Observatory Tower Print, Portmeirion: Mounted Architectural Design by Clough Williams-Ellis

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Design for the Observatory Tower, Portmeirion, 1935

A copy of the original architectural drawings of Portmeirion by Clough Williams-Ellis; this Mounted Architectural Design of the Observatory Tower at Portmeirion is a fantastic gift for any Portmeirion / architecture enthusiast.

The significance for Clough Williams-Ellis of towers in the coastal landscape was connected with his love of sailing. For a sailor such structures suggest lighthouses and daymarks; this tower however, was also meant for looking out of. A submarine's camera obscura - derived from the topographical artist's tool of former centuries - was installed in the upper chamber, which projects a faint image of doings nearby on the estuary onto a table.

The architectural form of the Observatory Tower has Clough's characteristic forced perspective and scaled down detail to increase its apparent size and its colours, vividly suggested in this sheet, have a clarity suited to the maritime light. The Observatory is now surmounted by a star as the original painted cut-out of a mermaid on a globe shown in this drawing proved impractical during gales.