In architecture, there are ways to organize space that can make a strong impression even on an unprepared person.
Enfilade is a very effective way to express the significance of a gradual procession in a straight line, permeating individual volumes of the interior, isolated zones of the landscape or quarters of the whole city.
Beautiful word, beautiful concept
The word "enfilade" comes from the French verb enfiler, meaning "string". He very precisely defines the essence of this term. The enfilade of the internal layout means the sequential arrangement of several adjacent rooms with passageways located on the same axis. If the openings are open, then the incoming person sees the prospect of all rooms at the same time. For many, the enfilade is actually a view of the arched or rectangular openings extending into the depths of the building. Naturally, such a layout is often used in large houses and rooms with representative functions.
Organization of the internal space
According to the canons of architecture, the minimum number of rooms in the suite is three. This is due to the traditions of the construction of palaces for monarchs, laid down by ancient Egyptian architects. The person entering the royal palace first gets into the room where he is waiting for a call (later they began to call him the entrance hall, or the anti-camera). The next room (audience hall) is for holding ceremonies of communication between the ruler and citizens. And only a select few fall into the last - throne - hall. And if all three halls are accessible to sight, the sight of the royal place, located on the central axis of the openings, caused a real thrill.
A similar function is performed by the church enfilade. That this is so will be clear if we recall the layout of the Orthodox church. Believers go through the narthex, the temple to the altar. These rooms are of different scales, but from the entrance you can see the iconostasis, the royal gates as the main sanctuary, the place of residence of God. Under the church vaults, the impressive solemnity of the enfilade arrangement of the halls is especially visible.
Main functions
As time went. The turbulent Baroque era left history with magnificent palace complexes with dozens of ceremonial and park suites. A suite of rooms appeared, ending in a boudoir or bedroom, rather than a throne room. The first rooms are more public: reception rooms, dance halls, art galleries and libraries. At the end of the enfilade is a private zone.
The residential enfilade is the same way of expressing attitudes towards guests as the palace one. The host himself went out to meet the guests of honor in the front rooms. The rest were escorted to him by servants. Farewell was also regulated by etiquette: the owner personally escorted guests of high rank to the halls closest to the exit.
Another important function of the adjacent placement of premises in large buildings is the organization of the movement of a large number of people. This is familiar to all visitors to major museums and art galleries. The passage route is indicated not only by the location of the openings, but also by the fact that the most spectacular interior perspectives open where the enfilade is located. A photo from the Louvre, the Hermitage, the Prado Gallery is the best proof of this.
Inside and outside
A series of office or living rooms with aisles along one axis was used in the layout of buildings of various styles. Enfilade is an architectural technique typical of both the terms of Ancient Rome and the Gothic palace of the British Parliament. She is a hallmark of the Russian estate of the era of classicism. In many adaptations of the novels by Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov, you can see the passage of heroes through a series of adjacent halls against the backdrop of a spectacular perspective of many openings that go deep into the house.
You can find the term "side enfilade." What is it, you can understand by looking at the floor plan. Doorways are located along one wall, and the rooms open to the side of the incoming. The common wall is usually external, with window openings, and the play of lateral daylight enriches the whole prospect of enfilade.
With the development of landscape architecture, enfilades also appeared in the open. Species points with a perspective on openings in green hedges or on passages in the form of porticoes are characteristic of magnificent parks in the outskirts of many European cities. Enfilade is one of the ways to diversify the urban environment itself. Streets that are straight, like rays, representing a series of spaces open only to the sky - an adornment of Paris, Rome and other capitals. Famous long enfilades of passage yards in St. Petersburg.
And in our time, classical architectural techniques do not lose their relevance. Enfilades of halls can be seen not only in the newly constructed buildings of museums and galleries, but also in high-level residential buildings.
Depth and rhythm
If architecture is “frozen music”, then enfilade is a beautiful melody with a clear rhythm, consisting of a harmonious combination of several bright chords. Such a comparison fully reveals its essence and beauty.