While many consider this to be a tactical military term, an enfilade is a linear arrangement of a series of interior doors, as in a suite of rooms, so as to provide a vista when the doors are open. The interconnected rooms are arranged in a row with each room opening into the next.
In his wonderful new book, The Great American Home, architect Gil Shafer suggests that enfilades are one of traditional architecture’s best tools in making older homes feel modern. Shafer states: These long, unbroken passageways create a physical, visual, and aural connection between the formal and informal ends of a home without compromising the character or definition of the individual rooms; apart from enabling a residence’s disparate parts to flow into one another, enfilades can also help break down the scale of even the largest house, making it feel more livable.
From Gil Shafer’s, “The Great American Home”
An enfilade was incorporated into the plan for Revival’s renovation of a 1950s Clem Ford designed house in Buckhead. Shafer was one of the jurors that selected this project as the winner of the 2013 Shutze Award for Residential Renovation.
Atlanta, Georgia
There are so many beautiful examples of this architectural feature, around the world, indoor and outdoor. Here are some images we found to share with you.
Enfilade at Versailles, France
Enfilade, Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England
Palazzo Loredan Vendramin Calergi, Venice, Italy
Chiyodanomori Dental Clinic, Gunma, Japan
Balmain Design Headquarters, Paris, France
Pavlovsk Palace near St. Petersburg
Torosay Estate, Isle of Mull, Scotland
Copenhagen, Denmark
If you would like to see more examples of enfilades used throughout the world, visit our enfilade board on Pinterest.
