It's inspiring to think that beneath the plain exterior of your fellow office workers lurks a band of anarchist revolutionaries.
Looking at the plain exterior and the treasures inside it is like looking at the back of a seashell, well-shaped but monochrome, then turning it over and discovering the complex marvels within.
Katherine Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the Gardner, said the new building would play the role of "respectful nephew to the grand aunt," with a plain exterior that will not outshine the buff-colored brick dowager.
Day two Sunday morning: go to church The Church of Sao Roque (21) on Largo Trindade Coelho (00 351 213 235 824; open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-6pm) has a plain exterior that belies an opulent interior with ornate hand-painted tiles and beautiful side chapels, particularly that of St John the Baptist, wrought with gold and silver, ivory and lapis lazuli.
We know about Emily Brontë (who gave us Wuthering Heights, Cathy, Heathcliff, Laurence Olivier in leather britches striding across Hollywood moors – for which, absolutely, many thanks – and Kate Bush) and Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre, the red room, mad wife in the attic, blinded Byronic hero who nevertheless sees through the heroine's plain exterior to love the passionate heart within).
The plain exterior is contrasted by the elegance of the interior of the house.
The plain exterior is contrasted by interior's elaborate hall ceilings, detailed woodwork and arched marble fireplaces.
The building's plain exterior contrasts with its well-preserved and, in parts, ancient interior whose features include wall paintings and stone memorials.
These cave temples at Badami are similar, in that, each has a plain exterior but an exceptionally well finished interior consisting of a pillared verandah, a columned hall (mantapa) and a cella (shrine, cut deep into rock) which contains the deity of worship.
His photographs capture the many different worlds hidden inside the complex's plain brick exterior.
From the street, the 1972 building designed by Louis I. Kahn, offers a plain travertine exterior that will not prepare you for the soaring harmonies inside.
