Racecourse Architecture

Ascot Racecourse Berkshire, UK

Since the day of its founding in 1711, Ascot has been a royal racecourse.

Over three centuries, its connection with the crown has shaped its prestigious reputation and its architectural environment. Its 2006 redevelopment is evidence of the importance given to physical setting in upholding its renown.

158

Ascot Racecourse Berkshire, UK

Since the day of its founding in 1711, Ascot has been a royal racecourse.

Over three centuries, its connection with the crown has shaped its prestigious reputation and its architectural environment. Its 2006 redevelopment is evidence of the importance given to physical setting in upholding its renown.

158

France

‘On Grand Prix Day one would imagine that all Paris and half of London were in attendance,’ wrote one commentator of the scene at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in 1901.20 If, compared with England, France came to the Sport of Kings late, it certainly came to it with gusto. From Parisian aristocracy and haute-bourgeoisie to merchants, students and clerks, Belle Époque France embraced racegoing – especially its social and gambling aspects – wholeheartedly. The turn of the century saw a veritable explosion in its racing industry, catalysed in no small measure by a trailblazing law of 1891 which banned bookmakers and instituted the pari-mutuel upon the nation’s courses. With the passing of this edict, came the democratisation of the Turf. Progressively, its appeal widened beyond its traditional blue-blooded circle to encompass all levels of society. Between 1890 and 1900, the annual number of thoroughbred meetings in France

The Anglo-Normand was the idiom employed by

had soared from 1,871 to 2,463, whilst the number of active racehorses

architect Berthault Léon when he was engaged to design the new

rocketed from 1,234 to 2,242.21

Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud, near Paris, built between 1898 and

The growth of the industry is best illustrated by the flurry of construction at racecourses old and new during the first decade of the twentieth century. Existing hippodromes procured bigger grandstands and whole new courses were founded, especially in suburban areas. This was the second generation of racecourse architecture in France. Almost invariably, new developments

1902 (Figure 1.47). The Anglo-Normand had already been used at the seaside course of Deauville for a weighing house (1890) (Figure 1.48). Based upon the vernacular architectural tradition of half timbering, overhanging eaves, dormers and gables. At SaintCloud, it was put to use upon a large scale.

Saint-Cloud did not use the nineteenth-century layout of

nineteenth-century wave of French racecourses. Modern technologies

the Chantilly-Longchamp type, based upon a line of hierarchical

and materials slowly began to be embraced, specifically reinforced

stands with an imperial pavilion at its apex. This had much to do

concrete, but these were almost always hidden beneath veneers of

with its origins. Unlike Chantilly and Longchamp, which were run

traditionalist architectural styles. Amongst the most popular of these

by the Société d’Encouragement on land owned by the duc d’Aumale

styles was the Anglo-Normand.

and the State respectively, Saint-Cloud was the private enterprise

The Gilded Age

Opposite 1.48 The Pavillon des Balances or weighing room at Deauville (1890), built in the AngloNormand style

Normandy, it was an eclectic style characterised by a jamboree of

adopted the ‘whole-cloth’ approach to design which had moulded the

80

1.47 Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud (1898-1902) epitomised a trend for new suburban racecourses around Paris at the turn of the century

Racecourse Architecture

81

France

‘On Grand Prix Day one would imagine that all Paris and half of London were in attendance,’ wrote one commentator of the scene at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in 1901.20 If, compared with England, France came to the Sport of Kings late, it certainly came to it with gusto. From Parisian aristocracy and haute-bourgeoisie to merchants, students and clerks, Belle Époque France embraced racegoing – especially its social and gambling aspects – wholeheartedly. The turn of the century saw a veritable explosion in its racing industry, catalysed in no small measure by a trailblazing law of 1891 which banned bookmakers and instituted the pari-mutuel upon the nation’s courses. With the passing of this edict, came the democratisation of the Turf. Progressively, its appeal widened beyond its traditional blue-blooded circle to encompass all levels of society. Between 1890 and 1900, the annual number of thoroughbred meetings in France

The Anglo-Normand was the idiom employed by

had soared from 1,871 to 2,463, whilst the number of active racehorses

architect Berthault Léon when he was engaged to design the new

rocketed from 1,234 to 2,242.21

Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud, near Paris, built between 1898 and

The growth of the industry is best illustrated by the flurry of construction at racecourses old and new during the first decade of the twentieth century. Existing hippodromes procured bigger grandstands and whole new courses were founded, especially in suburban areas. This was the second generation of racecourse architecture in France. Almost invariably, new developments

1902 (Figure 1.47). The Anglo-Normand had already been used at the seaside course of Deauville for a weighing house (1890) (Figure 1.48). Based upon the vernacular architectural tradition of half timbering, overhanging eaves, dormers and gables. At SaintCloud, it was put to use upon a large scale.

Saint-Cloud did not use the nineteenth-century layout of

nineteenth-century wave of French racecourses. Modern technologies

the Chantilly-Longchamp type, based upon a line of hierarchical

and materials slowly began to be embraced, specifically reinforced

stands with an imperial pavilion at its apex. This had much to do

concrete, but these were almost always hidden beneath veneers of

with its origins. Unlike Chantilly and Longchamp, which were run

traditionalist architectural styles. Amongst the most popular of these

by the Société d’Encouragement on land owned by the duc d’Aumale

styles was the Anglo-Normand.

and the State respectively, Saint-Cloud was the private enterprise

The Gilded Age

Opposite 1.48 The Pavillon des Balances or weighing room at Deauville (1890), built in the AngloNormand style

Normandy, it was an eclectic style characterised by a jamboree of

adopted the ‘whole-cloth’ approach to design which had moulded the

80

1.47 Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud (1898-1902) epitomised a trend for new suburban racecourses around Paris at the turn of the century

Racecourse Architecture

81

Longchamp and Chantilly replaced their grandstands with greater luxury and comfort, wrote Construction Moderne

premier seaside racing resort since its construction in 1864 by

in 1906, other parts of the courses were left unmodernised.

the devoted horseman, the Duc de Morny, as a summertime

Tremblay, conversely, catered for all the needs of the racing

rival to Baden-Baden. In 1913, as part of a wider remodelling, the

public and professionals; it was saluted as being completely

architects Louis Lefranc and Alfred Pigny were charged with

equipped for the modern age.25 Racquin designed a

designing a new stand to replace those that had stood since

comprehensive series of buildings comprising a grandstand,

the 1860s. The First World War interrupted the realisation of

weighing pavilion, pari-mutuel buildings and stables, united

the stand until 1919. The new grandstand melded the prototype

by a palette of pink-coloured bricks and white stone trim.

of Longchamp with that of Tremblay. Its rear façade, in its

The weighing pavilion was a lively, assymetrical medley of pitched gables, chimneys, terraces and arched windows of distinct domestic character, that was sited alongside the grandstand. Contemporary commentators made much of the heed given to improving sightlines within the building, something which was to increasingly preoccupy grandstand designers in the forthcoming decades.

‘The columns which ordinarily uphold the roof,’ wrote the Architectural Record, ‘have been replaced by an iron veranda the span of which is 10 metres, or just inside of 33 feet. It is a very daring and ingenious innovation. Until now, verandas of such large span have not been attempted in France.’26 Tremblay’s grandstand also drew attention for its construction method. It was a steel-framed construction, filled in with bricks (Figure 1.55). It was a frank and simple building, whose underlying form was not concealed but rather formed the basis of its aesthetic. This aesthetic was to become increasingly widespread, as the stand built in 1919 at Deauville illustrates.

86

The Gilded Age

The Hippodrome de Deauville had been France’s

stair towers, balconies and arches, recalled the rhythm and proportions of Longchamp (Figure 1.56). Its palette of materials and construction, on the other hand, shared a similar mindset to that of Tremblay. The Deauville grandstand had a red brick and white-trim skin covering a reinforced concrete frame. This most modern of materials was put to use in creating a cantilevered canopy on its trackside, enabling the column-free structure that won such plaudits at Tremblay (Figure 1.57). No other material or construction technique yielded such an influence upon

remained fused with a neo-classicist architectonic. D’Hondt even adorned

grandstand design not only in France, but across Europe.

the buildings with concrete bas-relief medallions.27 Its gracious, snow-

Reinforced concrete was pivotal to the third generation of French racecourse architecture, which emerged in the 1920s in Paris. Exemplified by the redevelopment of Longchamp in 1921 by architect Charles Adda and of Auteuil in 1924 by Albert-

white buildings reflected the elegance that the sport in the French capital was famed for. ‘Racing in Paris is racing-de-luxe,’ acclaimed one New

Opposite above 1.54 Grandstand and weighing pavilion of the Hippodrome du Tremblay in the Parisian suburbs, opened to warm welcome in 1906 Opposite middle 1.55 Tremblay was noted for its steel-frame construction

Zealand paper.28 Stylistically, this third generation continued to hark back to the

Emmanuel d’Hondt, it combined conventional hierarchical layouts

influential model of Longchamp’s 1904 stands. The stands seemed to

and traditional historicist styles with the innovatory properties of

epitomize the essence of the golden age of racing in Europe and beyond. As

reinforced concrete. Auteuil’s new stands, for instance, featured two

the sport gained in popularity the world across, time and again we encounter

storeys of seating, the upper of which was a cantilevered platform.

echoes of Longchamp within grandstand construction. The new buildings

This was heralded as an audacious structural achievement, yet it

of Milan’s racecourse were one such example.

Opposite below 1.56 Rear elevation of the grandstand at the Hippodrome de Deauville, completed in 1919 Above 1.57 The side elevation of Deauville’s grandstand illustrates its cantilevered, column-free canopy

Racecourse Architecture

87

Longchamp and Chantilly replaced their grandstands with greater luxury and comfort, wrote Construction Moderne

premier seaside racing resort since its construction in 1864 by

in 1906, other parts of the courses were left unmodernised.

the devoted horseman, the Duc de Morny, as a summertime

Tremblay, conversely, catered for all the needs of the racing

rival to Baden-Baden. In 1913, as part of a wider remodelling, the

public and professionals; it was saluted as being completely

architects Louis Lefranc and Alfred Pigny were charged with

equipped for the modern age.25 Racquin designed a

designing a new stand to replace those that had stood since

comprehensive series of buildings comprising a grandstand,

the 1860s. The First World War interrupted the realisation of

weighing pavilion, pari-mutuel buildings and stables, united

the stand until 1919. The new grandstand melded the prototype

by a palette of pink-coloured bricks and white stone trim.

of Longchamp with that of Tremblay. Its rear façade, in its

The weighing pavilion was a lively, assymetrical medley of pitched gables, chimneys, terraces and arched windows of distinct domestic character, that was sited alongside the grandstand. Contemporary commentators made much of the heed given to improving sightlines within the building, something which was to increasingly preoccupy grandstand designers in the forthcoming decades.

‘The columns which ordinarily uphold the roof,’ wrote the Architectural Record, ‘have been replaced by an iron veranda the span of which is 10 metres, or just inside of 33 feet. It is a very daring and ingenious innovation. Until now, verandas of such large span have not been attempted in France.’26 Tremblay’s grandstand also drew attention for its construction method. It was a steel-framed construction, filled in with bricks (Figure 1.55). It was a frank and simple building, whose underlying form was not concealed but rather formed the basis of its aesthetic. This aesthetic was to become increasingly widespread, as the stand built in 1919 at Deauville illustrates.

86

The Gilded Age

The Hippodrome de Deauville had been France’s

stair towers, balconies and arches, recalled the rhythm and proportions of Longchamp (Figure 1.56). Its palette of materials and construction, on the other hand, shared a similar mindset to that of Tremblay. The Deauville grandstand had a red brick and white-trim skin covering a reinforced concrete frame. This most modern of materials was put to use in creating a cantilevered canopy on its trackside, enabling the column-free structure that won such plaudits at Tremblay (Figure 1.57). No other material or construction technique yielded such an influence upon

remained fused with a neo-classicist architectonic. D’Hondt even adorned

grandstand design not only in France, but across Europe.

the buildings with concrete bas-relief medallions.27 Its gracious, snow-

Reinforced concrete was pivotal to the third generation of French racecourse architecture, which emerged in the 1920s in Paris. Exemplified by the redevelopment of Longchamp in 1921 by architect Charles Adda and of Auteuil in 1924 by Albert-

white buildings reflected the elegance that the sport in the French capital was famed for. ‘Racing in Paris is racing-de-luxe,’ acclaimed one New

Opposite above 1.54 Grandstand and weighing pavilion of the Hippodrome du Tremblay in the Parisian suburbs, opened to warm welcome in 1906 Opposite middle 1.55 Tremblay was noted for its steel-frame construction

Zealand paper.28 Stylistically, this third generation continued to hark back to the

Emmanuel d’Hondt, it combined conventional hierarchical layouts

influential model of Longchamp’s 1904 stands. The stands seemed to

and traditional historicist styles with the innovatory properties of

epitomize the essence of the golden age of racing in Europe and beyond. As

reinforced concrete. Auteuil’s new stands, for instance, featured two

the sport gained in popularity the world across, time and again we encounter

storeys of seating, the upper of which was a cantilevered platform.

echoes of Longchamp within grandstand construction. The new buildings

This was heralded as an audacious structural achievement, yet it

of Milan’s racecourse were one such example.

Opposite below 1.56 Rear elevation of the grandstand at the Hippodrome de Deauville, completed in 1919 Above 1.57 The side elevation of Deauville’s grandstand illustrates its cantilevered, column-free canopy

Racecourse Architecture

87

Italy

India

Reinforced concrete, combined with French historicist styles,

Let but a few Englishmen assemble in any quarter of the globe and it

the Calcuttan elite. 30 It is this tradition to which the Royal Calcutta

was a prominent design trend for the Belle Époque grandstand

may safely be predicated that a horse race would be organised.

Turf Club’s new grandstands belonged. By 1904 club attendances by

(Earl of Wilton, 1869)

across Europe and beyond. In Italy, the most exuberant exponent

far exceeded the capacity of the Maidan’s two 1880s stands, and in

of this was the Ippodromo di San Siro, in the outskirts of Milan.

Nowhere was this statement more applicable than in the British

May the following year Government approval had been granted to

The first San Siro had been built in 1888, but in 1911 the Lombard

Empire outpost of India. In the age of high Victoriana, the

build a range of new masonry stands.31 Their architect was Vincent

Jockey Club determined that its stands were no longer sufficient

grandstand was one of the most characteristic structures of India.

Esch (1876-1950), a ‘Calcuttan architectural institution’.32

to house the Milanese crowds which flocked to its races. A

Under the rule of the Turf-loving British, there was hardly a station

competition was announced for its rebuilding. Delays marred the

in India without a racecourse. The stands were on occasions nothing

architectural enclave in the Bengali capital. He had arrived in India

project’s progress. Construction did not commence until 1914 and,

more than flimsy tents, but at other times they were extremely lavish.

in 1898 as a young, newly-qualified English architect. He immediately

hampered by World War I, it took a further six years until the new

Throughout the nineteenth century, their grandeur grew, and by the

took up a post as architect to the Bengal Nagpur Railway Company

San Siro was completed. Contemporary commentators agreed,

Edwardian age the clubhouses, stands, stable blocks and restaurants

and went on to design a body of work in Calcutta including the

however, that it was worth the wait (Figure 1.58).

could rival government buildings in opulence. The racecourse of the

Allahabad Bank, Bengal Club, Temple Chambers and the Victoria

Royal Calcutta Turf Club was one such example. The racecourse’s

Memorial. All adopted the restrained classicism which characterised

Milanese architect Arrigo Cantoni, designed the new complex.

buildings had been remodelled several times since it had been

so much of the city.33 His designs for the Royal Calcutta Turf Club

For Vietti-Violi, it was the beginning of a distinguished career

established on the large, flat expanse of the Maidan in 1819, when, in

followed suit.

as an architect of sports facilities, whose output went on to

1905-6, three new stands were built (Figure 1.59).

Paolo Vietti-Violi (1882-1965), along with prominent

include racecourses in Rome and Merano. Amidst an ensemble of weighing room, stables, entrance buildings and others, the

redolent of Longchamp in their cadence of projecting belvedere

centrepiece of the new racecourse was its two large grandstands.

stair towers and double-height arches, coupled with neo-classical

Their reinforced concrete fabric permitted an extensive

vocabulary. The secondary stand was restrained in its classicism,

provision of balconies, stairs and overhanging canopies, which,

but the principal stand gave vent to a repertoire of Ionic pilasters

although not column-free, were supported by few obstructive

and columns, swags, urns, rustication, balustrades and central

pillars. This modern framework was, though, cloaked within a

sculpted pediment. Its grandiosity spoke of the heights to which

distinctly historicist casing. Notwithstanding Italy’s venerable

thoroughbred racing reached in the Belle Époque. Moreover,

architectural heritage, Vietti-Violo turned not to native sources

it demonstrated the international character of grandstand

of inspiration for his design but looked instead abroad, in

architecture, amidst which especial importance was allotted to

particular to the celebrated precedent of Longchamp’s 1904

French architectural precedent. The latter’s influence was stretched

tribunes. The rear façades of San Siro’s two stands were strikingly

across the globe, even to the Bay of Benghal.

88

The Gilded Age

1.58 The Ippodromo di San Siro, Milan (1920), was reminiscent of the stands of Longchamp

At the opening of the twentieth century, Calcutta was

Esch played a notable role in the forging of a European

As in his other commissions, Esch relied heavily on concrete for the stand’s superstructure. However, he was no modernist. Esch’s

enjoying a high point. Unlike most viceroys, the current incumbent

approach ‘was to use modern technology discreetly in support

Lord Curzon favoured Calcutta and under his administration, the

of an historical cultural pattern,’ and in the case of the Turf Club,

city was boosted by several large building projects. A ‘glance at

this meant employing the established tradition of European High

the building of the town, at the river and the roar and the smoke,

Victorian stands with a pronounced French classicist flavour.34 The

is sufficient to show that Calcutta is in reality a European city set

three stands had a tiered cross section. Two levels of open raked

down upon Asiatic soil,’ Curzon said in a 1903 speech to the Bengal

seating and a stepped terrace, which extended to the track apron,

Chamber of Commerce. By the opening of the twentieth century,

provided viewing accommodation for the racecourse’s wealthy

Calcutta ranked as the second biggest city in the whole of the British

patrons. At the rear, circulation and refreshment spaces were

Empire and it had a markedly classical silhouette. From the dome of

housed behind stately brick and stone-dressed façades. The most

its Government House (1803) to the Greek temple-like façade of its

impressive of the three stands was the central one. With its stone

Mint (1837), neoclassicism was the language of Calcuttan power and

quoins, balustrades, pediments, keystones, and three mansard-

29

Racecourse Architecture

89

Italy

India

Reinforced concrete, combined with French historicist styles,

Let but a few Englishmen assemble in any quarter of the globe and it

the Calcuttan elite. 30 It is this tradition to which the Royal Calcutta

was a prominent design trend for the Belle Époque grandstand

may safely be predicated that a horse race would be organised.

Turf Club’s new grandstands belonged. By 1904 club attendances by

(Earl of Wilton, 1869)

across Europe and beyond. In Italy, the most exuberant exponent

far exceeded the capacity of the Maidan’s two 1880s stands, and in

of this was the Ippodromo di San Siro, in the outskirts of Milan.

Nowhere was this statement more applicable than in the British

May the following year Government approval had been granted to

The first San Siro had been built in 1888, but in 1911 the Lombard

Empire outpost of India. In the age of high Victoriana, the

build a range of new masonry stands.31 Their architect was Vincent

Jockey Club determined that its stands were no longer sufficient

grandstand was one of the most characteristic structures of India.

Esch (1876-1950), a ‘Calcuttan architectural institution’.32

to house the Milanese crowds which flocked to its races. A

Under the rule of the Turf-loving British, there was hardly a station

competition was announced for its rebuilding. Delays marred the

in India without a racecourse. The stands were on occasions nothing

architectural enclave in the Bengali capital. He had arrived in India

project’s progress. Construction did not commence until 1914 and,

more than flimsy tents, but at other times they were extremely lavish.

in 1898 as a young, newly-qualified English architect. He immediately

hampered by World War I, it took a further six years until the new

Throughout the nineteenth century, their grandeur grew, and by the

took up a post as architect to the Bengal Nagpur Railway Company

San Siro was completed. Contemporary commentators agreed,

Edwardian age the clubhouses, stands, stable blocks and restaurants

and went on to design a body of work in Calcutta including the

however, that it was worth the wait (Figure 1.58).

could rival government buildings in opulence. The racecourse of the

Allahabad Bank, Bengal Club, Temple Chambers and the Victoria

Royal Calcutta Turf Club was one such example. The racecourse’s

Memorial. All adopted the restrained classicism which characterised

Milanese architect Arrigo Cantoni, designed the new complex.

buildings had been remodelled several times since it had been

so much of the city.33 His designs for the Royal Calcutta Turf Club

For Vietti-Violi, it was the beginning of a distinguished career

established on the large, flat expanse of the Maidan in 1819, when, in

followed suit.

as an architect of sports facilities, whose output went on to

1905-6, three new stands were built (Figure 1.59).

Paolo Vietti-Violi (1882-1965), along with prominent

include racecourses in Rome and Merano. Amidst an ensemble of weighing room, stables, entrance buildings and others, the

redolent of Longchamp in their cadence of projecting belvedere

centrepiece of the new racecourse was its two large grandstands.

stair towers and double-height arches, coupled with neo-classical

Their reinforced concrete fabric permitted an extensive

vocabulary. The secondary stand was restrained in its classicism,

provision of balconies, stairs and overhanging canopies, which,

but the principal stand gave vent to a repertoire of Ionic pilasters

although not column-free, were supported by few obstructive

and columns, swags, urns, rustication, balustrades and central

pillars. This modern framework was, though, cloaked within a

sculpted pediment. Its grandiosity spoke of the heights to which

distinctly historicist casing. Notwithstanding Italy’s venerable

thoroughbred racing reached in the Belle Époque. Moreover,

architectural heritage, Vietti-Violo turned not to native sources

it demonstrated the international character of grandstand

of inspiration for his design but looked instead abroad, in

architecture, amidst which especial importance was allotted to

particular to the celebrated precedent of Longchamp’s 1904

French architectural precedent. The latter’s influence was stretched

tribunes. The rear façades of San Siro’s two stands were strikingly

across the globe, even to the Bay of Benghal.

88

The Gilded Age

1.58 The Ippodromo di San Siro, Milan (1920), was reminiscent of the stands of Longchamp

At the opening of the twentieth century, Calcutta was

Esch played a notable role in the forging of a European

As in his other commissions, Esch relied heavily on concrete for the stand’s superstructure. However, he was no modernist. Esch’s

enjoying a high point. Unlike most viceroys, the current incumbent

approach ‘was to use modern technology discreetly in support

Lord Curzon favoured Calcutta and under his administration, the

of an historical cultural pattern,’ and in the case of the Turf Club,

city was boosted by several large building projects. A ‘glance at

this meant employing the established tradition of European High

the building of the town, at the river and the roar and the smoke,

Victorian stands with a pronounced French classicist flavour.34 The

is sufficient to show that Calcutta is in reality a European city set

three stands had a tiered cross section. Two levels of open raked

down upon Asiatic soil,’ Curzon said in a 1903 speech to the Bengal

seating and a stepped terrace, which extended to the track apron,

Chamber of Commerce. By the opening of the twentieth century,

provided viewing accommodation for the racecourse’s wealthy

Calcutta ranked as the second biggest city in the whole of the British

patrons. At the rear, circulation and refreshment spaces were

Empire and it had a markedly classical silhouette. From the dome of

housed behind stately brick and stone-dressed façades. The most

its Government House (1803) to the Greek temple-like façade of its

impressive of the three stands was the central one. With its stone

Mint (1837), neoclassicism was the language of Calcuttan power and

quoins, balustrades, pediments, keystones, and three mansard-

29

Racecourse Architecture

89