the primitive hut
About The Primitive Hut in the history of art and architecture, and why it means so much to us. In the 1755 edition of the Essai sur l'Architecture, Abbe Marc-Antoine Laugier provides a drawing of the primitive hut. For Laugier, the primitive hut represents the first architectural idea. The hut is an abstract concept. While it is an imaginary "house", it has important meaning to us because it is an emblem of material construction, well-being and the art of dwelling. The symbolic elements of Laugier's hut are simple: trees as columns. The tree-columns are rooted to the ground. They are alive. The foliage, although trimmed, provides a lush roof canopy. Simple, yet modern, it is a frame for living. The dweller fills in the rest. frontispiece of the second edition of Essai sur l'Architecture (1755) by French artist, Charles Eisen. In the drawing, Architecture, represented by a woman, leans upon the ruins of the classical orders. She point