evacguy
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- Name
- Ed Galea
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The Queen’s House in Greenwich (centre building in my previous shot 'Greenwich Prime Meridian'), designed and built by Inigo Jones, was completed in 1635. It was his first major commission after returning from his 1613–1615 grand tour of Italy where he studied Roman, Renaissance and Palladian architecture. The Queen's House is noted as being England's first classical building and is famous for two features, the Great Hall and the Tulip Staircase.
The Great Hall is the centerpiece of the Queen's House with a striking geometric black and white marble flooring overlooked by a first-floor gallery. An innovative architectural feature of the Great Hall is its perfect cube shape, measuring 40 ft in each direction.
Looking down from the gallery of the Great Hall onto it floor.
The Tulip Staircase was an unusual and unique feature during this period - it is the first stair of its kind in Britain. It is Britain's first geometric and unsupported staircase based on a design concept invented by the mason Nicholas Stone. The staircase is made of ornate wrought iron with each tread cantilevered from the wall and supported by the step below. Each step is interlocked along the bottom of the riser. Jones found inspiration for the staircase, and the glass lantern above, from Palladio's Carita Monastery, where he noted that the staircases with a void in the centre "succeed very well because they can have light from above".
The staircase is simply stunning.
View from the bottom of the staircase looking up towards the lantern. To take the photograph, I lay on the floor with my head at the centre of the floor mosaic.
View looking down from towards the floor mosaic from the highest part of the staircase accessible to the public. The upper part of the stair is roped off as it is considered 'unsafe' for the general public. I'm going to try and get another shot from the very top, with permission of the Royal Museums director.
The Great Hall is the centerpiece of the Queen's House with a striking geometric black and white marble flooring overlooked by a first-floor gallery. An innovative architectural feature of the Great Hall is its perfect cube shape, measuring 40 ft in each direction.
Looking down from the gallery of the Great Hall onto it floor.
- ILCE-7M4
- FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II
- 24.0 mm
- ƒ/11
- 1/30 sec
- ISO 2500
The Tulip Staircase was an unusual and unique feature during this period - it is the first stair of its kind in Britain. It is Britain's first geometric and unsupported staircase based on a design concept invented by the mason Nicholas Stone. The staircase is made of ornate wrought iron with each tread cantilevered from the wall and supported by the step below. Each step is interlocked along the bottom of the riser. Jones found inspiration for the staircase, and the glass lantern above, from Palladio's Carita Monastery, where he noted that the staircases with a void in the centre "succeed very well because they can have light from above".
The staircase is simply stunning.
View from the bottom of the staircase looking up towards the lantern. To take the photograph, I lay on the floor with my head at the centre of the floor mosaic.
- ILCE-7M4
- FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II
- 24.0 mm
- ƒ/13
- 1/30 sec
- ISO 3200
View looking down from towards the floor mosaic from the highest part of the staircase accessible to the public. The upper part of the stair is roped off as it is considered 'unsafe' for the general public. I'm going to try and get another shot from the very top, with permission of the Royal Museums director.
- ILCE-7M4
- FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II
- 24.0 mm
- ƒ/11
- 1/30 sec
- ISO 6400
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