Chapter Seven: Thornton v. Hadfield
The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of Contents Chapter Seven: Thornton v. Hadfield 84. Hadfield's simplification of the 1793 Conference Plan When Hadfield signed his employment contract on October 15, 1795, he "requested permission in the presence of the full board" to give them his opinion "respecting the state of the building, after having procured the designs and examined the work." On October 27, he reported that there were "defects that are not warrantable, in most of the branches that constitute the profession of an Architect, Stability - Economy - Convenience - Beauty...."1 Given the recent collapse of the Capitol’s foundation walls, Hoban had to react to the stability of his work being impugned. Hadfield also criticized “material inconveniences in the apartments, deformity in Rooms, chimneys and windows placed without simmetry, and no oeconomy of space.” Then...