The modernists who wanted the royal family's favorite home rebuilt to reflect the late 20th century have lost out to the traditionalists glorying in Windsor Castle's historic past.
Queen Elizabeth II has given final approval to a plan unveiled this week that will restore all but three of the principal rooms damaged in the November 1992 fire to their original early 19th-century splendor.And new designs for those three rooms - the Queen's Private Chapel where the blaze started when a curtain caught fire and the Holbein and Stuart Rooms - will follow the castle's distinctive Gothic style, but with a "modern reinterpretation."
The Royal Institute of British Architects, which had argued for the monarchy to abandon the past, reiterated Tuesday that "it would have been happy for there to be some contemporary design incorporated."
Prince Charles, whose aversion to most modern architecture has been highly publicized, and his father, Prince Philip, presided over the restoration committee, which considered six submissions by invited architects.
None of the designs matched some of the startling ideas that emerged from two private initiatives in 1993 which the palace never considered: columns shaped like wine glasses, a high-tech tower, a new exterior for damaged St. George's Hall shaped like a giant corkscrew, or leaving it in ruins as a symbol to humiliate the royal family for surrounding themselves "with artifice."
Giles Downes, a partner of London architects Sidell Gibson whose plans were chosen from the short list, said the scope for redesign was limited by the necessity of making the three small rooms fit into the whole restoration.
Through the castle's 900 years of history, he said, successive generations of builders and architects had reinterpreted Gothic architecture in their own distinctive way.
"We have based our design approach on our own modern reinterpretation of Gothic, as a continuation of this tradition at Windsor and as a reflection of the attitudes and interests of the 1990s," he said.
John Tiltman, in charge of the overall reconstruction at the castle less than an hour's drive from Buckingham Palace, said the $64 million project was to be completed by the spring of 1998.
Under Downes' plans, there will be a new octagon-shaped anteroom, built on the site of the Private Chapel. Eight wooden columns, each carrying a fan of 25 curving oak ribs shaped like a giant plant, form the vault. The room will be lit by a roof lantern reminiscent of a Tiffany lampshade.
A new Private Chapel, on the site of the former Holbein Room, also has vaulted ceilings. The old Stuart Room will be used for a new staircase.
St. George's Hall, where The Knights of the Garter, Britain's oldest order of chivalry, traditionally meet, will be restored to its original appearance. But it is getting a higher, more pointed ceiling, which will be decorated with 700 armor shields.
The fire has had one unexpected outcome.
Tiltman said archaeologists have made several exciting finds, including a medieval well reaching 140 feet down to the River Thames, a 14th-century roof over the Great Kitchen, which is being restored, and a 17th-century cesspool containing remains of 15 varieties of fish and meat and 30 different fruit and vegetables.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Windsor Castle
Plans are in place to restore castle rooms that were damaged in a November 1992 fire. Built around the year 1066, Windsor Castle is the oldest royal residence still in use.
The castle stands in Windsor, about 21 miles west of London. The Upper Ward contains the royal apartments and great state rooms.