How Did The Architect Sir John Soane Meld Classical And Modern Styles In His Home At Lincoln's Inn Fields?

Sir John Soane's preoccupation with antiquities, which he avidly collected, did not prevent his fresh architectural ideas from coming to the surface. This was apparent in his design of his home at Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. An inventive and dazzling three-story dome was the display area for his collection of classical sculpture and architecture. In the Breakfast Room, Soane improvised on the more heavy traditional way of creating a vaulted space, as seen in the Saint-Genevieve in France. Soane used a different approach at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Instead of columns and entablatures, the sides of the vault are uninterrupted surfaces that stretch up to the ceiling, creating a feeling of lightness and airiness. The effect is enhanced by the sunlight from the large window. Thus, Soane's reinterpretation of classical forms, as evidenced in the exterior's uncluttered arches and geometrical lines, are repeated in the interior.

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