Saturday, April 27, 2024

Royal Style: The Designer Secrets Behind 5 Modern Castles

castle design

As weaponry became more powerful, the need for castles that could withstand an assault became more pressing. The concentric castle was developed around the 13th century, coinciding with the arrival of gunpowder in Europe. Suddenly, it wasn’t simply a battering ram coming for castle walls; it was cannons, which packed significantly more power and could do more damage. Motte and bailey castles didn’t require significant skill to construct and used materials like wood and stone, which could be easily sourced from the surrounding lands. The motte was artificially created from a pile of earth and flattened at the top.

Mid-Century Modern Walnut Chest of Drawers

With the castle’s main gate being one of its most vulnerable areas, fortified gatehouses became the standard way of protecting them. The fortification typically included two towers on either end of the gate. The gate, which is deep-set between the towers, is made of thick and heavy wood and is further reinforced by a moveable grid made from metal and more wood.

An Illustrated Glossary of Castle Architecture

These are parts of a castle wall or components of a gatehouse that allowed the occupants of the castle to fight back against their attackers. These existed alongside the towers that allowed for a higher vantage point against attackers so that the structure could be better defended. These are ditches that surround a castle and are typically filled with water. The idea is that no one would be able to easily approach the walls if there was something stopping ground troops from nearing them.

Concentric Castles

The side of the keep exposed to the field also presented a line of escape. Castle, medieval stronghold, generally the residence of the king or lord of the territory in which it stands. Strongholds designed with the same functionality have been built throughout the world, including in Japan, India, and other countries.

castle design

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In Early Modern times – so from about the 1500s on – castles began to fade from fashion, and the very wealthy were choosing to build palaces rather than fortifications. There were many problems with stone castles – not least for the fact that they were generally cold, damp, and unpleasant to live in. To do so, they built a ‘shell keep’ – a thin ring of stone around the buildings on top of the castle Motte (mound).

The round structure gave archers had a 360-degree view to shoot potential threats without having their vision blocked by corners. Unfortunately, stone keeps had a design flaw that made them relatively weak. Because the castle was built in the shape of a square, if attackers got close enough to its walls, they could dig a hole beneath a corner and wait for a part of it to collapse.

castle design

Out of around 600 identified motte-and-bailey keeps in England, only 60 were converted into shell keeps. Traditionally shell keeps were seen as the true successor to motte-and-bailey castles, although this has been disputed more recently by historians. Later in the Medieval period, another, very different kind of castle evolved – the concentric castle.

It had a height ranging from 10 to 100 feet and a diameter of 100 to 300 feet. Castles can be found in many regions and many styles around the world. In this article, we’ll go over many types of castles from ancient time till now. Castles that were designed to show off prestige focused on other elements such as the gatehouse, ballrooms, and gardens. These castles, or rather palaces, were used to host lavish festivals and celebrations to show off the noble or royal status amid the elaborate architecture and decorations. Castle design and architecture have changed over centuries to accommodate political, social, cultural, and technological changes throughout the world.

Furthermore, the historic furnishings, silken textiles, and brilliant frescoes showcase notable trends that have helped shape the design industry as we know it today. The four types of medieval castles are the Motte and Bailey Castles, Stone Keep Castles, Shell Keep Castles, and Concentric Castles. The idea of concentric fortifications was not a novel one and had been used in antiquity – for example, the Theodosian land walls of Constantinople, built in the 4th and 5th centuries.

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Everything 'The Traitors' Fans Need to Know About Ardross Castle.

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With an emphasis on hospitality, high-end residential and retail design, Castle Design Co. guides clients in the development and/or redevelopment of residential and commercial properties. Hearst Castle's architecture alone is enough to captivate any visitor, but the artwork it houses makes it a cultural landmark. As an avid art collector, Hearst furnished the estate with a plethora of European and Mediterranean art pieces. From centuries-old tapestries and ornate ceilings to Greek vases and Egyptian sculptures, every corner of the castle whispers tales from bygone eras. Children love having little tents to play with because it gives them a space of their own for fun and games. A castle tent is going to be perfect for kids who like to play medieval-themed games with their friends.

Renowned collections of art soon began filling the complex’s halls after its completion and remain today. However, the pleasure palace as we know it today didn’t come about until 1743 when Peter’s daughter, Elizabeth, inherited it. The empress requested for the original structure to be completely demolished and replaced with a magnificent estate where intricate gilded ornaments and colors abound. Inside, the Baroque-style rooms are dripping in grandeur with sparkling chandeliers, one-of-a-kind frescoes, and gilded furnishings.

For a cool $14 million, now you can be king, queen, or just the non-royal owner of the eye-catching castle. Lesley is a US licensed architect (NCARB) and licensed real estate agent in Hawaii State. She graduated with the Master of Architecture degree from SCI-Arc in 2013. Previously, Lesley was a Project Designer at Gensler Los Angeles and Mid-Level Project Designer at Soho House, among other design focused architectural firms. Her experience working at global architecture firms provided her with opportunities to work remotely and on-site on luxury hotel, residential, retail and mixed-use projects internationally and nationally.

Solars, separate living spaces away from the main hall, and luxuriously decorated private chambers became the norm. Gloriettes were built, sets of rooms from where the surrounding estates or gardens could be viewed. Kitchensand bakeries could be located within a keep, but were often constructedseparately, due to the fire risk. These and similar buildings were also oftenwithin the inner bailey for convenience. Not all towers were defensive in design; some were intended as viewing towers, from where a lord or his guests could admire the surrounding estates.

One of the main reasons for the change in design was that diplomacy was now considered the way to resolve conflicts rather than war. Wealthy nobles and high society spent their money on palaces with lavish gardens and beautifully handcrafted furniture instead of building fortifications. Tapestries, chandeliers, Renaissance artworks, and silk from the Far East decorated their palaces.

This would have been another area of hustle-and-bustle, and the focus of day-to-day residential life in the castle. Whereas horses and pigs would have been grazed in the outer courtyard, it’s likely the inner courtyard would have been used for more formal events. The gatehouse was a fortified entrance, with numerous different doors and portcullises, tricks and obstacles, all used to guard the castle. It wasn’t uncommon to see two different gatehouses – one on the outer-castle, and one on the inner (if the outer one was breached). Stables would have often included hay-lofts and space for the grooms to live. Archeologists working on Farleigh Hungerford castle have indeed discovered evidence for sizeable hay-lofts within this castle.

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