.
Further, on the first day of the session they were pointedly challenged
by Major Scott, the accredited agent of Hastings in the House. At best
Scott was a poor champion. Verbose, tedious, and ever harping on the
same theme, he wearied the House with the wrongs of Hastings before
they came officially before it; and on the first day of the great trial
Fanny Burney remarked: “What a pity that Mr. Hastings should have
trusted his cause to so frivolous an agent! I believe—and indeed it is
the general belief, both of friends and foes—that to his officious and
299
injudicious zeal the present prosecution is wholly owing.”
Yet Scott would scarcely have flung down the gauntlet without the
knowledge and consent of his patron. Indeed on all grounds it is
probable that Hastings, with his customary daring, preferred that the
question should come to the clear light of a trial rather than swell with
300
the accretions of gossip and dark innuendoes. We must also
remember that until the vote of censure of 28th May 1782 was
removed from the journals of the House his name was under a cloud;
and now that the accusations of Burke and Francis hurtled more thickly
through the air, the whole matter was bound to come to the arbitrament
of the law or of pistols.
On Hastings and Scott, then, rests the responsibility for renewing
the strife. While they thus rashly opened the game, Burke replied on
17th February 1786 by a move of unusual skill. He requested that the
Clerk of the House should read Dundas’s resolutions of censure of
May 1782, and then ironically suggested that that gentleman, formerly
the president of the special committee of the House, was the man who
now ought to take action against the ex-Viceroy. He himself was but a
humble member of that committee, and he now looked, but in vain, to
those in power to give effect to the earlier resolutions. “But I perceive,”
he said, with his eyes on Pitt, “that any operations by which the three
per cents may be raised in value affect Ministers more deeply than the
301
violated rights of millions of the human race.” Dundas, never an
effective speaker, failed to wriggle away from the charge of
inconsistency thus pointedly driven home. The attitude of Pitt was calm
and dignified. In the course of the adjourned debate he professed his
neutrality on the question. While commending Burke for the
moderation with which he then urged his demands, he admitted that
the charges brought against Hastings ought to be investigated and his
guilt or innocence proved by incontestable evidence. “I am,” he said,
“neither a determined friend nor foe of Mr. Hastings, but I will support
the principles of justice and equity. I recommend a calm dispassionate
investigation, leaving every man to follow the impulse of his own
302
mind.”
This declaration of neutrality, the import of which will appear in the
sequel, did not imply that there was to be no investigation. The
challenge having been thrown down, the tournament was bound to
proceed. Thenceforth Pitt confined himself to the functions of arbiter.
Burke now enlarged his motion so as to include all the official
correspondence respecting Oude, whereupon the Minister urged him
always to state his reasons for the production of documents, and not to
expect those which revealed any secret policy. Burke said he was
ready to specify his charges, and he did so. He further said that he
was in possession of abundant evidence to make good those charges.
On his applying for certain confidential papers, Pitt opposed the
motion; but he agreed to sixteen other motions for papers. In face of
these facts, how can the panegyrists of Warren Hastings claim that Pitt
303
objected to Burke’s procedure and carried a motion against it?
Burke’s motions were agreed to without a division, the Prime Minister
having merely given an obviously necessary veto in the case of
confidential documents.
In view of the charges of gross inconsistency that have been
brought against Pitt on the Hastings trial, it will be well to look into
details somewhat closely. On 3rd March 1786 Burke returned to the
charge by pressing for the communication of papers respecting the
recent peace with the Mahrattas and cognate subjects. At once
Dundas and Pitt objected, on the ground that very many of those
documents were of the most confidential character, revealing, as they
did, the secret means whereby the Mahratta confederacy was
dissolved. In the course of his speech Pitt declared that Hastings had
made that peace “with an address and ingenuity that did him immortal
honour.” But he added that other charges against him might be
substantiated. In vain did Fox and Burke protest against the
withholding of documents bearing on the present topic. The sense of
the House was against them. Wilberforce applauded the caution of
Ministers, as did eighty-seven members against forty-four on a
division. A similar motion by the accusers for the production of papers
relative to Delhi met with the same fate three days later.
On Fox renewing his demand for the Delhi papers (17th March),
Pitt took occasion to state his views clearly. If State papers were called
for in order to set on foot a criminal prosecution, he required the mover
to “show a probable ground of guilt,” and secondly, that the papers
were necessary to substantiate that guilt; the third condition was that
304
the public service would not suffer by publication. He then
proceeded to prove that the action of Hastings in seeking to form an
alliance with the Great Mogul (despite the orders of the Company) was
timely and statesmanlike, as it promised to thwart the alluring offers of
Tippoo Sahib and the French to that potentate. Finally he asserted
that, if he could reveal the Delhi correspondence to the House, all
members would see how improper its publication would be. For his
own ease and for the reputation of Hastings, which would be enhanced
by such a step, he could wish to give it to the world, especially as all
the documents hitherto granted were hostile to the ex-Viceroy; but in
the interests of the country he must oppose the demand of the
prosecutors for the Delhi papers. In spite of the slap-dash assertions of
Sheridan that the contents of those papers were perfectly well known,
305
the House upheld Pitt’s decision by 140 votes to 73.
The next move of the prosecutors was to demand the presence of
certain witnesses at the bar of the House. The Master of the Rolls
objected on points of form, and also protested against the appearance
of pamphlets hostile to Hastings which had been industriously
circulated among the members of both Houses. Burke then admitted
that most of the State Papers asked for had been granted, though
some had been denied, but acridly complained that Ministers were
306
now trying to quash the prosecution. Pitt did not speak. On 26th
April Burke brought forward two more charges, whereupon Pitt
remarked that they contained much criminal matter, but he had formed
no opinion as to their correctness; he hoped that it would appear
otherwise, but the House must examine them with the utmost
impartiality. Fox having taunted him with pretending to see no guilt
where he saw too much, Pitt deprecated such outbursts. Later in the
debate he demurred to the examination of witnesses called by the
prosecutors before Hastings himself had been heard at the bar.
Justice, he said, demanded that the accused should have a hearing
before the accusers substantiated their case. He also declared that he
would not consent to the examination of witnesses, still less to vote the
impeachment of Hastings, on the vague and indefinite charges as yet
before the House. Wilberforce expressed the hope that the Minister
would persevere in the steady path he had pursued and would not be
driven from it by the intemperate attacks of opponents. Burke
inveighed against Pitt’s decision; but the latter carried the day by 139
votes to 80.
It was therefore by Pitt’s action that Hastings procured a hearing in
the House—an opportunity which, if tactfully used, might have
disconcerted his accusers. But the opportunity was lost. Instead of
making a telling speech, Hastings proceeded to read a long and
laboured reply, which occupied all the sittings of 1st and 2nd May, and
emptied the House. Members accustomed to the faultless oratory of
Pitt and the debating vigour of Fox, yawned at the dreary recital of
remote events of which they knew little and cared less. Accordingly, it
was with enhanced hope of success that Burke, after a month of
careful preparation, brought forward his charges respecting the Rohilla
War. On 13th June he introduced them. On the former of them
Grenville defended the conduct of Hastings on the ground that the
Rohillas had by their raids provoked the war, and that it was well to
remove them. Dundas censured the Rohilla War, but maintained that,
while the Governor-General should have been recalled for it twelve
years ago, there was no ground for impeaching him for it now,
especially as in the interval Parliament had three times named him
Governor-General. Wilberforce, whose opinion weighed much with Pitt,
took the same view. The most significant speech of the defence was
that of Wilbraham who, on behalf of Hastings’ honour, urged the House
to refer the charges to the House of Lords, where alone a full acquittal
307
could be pronounced. Pitt spoke only on a small technical point, but
voted with Grenville and Dundas. Despite a long and powerful speech
by Fox, the House sided with what seemed to be the ministerial view,
and at half-past seven in the morning of 3rd June rejected Burke’s
motion by 119 votes to 67.
Undaunted by this further rebuff, Fox, on 13th June, very ably
brought up the charge relating to the treatment of Cheyt Singh,
308
Zamindar of Benares. He allowed that the continuance of Hastings
in power twelve years after the Rohilla War seemed to imply that
Parliament had condoned that offence; but this plea could not be urged
respecting the Benares affair of 1781. He showed that the Company
had agreed to respect the independence of the Zamindar of Benares,
and that Hastings had pressed on him remorselessly for aids in money
and cavalry, and had finally mulcted the exhausted prince of half a
million sterling. The fate of Bengal, he claimed, depended on their
condemnation of so tyrannical a proceeding.
All eyes were turned on Pitt as he rose to state his views on this
question; and Wraxall avers that never did the range of his faculties
appear greater, his marshalling of facts more lucid, or his elocution
more easy and graceful. This is the more remarkable as the young
Minister avowed his desire on personal grounds to absent himself from
the discussion of so complex and remote a problem. We also know
from his letter of 10th June to Eden, that he had “hardly hours enough
to read all the papers on that voluminous article” (the Benares
309
charge). It is therefore clear that he formed his judgement within a
very short time of his speech. In this, however, he soon showed that he
had probed the intricacies of the question. Setting forth in detail the
terms of a zamindar’s tenure, he disproved Fox’s contention that the
Company had no right to exact an “aid” from an “independent rajah.”
He demurred to the epithet “independent,” at least as regarded the
supreme power in India. The suzerain power has as good a right in
time of crisis to exact “aids” from its feudatories as any Suzerain in
Europe from his feudal dependents. Next he crushed Francis by citing
his own written opinion that extraordinary demands might be exacted
from such feudatories. Having set forth the question in its true light,
and exposed the inconsistency and malice of Francis, he approached
the crux of the whole problem, whether the fine ultimately exacted from
Cheyt Singh was not excessive. Here he objected to the drawing of
precedents solely from the days of the Indian Emperors. It was the
duty of every British administrator to behave according to the rules of
justice and liberty; and, said he, “On this ground I feel it impossible to
acquit Mr. Hastings of the whole of the charge brought against him; for
I feel in my conscience that he has pushed the exercise of that
arbitrary discretion which, from the nature of the Eastern Government,
was intrusted to him to a greater length than he was warranted to do
by the necessity of the service.” While justified in imposing a penalty,
he continued, Hastings had not proportioned the punishment to the
guilt. In fining Cheyt Singh £500,000 for a mere delay to pay £50,000
(which £50,000 in the last instance was actually paid) Hastings had
“proceeded in an arbitrary tyrannical manner.” As to the restoration of
Cheyt Singh to his possessions, it was beset by certain difficulties, and
he preferred for the present to withhold his opinion.
That speech led to the impeachment of Warren Hastings; for
though Grenville, Lord Mulgrave, and the Attorney-General (Pepper
Arden) spoke against the Prime Minister, the judgement of the last
named prevailed; the House endorsed it by 119 votes to 79, or about
the same numbers as had rejected the previous charge. The conduct
of Pitt on this occasion has been vehemently assailed. Wraxall, writing
many years later, maintained that it was a sudden and unaccountable
change of front; and he further suggested that the jealousy which was
said to be felt by Dundas for the superior abilities of Hastings might
have influenced Pitt’s action.
As the insinuation has been endlessly repeated, I may be
pardoned for dwelling on it somewhat fully. The story has been tricked
out with a wealth of details. It is asserted that Pitt issued a Treasury
circular calling for the attendance of his supporters on the 13th of
June, as if it were for the defence of Hastings. No proof of this
statement has ever been given; and there are good grounds for
disbelieving it. In the first place it should be remembered that
attendance at the House had been greatly thinned by the Whitsuntide
holidays. The vacation was just over; and, as everyone acquainted
with Parliament ought to know, a full House was hardly to be expected
at the first sitting afterwards. Pitt’s letter of 10th June to Eden contains
the following sentence. After stating that there had recently been a
short and languid debate, and a division of seventy-one to thirty-three,
he continues: “We shall probably have some attendance next Tuesday
when Mr. Fox moves the charge respecting Benares; and after that our
chief difficulty will be to get a House for the next fortnight. In the
meantime I have hardly hours enough to read all the papers necessary
310
on that voluminous article.”
These are not the words of a man who is about to perform an act
of treachery. It is clear that Pitt found great difficulty in getting through
the evidence on that charge before the debate came on; and further,
that he was doing his duty as leader of the House in trying to assure as
good an attendance as the holiday season permitted on a charge of
this importance. Wraxall, who here opposed Pitt, makes no mention of
any ministerial “whip” in favour of Hastings, as he would certainly have
done if he could thereby have strengthened his case against him. The
fact that neither he nor Tomline refers to the calumny proves the
lateness of its origin. Further, if a special “whip” had been sent out for
the support of Hastings, would not some of the ex-Viceroy’s friends,
especially Major Scott, have exposed the fraud? But no reference to it
is to be found in the report of that debate. Are we also to suppose that
the forty or fifty members who changed sides with Pitt, would have
gone over to the accusers if he had been guilty of such duplicity?
Finally, it is clear from the remarks of Grenville, Mulgrave, and Pepper
Arden, that even the colleagues of Pitt felt perfectly free to vote as they
chose. Mulgrave declared that the Prime Minister would not be fit to
remain in office a single day if he expected his friends and associates
to give up their opinions on this subject. Pitt, as we have seen, had at
the outset called on members to exercise their impartiality; and he now
311
assented to Mulgrave’s statement. The story that Pitt sent round a
“whip” for the support of Hastings, and then drove his followers like
sheep into the opposite lobby, may therefore be dismissed as a
malicious fiction, at variance with all the known facts of the case.
Then again it is stated by Lord Campbell in his sketch of the life of
312
Lord Eldon, that Pitt mysteriously abandoned Hastings, “and—
contrary to the wish of Lord Thurlow who had a scheme for making
Hastings a peer, perhaps a Minister—gave him up to impeachment.”
The charge is made in a very loose way; but on it the detractors of Pitt
have built a theory that Dundas and he feared the advent of Hastings
to the India Board, or to the Ministry, or to the House of Lords. This
story has been varied and amplified, so that in one version George III
appears as desirous of forcing him into the Cabinet, or granting him a
peerage on the sole recommendation of Thurlow. But the letter which
the King wrote to Pitt on 14th June shows that, while regretting his
action concerning Hastings, he respected his conscientiousness, and
313
harboured no thought of breaking with him. That Thurlow had
boasted of his power to further the interests of Hastings is likely
enough; but it is certain that the King never thought of thrusting the ex-
Viceroy into the Cabinet, or the India Board of Control, or of raising him
to the House of Lords without the approval of his Prime Minister. The
314
King’s letters to Pitt show that his chief desire then was to meet the
large and growing expenses of his family; and Pitt’s economic policy
made his continuance in power at that time especially desirable. Royal
condescension towards Hastings set all tongues wagging; and they
have wagged ever since on the malignant jealousy of Dundas, and the
gross inconsistency of Pitt; but the proofs adduced are of the flimsiest
character. Wraxall and Bland Burges, who later on jotted down their
impressions of parliamentary life, asserted that Dundas had somehow
become convinced that the King intended to eject him from the India
Board of Control and put Hastings in his place. But neither of them
gave any proof. Wraxall merely stated that “the public believed” that
315
Dundas feared such a change. Bland Burges averred that Dundas
had “by some means” come to know the secret intention of the King,
and therefore “sedulously fanned Mr. Pitt’s jealousy and uneasiness
and so alarmed his mind that he hurried him on to a decision before he
316
had time to satisfy himself as to its justice or expediency.”
Equally unconvincing is the story, which Hastings himself told
some thirty years later, that on the morning of 13th June Dundas called
on Pitt, remained closeted with him for some hours, and convinced him
that they must abandon the ex-Viceroy. The insinuation conveyed in
this belated anecdote is that Pitt was then and there won over by
Dundas, and owing to the mean motives mentioned above. The
ingrained tendency of men to seek for petty personal pretexts rather
than larger, more generous, and more obvious causes, seems to be
the raison d’être of the story and of its perpetuation. There are also
some natures so warped by partisanship that they naturally refer
actions of political opponents to discreditable motives; and it is a sign
of the bias which detracts from the value of Macaulay’s “Warren
Hastings,” that he did not mention the late date at which the story was
started, while he gives it as an historic fact that Pitt’s change of front
was “the result of this conference.”
No statement of what went on at this alleged interview has ever
been forthcoming; but, fortunately, on the all important question of
motive, we have the clear testimony of one who knew Pitt most
intimately, and whose political differences never distorted his
imagination. Wilberforce, who had followed Pitt’s actions closely
throughout the case, afterwards declared that justice had not been
done to Pitt:—

People [he said] were asking what could make Pitt support him
[Hastings] on this point and on that, as if he was acting from
political motives; whereas he was always weighing in every
particular whether Hastings had exceeded the discretionary power
lodged in him. I well remember (I could swear to it now) Pitt
 listening most attentively to some facts which were coming out
either in the first or second case. He beckoned me over, and went
with me behind the chair, and said: “Does not this look very ill to
you?” “Very bad indeed.” He then returned to his place and made
his speech, giving up Hastings’ case. He paid as much impartial
317
attention to it as if he were a juryman.

Here we have evidence at first hand, though belonging to

Wilberforce’s later years. Clearly it must refer to the events of 13th
June; and it shows that if any one person was responsible for Pitt’s
change of front that person was Wilberforce. Late in life the
philanthropist declared that Pitt’s regard for truth was exceptionally
keen, springing as it did “from a moral purity which appeared to be a
part of his nature.” He also added that the want of simplicity and
frankness sometimes observable in his answers really sprang from this
318
scrupulous veracity.
To quote the opinion of another experienced politician. William
Pulteney wrote to Pitt the following hitherto unpublished letter:

London, 15th June 1786.

I cannot abstain from congratulating you on the line you took
on Tuesday. It will do you great credit everywhere, but, what you
will always think of more importance, I am convinced it will have
the most salutary effects in every part of this great Empire, and
particularly in India. Such is the powerful influence of strict honour
and justice in those who govern kingdoms that it pervades every
mind and in a great degree regulates the conduct of individuals.
On the other hand, the wilfully permitting persons in high and
responsible situations to go unpunished and uncensured, when
guilty of important offences, is sufficient to foster the bad and
corrupt principles in all other minds and to lay a foundation for
similar and greater offences. You have my hearty thanks, and I am
sure will have the thanks of all who understand the importance of
your conduct.
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