from one that previously spanned the entire width of the church.
Framing the main entrance, they express monumentality and the impor-
tance of the nave in relation to the aisles.
Contemporary exterior structure continues this expressive tradition
by communicating a diverse range of ideas, architectural qualities and
actions. Exterior structure can to some degree express any architec-
tural idea. The clarity with which such an idea might be communicated
is quite another matter. That certainly depends on an architect’s skill. In
the following four examples, structure expresses quite different ideas.
The exterior of Fitzwilliam College Chapel, Cambridge, differentiates
itself from adjoining architectural forms to express ideas of protection
and enclosure (Fig. 4.35). The chapel’s distinctive circular geometry sets
it apart from the surrounding rectilinear blocks. As an extension to a
1960s linear accommodation wing, the chapel adopts the same width as
the existing construction where it connects. Then, after provision of a
circulation area several metres long, perimeter walls begin to form a
cylinder, increasing the building width and partially encircling the chapel
inside. Like embracing arms, in an understated and simple manner, they
protect and enclose, metaphorically as well as physically. As at the
Mönchengladbach Museum (see Fig. 4.10), the act of curving walls in
plan increases their strength and stability against horizontal loads. The
BUILDING EXTERIOR 71
▲ 4.34 S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy, Palladio, 1610. The Classical façade does not
relate to the Romanesque interior within.