STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS 2
Chapter 18: Architectural Elements
CLASSICAL ELEMENTS
Classical architecture typically refers to the styles of both ancient Greece and Rome, which are based around the ixed columnar proportions and ornamentation of the classical orders. Both Greek and Roman classicism have been the bases of revivals throughout history, and the ideals behind their form and proportion continue to have resonance today.
pronaos:
vestibule
opisthodomos:
enclosed section at the rear of the temple Parthenon,
Athens, Greece 448–32 B.C.E.
cella (naos):
shrine room at center of temple
peripteros:
single row of columns surrounding building
Architectural Elements 187 tympanium
acroterion
triglyph metope
tenia guttae regula
shaft
pediment
cornice
frieze
architrave capital
shaft
stylobate
stereobate (maximum
entasis at 2/5 height of column)
Entasis: Slight convex curvature of classical columns, used to counteract the optical illusion of concavity produced by straight lines. Other adjustments, such as reclining the columns slightly away from the vertical and making the end columns larger and closer together, also produce a more pleasing visual effect.
Caryatid: Sculpted female igure used as a column to support an entablature. Other forms include atlantes or telamones (male caryatids), canephorae (females with baskets on their heads), herms (three-quarter-height igures), and terms (pedestals that taper upward, terminating in a sculptured human or animal).
Tuscan
simplest; derived from Etruscan temples
Doric Greek (no base) and Roman
Ionic characterized by volutes on its capital
pedestal base shaft capital entablature
1 dia.
7 dia. 8 dia. 9 dia.
13/4 dia. 2 dia. 21/4 dia.
22/3 dia. 3 dia.
21/3 dia.
CLASSICAL ORDERS
Elements of the classical orders are distinguished by their unique proportioning system based on the shaft diameter of the columns, from which pedestal, shaft, and entablature heights are derived. Using a common shaft diameter, the ive orders are shown here in their proportional relationship to each other.
Architectural Elements 189
Corinthian Greek and Roman, luted or not;
characterized by acanthus leaves on its capital
Composite Roman combination of Ionic and Corinthian orders
10 dia. 10 dia.
21/2 dia. 2 1/2 dia.
31/3 dia. 31/3 dia. entablature architravefriezecornice
capitalshaftbase
plinth
pedestal
plinth dado or die
Architectural Elements 189
wooden roof
pinnacle
lying buttress
buttress pier
aisle nave
chapel
apse
transept
chapel
GOTHIC ELEMENTS
main arcade tritorium clerestory
aisle nave aisle
Typical Plan
Rheims Cathedral, France 1212–1300
inial
crocket
Architectural Elements 191 3
2 1 7
6
4 5
10 8
9
A R C H E S
Semicircular
Semicircular Stilted
Segmental
Jack Pointed Saracenic
(Gothic)
Tudor (Four-centered) Ogee Three-centered
1 abutment 2 voussoirs 3 keystone 4 intrados (sofit) 5 extrados 6 crown 7 haunch 8 span 9 springing line 10 center
Architectural Elements 191
parapet
cornice
dentils
louver (mechanical)
drip mold
mullion muntin
curtain wall
spandrel
quoin
band
base (piano nobile)
rustication
Architectural Elements 193
MODERNISM
Architectural modernism opposed following the forms and styles of the past in favor of embracing contemporary technology and opportunities. Industrialization and innovative methods of using iron, steel, and concrete for structural systems opened up new and lexible ways to design buildings that no longer depended on heavy masonry bearing walls. Swiss architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965) de-veloped the Domino House system (1914), in which he separated building structure from enclosure, freeing up both plan and façade.
open plan free façade roof terrace
ribbon windows
pilotis
Le Corbusier’s ive points are supports (pilotis), roof gardens, free plans, horizontal windows, and free design of the façade. His 1929 Villa Savoye (which he dubbed a “machine for living”) in Poissy, France, illustrates all ive points clearly.
MARCUS VITRUVIUS POLLIO (c. 80 BCE - c. 15 BCE) was a Roman architect, engi-neer, and writer, whose De Architectura (in English, Ten Books on Architecture) was written around 15 BCE and dedicated to Emperor Augustus. The books provide explanation and insight into the architecture, engineering and city planning of clas-sical antiquity, though it was not until the Renaissance that they were re-discovered and ultimately published in 1486. Vitruvius proposed firmitas, utilitas, and venustas as three elements forming the basis for architecture:
irmness (structural stability and integrity)
commodity (eficient and functional spatial arrangement) delight (pleasing proportion and beauty)
CANONICAL ARCHITECTURAL PUBLICATIONS
LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI (1401-1472)
De Re Aedificatoria (On the Art of Building), written between 1443-1452, became the irst printed book on architecture with its publication in 1485 (followed by the publication of Vitruvius’s Ten Books inally in 1486).
1. Lineaments 2. Materials 3. Construction 4. Public Works 5. Works of Individuals 6. Ornament
7. Ornament to Sacred Buildings 8. Ornament to Public Secular Buildings 9. Ornament to Private Buildings 10. Restoration of Buildings
Book 1: Education of the architect; principals of architecture; city planning Book 2: Materials for building; origin of the dwelling house
Book 3: Symmetry and proportion; temples; architectural orders Book 4: Temples; origins of the three orders (continuation of Book 3) Book 5: Civic buildings (Forum, Basilica, Senate); theater design Book 6: Domestic buildings
Book 7: Stucco; plasterwork; colors Book 8: Water; aqueducts and cisterns Book 9: Zodiac; planets; astrology Book 10: Machines and instruments
Architectural Elements 195
ANDREA PALLADIO (1508-1580) I quattro libri dell’architettura (The Four Books of Architecture) A Renaissance architect, Palladio’s highly illustrated treatise includes his own designs and the ancient Roman inspirations for his and other work of the Renaissance.
Book 1 - buidling materials and techniques; the orders of archi-tecture
Book 2 - private houses Book 3 - streets, bridges, piazzas Book 4 - reproductions of ancient Roman temple designs
LE CORBUSIER (1887-1965) Oeuvre Complète
(Complete Works in Eight Volumes) Published regularly throughout the proliic working life (and beyond) of Swiss architect Le Corbusier, the Oeuvre Complète comprises over 1700 pages. Contained within is a comprehensive collection of his sketches, drawings, projects both built and unbuilt, texts and mani-festos, paintings, and sculptures.
volume 1: 1910-1929 volume 2: 1929-1934 volume 3: 1934-1938 volume 4: 1938-1946 volume 5: 1946-1952 volume 6: 1952-1957 volume 7: 1957-1965
volume 8: 1965-1969 (last works)
SEBASTIANO SERLIO (1475-1554)
I sette libri dell’architettura (Seven Books of Architecture) also known as:
Tutte l’opere d’architettura et prospetiva (All the works on architecture and perspective)
1. On Geometry 2. On Perspective 3. On Antiquities
4. On the Five Styles of Buildings 5. On Temples
6. On Habitations 7. On Situations
With the irst of the books published in 1537, Serlio’s books were highly illus-trated, and written in Italian, in order to appeal to architects and builders of the day - in contrast to Alberti’s books, which were written in Latin and did not focus on illustration. Many of Serlio’s books were published long after his death.
STANDARDS 3.
Codes, laws, and regulations can carry with them a certain off-putting sugges-tion of bureaucratic obfuscasugges-tion. To run afoul of them would never be recom-mended, but attempts to understand them can be frustrating. Certainly, there exist standards that appear senseless or unnecessarily restrictive, but as the world changes and populations expand, the built environment is subject to an increasing number of forces that dictate its use and forms.
As we open doors, turn on lights, and navigate stairs, we all experience irsthand standards within design practice. Ideally, codes and standards allow us to use buildings safely. Constraints brought by code restrictions may also provide an opportunity to let good design solve dificult problems.
As the very real design needs of people with disabilities receive oficial and widespread acknowledgment and the concept of accessibility becomes more naturally integrated with architecture—for younger designers this is the norm—it can be dificult to imagine how recently it was viewed as an impediment to good design.
Acceptance of the aesthetic possibilities of sustainable design is even more re-cent. In fact, new standards that accommodate all types of users and a growing recognition of architecture’s responsibility to the environment and its future can provide fresh takes on old forms and strong incentives to try new processes.