500words

What is a dwelling?  It is ‘a building or place of shelter to live in, a place of residence, abode, home’.  It’s a slightly strange word, not commonly used in first world countries, where usually people refer to the type of dwelling live in – this allows a view of the type of property, and also slightly denotes its characteristics and potentially it’s value.  The word dwelling seems to me to denote a more humble and pressing solution to human need.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes five levels – physiological needs, safety needs, belongness and love, esteem and self-actualisation.  A dwelling provides a number of inputs to these levels – if we have a dwelling, we have shelter, security, safety, a feeling of accomplishment, and an opportunity to feel like we have achieved something – getting a home, and providing shelter for loved ones.  Lack of a dwelling place impacts heavily on human need fulfilment. In developing countries, dwellings can meet the sam...

Ghosts of the Trianon ...or a case of mutual hysteria brought on by lesbianism The Grand Trianon, commissioned by Louis XIV in 1670 to serve him as a venue in which to conduct nefarious endeavours, is perhaps one of the most decadent yet refined architectural ensembles, to be found and enjoyed in the royal estate of Versailles. Typically, of the time and architectural bent, a gauche yet at the same time modest palace set across a single storey and boasting pink marble, it was said to combine the ‘elevation of an orangery, the layout of a warren and the materials of a royal residence’. On the 10 August, 1901, in the languid heat of the first summer of the new century, it was also the destination for two holidaying friends, visiting from Oxford, on a day that would later come to be known, as the Morberly-Jourdain incident (or, for increased thrill, The Ghosts of Trianon). Firm friends, academics and res...

The Palace of Versailles   Louis XIII was an avid hunter, And so off he went in search of game one day, In an area located between his residencies, One in Paris, one in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. And whilst he was on this great hunt, Pheasants, boars and stags all caught his eye, He decided this was the perfect location for a hunting lodge, The humble beginnings, of the Palace of Versailles.   To this place his son took a great liking, And under his instruction the lodge grew and grew, From the construction of the forecourt to the Royal chapel, Louis XIV ensured there was always something new. In 1682 it became the main residence of the French court and government, The sound of parties and leisure often filled the sky, The new King expressed his power and authority, In the grandness, of the Palace of Versailles.   Extravagant gardens stretched for hundreds of acres, A truly breath-taking sight, Although rumour has it the overwhe...

When France’s King Louis XIII died at the age of 41 in 1643, the monarchy passed to the eldest of his two children, Louis XIV, who was just four years old at the time. As the new king was far too young to rule over his 19 million subjects his mother, Anne, served as regent until Louis XIV’s coronation at the age of 15. King Louis XIV then ruled for 72 years and 110 days, until his death in 1715. King Louis XIV was known as the “Sun King” as he reigned over a period of great prosperity in France. The Sun King personified this prosperity and spent the equivalent of around £1.5 billion in today’s money turning the Palace of Versailles into a decadent royal residence. The Palace served as the principal royal residence of France for 107 years, from 1682 until the start of the French Revolution in 1789. The Palace is located approximately 12miles away from the centre of Paris, in Yvelines. The Palace and its surrounding grounds cover an area of 2,014 acres, making it the largest Royal Do...