robin middleton of columbia university, new york, has developed a highly original approach to the architecturef the 18th century. the first design for this floor was a simple checkerboard without these dynamic directional indicators, but all that was to change as the building took form. the interiors here are amongst the first works of a brilliant architect of the period--robert adam. he wanted to design like a landscape gardener. he writes of the rise and the fall of the hills and dales, but especially of the movement between them. these effects he wanted to get when he put his masses together. these were notions of picturesque composition. he uses them outside and inside. when he uses his moldings and his patterns, he's modeling spaces, and he's trying to show you how to move through them. let me show you what i mean. well, you won't be surprised to learn that that door leads off to the duke's private apartments. the niche here is large, soft, intimate-- well, almost. at the other end of the hall, something different happens. a dynamic patter on the ceiling and on the floor leads you into th