PREFACE II
序言二

Timothy Corrigan, Principal Timothy Corrigan, Inc蒂莫西·科里根 首席设计师蒂莫西·科里根公司

Even after its birth about 250 years ago, the Neo-classical style is still considered the epitome of refined elegance, beauty and grace in architecture and the decorative arts. The Neo-classical style with its clean lines and rigid symmetry was first developed in France in the mid-18th century and was quickly adopted throughout Europe. A direct result of the Enlightenment movement, the tastemakers of the period had become tired of the perceived excess of the previous century that was typified by the Rococo style, turned for inspiration to classical art and a desire to move away from overtly grand public spaces to create rooms that are more intimate and of human scale. The Neo-classical style, based on straight lines and rectilinear forms, used a selection of classical ornaments that were first applied to French architecture and decorative arts during the 1760s.My home in France's famed Loire Valley, the Chateau du Grand-Luce, has been called “one of the most precious elements of architecture of the French Enlightenment”. It is featured here in this book, as well as a book that I wrote entitled: “An Invitation to Chateau du Grand-Luce”. The chateau is a wonderful representation of how the principles of Neo-classical architecture continue to define elegant living on a human scale. What one finds at my chateau is how a structure as potentially imposing as Neo-classican chateau in the French countryside can be turned into a warm inviting place for the way that people actually live today. The guiding principles of Neo-classical architecture (symmetry, clean lines, human-scaled rooms) can be applied equally well to recreations of the past and even to the most contemporary forms of architecture.

即便是在其诞生后大约250年前，新古典主义风格仍旧被认为是建筑与装饰艺术里精致、美丽、高贵和优雅的象征。以简洁的线条和严格的对称著称的新古典主义风格在18世纪中叶首先在法国得以发展，并迅速风靡整个欧洲。启蒙主义运动带来的直接结果之一是这一期间的时尚弄潮儿已对先前泛滥的典型的洛可可式样产生了视觉疲劳，继而转向寻找古典艺术灵感，并渴望摒弃过于宏大的公共空间，转而打造更多加贴心、人性化的精致客房。基于直线和直线形式的新古典主义风格在18世纪60年代被首次应用于法国建筑和装饰艺术的经典作品之中。

我的家坐落于法国著名的卢瓦尔河谷——大吕克城堡，它被称为“法国启蒙运动最珍贵的元素之一”。它在本书里闪亮登场，在我写的那本《大吕克城堡的邀请》一书中也有它的“靓影”。这座城堡再现了新古典主义建筑原则诠释人性化、高雅的居住理念的全过程。在我的城堡里，一座法国乡村的新古典主义城堡华丽变身为一个温暖诱人之所、一个适宜现代人实际生活之地。新古典主义建筑的指导原则（对称、流线型、人性化的空间设计）同样适用于过去的娱乐消遣建筑，甚至适用于当代建筑。