Classical Architecture: Windows, Arches, Vaults, and Orders - Prof. Lauren Bricker, Exams of Architecture

Download Classical Architecture: Windows, Arches, Vaults, and Orders - Prof. Lauren Bricker and more Exams Architecture in PDF only on Docsity! 1. anthropomorphism - gabriel 1- 1. the attribution of a human form, human characteristics, or human behavior to nonhuman things. Example: “In the human body, the face is clearly distinguished by the location of the eyes and other sensors. Similarly in buildings, the front should be where there are more windows, or “wind-eyes” as they used to be called. It is therefore natural to accept the fact that many buildings, public, or private, are entered through the back,” Pg. 17, Gabriel. 2. arches + vaults - gabriel 2- Arches and vaults are the solution to covering a large span with the use of small materials (bricks & stone). “A vault can be made by placing a series of identical arches side by side. Arches and vaults can assume many shapes, but classical builders have favored pure geometric forms. Vaults transmit considerable loads to their supports, but we perceive them in an entirely different way: they seem to “soar”,” Pg. 52, Gabriel. Arches are the spanning of an opening by means other than that of a lintel. True arches are curved and so constructed with wedge-shaped blocks over the opening that the downward thrust of the weight of their own material and of that above is converted into outward thrusts resisted by the flanking material. Vaults are an arched ceiling or roof of stone, brick or concrete, sometimes imitated in wood or plaster. Types of vaults: Barrel vaults, cross vaults (two intersecting barrel vaults), elliptical vaults, fan vaults, groin vaults, rib vaults, etc. 3. architrave - gabriel 2- An architrave is one of the three components that make up the entablature, along with the frieze and cornice. The architrave is the lintel extending from one column or pier to another; also the lowest of the three main parts of an entablature, or the molded frame surrounding a door or window. Good picture on Pg. 40 in Gabriel Fig. 2.12. 4. balustrades + parapets - gabriel 2- Parapets are stretched out pedestals. They are used in place of a long balustrade. Check out Pg. 49 in Gabriel Fig. 2.38, 2.39 good examples. “Balustrades are used as ornamental design elements, their practical use is to prevent falls, but they are also used on inaccessible roofs to soften the transition between the solid mass of the building and the sky above,” Pg. 49, Gabriel. Definition of Baluster from Dictionary of Architecture: A short post or pillar in a series supporting a rail or coping and thus forming a balustrade. Definition of Parapet from Dictionary of Architecture: A low wall, sometimes battlemented, placed to protect any spot where there is a sudden drop, for example at the edge of a bridge. #5 :Base: The lowest supporting part of a column, pier, or wall. #6: Base+capital: the base and the capital are the begining and the end of the column, and their main function is to negotiate a harmonious transition between the vertical shaft and the horizontal elements above the below. #7: Bilateral Symmetry: It is the most effective form of visual order. It proclaims permanence and immutability.Symmetry in architecture sends a powerful message because we are attuned to the symmetry of our bodies. #8: Capital: The topmost part of a column or pilaster, above the shaft. A capital is a cube with its bottom edges and corners cut away to form a transition from a circular column shaft to a square. 9. clear + simple geometry - gabriel 1 -Gabriel’s canon that deems the square and the circle, with the triangle, as the easiest forms to identify. He refers to them as being perfect in regularity, and assumes that this is why they are the most common in classical buildings. Circles and squares do not overlap or jostle each other for supremecy. Even in profile, classical moldings are segments of circles alternating with horizontal/vertical straight lines. Classical openings are based on a square, either 1:1 (windows) or 1:2 (door openings). 10. colonnades - gabriel 2 A collonade is a row of columns that comes in many forms. Double, triple, and quadruple rows provide different effects. Intercolumniation, or the spacing between columns, is argued. The spacing of columns must always be consistent as A-A-A or A-B-A-B. Measurements between columns are taken from axis to axis o provide the most accuracy. 11. corners + sides: Gabriel 1. In a basic room, homogeneity is achieved when opposite walls share the same basic articulation. They reflect one another and share axes of symmetry. This allows all 4 walls to address themselves to the center of the room. Two paneled walls present enough similarities for visual comfort. Both walls are divided into 3 parts, and the center bays are occupied by significant elements facing on another: a door on one side vs a fireplace on another. Unity and balance are achieved. Yet the reality of the room exists more within the space between the walls. For spatial unity, floor and ceiling should also reflect each other. While the center of a room should be open, corners should be solid. Openings belong on sides, not corners. The 4 corners are necessary to create the points that create the figure. So, overall, the corner is meant to be solid and the façade should be soft. 12. cornice: Kostoff: the projecting ornamental molding along the top of a building or wall 2. the top, projecting part of an entablature. Gabriel: The cornice, frieze, and architrave define the entablature. The cornice is the part of the entablature that requires the closest attention. It projects from the vertical plane of the frieze and architrave and is therefore highly visible. Like the column and the entablature, the cornice is divided into 3 parts. The middle part, the corona, is a bare, vertical surface exposed to full light. The sima above and the bemold below the corona are both angled and are more or less in the shade. 13. defined space (Gabriel p.20) Term understood broadly as a well-defined portion of space, indoors or outdoors. For it to exist it must be defined by firm boundaries and openings must be few in number and moderate in size. Doors and windows don’t increase with their size or number, the fewer the openings the more important they become, too many openings weaken the sense of enclosure and the clear definition of space. Classical rooms are regular spaces (aka figural spaces) these spaces are sometimes obtained by carving them out of less important spaces around them, called residual or ancillary spaces. Due to their size outdoor rooms can accept a solid object at their center. The outdoor rooms can take form as walls (must be clear and strong enough to define and contain a space.) 14. emphasis on center, corners, and sides (Gabiral p. 24-25) To achieve special unity, floor and ceiling should reflect eachother (the ceiling being 3d above and the floor is flat). While the center of the room should be open the corners should be solid. In a 4point diagram, sides are interpreted as “soft” and the corners “hard” and for this reason openings naturally belong in the sides not in the corners. 15. entablature (Kostof p. 769) the topmost part of a classical order; the elaborated beam that a column supports. It is divided horizontally into the architrave (bottom), frieze, and cornice (top). (Gabriel p. 40-42) The entablature completes an order. Its height is equal to a quarter of the column height. Composed of three parts; the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. The architrave acts as a lintel, sitting directly on the capitals and spanning the intervals between them, and structural functions are expressed by horizontal striations. Upper most part is the cornice which caps the order and projects forward to protect it. The third is the frieze. It is inserted between the archtirave and the cornice. From tuscan to corinthian- height of architrave increases as the height of the cornice decreases. Graphic methods= divide entablature of the tuscan and Doric into 4 parts. One part becomes the architrave and the rest is divided equally between the frieze and the cornice. For Ionic and corinthian= divide entablature in 5 parts, the cornice is 2 parts and the frieze and architrave are divided equally between them. An entablature is always supported at the corner and must never be cantilevered. Can move forward and backward but must always be accompanied by an element on which it sits squarely, whether it’s a column, pilaster, or wall. One that is supported by a wall must project slightly outward to create a shadow line that indicates where the wall ends and the entablature begins. Cornice requires close attention. The cornice projects from the vertical plane of the frieze and architrave and is very visible. Cornice is divided into 3 parts, the coron (middle), sima (above) and bedmold (below). 16. entasis (Kostof p. 770) The slight convex bulge given to a column to offset the optical illusion that is thinner in the middle. (Gabriel p. 37) only the lower third of the shaft is a true cylinder, the upper 2/3’s taper upward in an imperceptible curve reducing the diameter to 5//6 of it’s largest dimension. In the ionic, corinthian, and composite, tapering occurs in the lower third as well but downwards to a less pronounced extent. In all cases the shaft is wider at the bottom than at the top. As a metaphor for the human form a classical column must have something of the organic in it. Without entasis a shaft could not be said to truly have a beginning, middle and end. 17. frieze - gabriel 2 -The frieze, one of the three elements of an entablature, serves as a horizontal connection between the architrave and the cornice. It is made more prominent by having it project out or by decorating it with elaborate ornamentation. It is sometimes omitted to make the entablature appear slimmer. 18. inherent formal hierarchies - gabriel 1 -Hierarchy is "the ordering of parts according to their importance". -Classical architecture expresses this idea by putting important rooms in the center or to the front of the building. Rooms with secondary functions are placed in the wings, in the back or in the basement. -Status is also conveyed by raising rooms of significance above the ground plane. -Rooms that are rendered important are also given regular geometric forms while minor spaces are inserted into the oddly shaped residual spaces resulting from adjacent or intersection figural spaces. -Classical columns themselves are inherently hierarchical. Orders are superposed such that the slender columns are placed above the sturdier ones. To follow structural logic, the sequence from the bottom will be Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. -The piano noble, or the principal story of the house usually have higher ceiling heights than rooms in other floor levels. The heights decrease as they get farther away from the main story. 19. juxtaposition of discrete forms - gabriel 1 -One of the formal strategies used in classical architecture is the combination of two or more distinct elements to make a whole. These elements are in themselves, completely defined. -A townhouse designed by Emilio Terry (Figs 1.26 - 1.29) illustrates this idea. -The main floor plan shows the enfilade or the arrangement of a group of rooms in a row with one room opening into the next. The main axis holds the three different rooms together and its linear arrangement allows the inhabitants to know exactly where they are. -Elements on the street facade are as carefully composed as the plan. Openings of different sizes are centered on each level, flanked by windows that mark the four corners of the rectangular facade. The triangular pediment sharply contrasts the rectangular openings but give prominence to the opening in the piano noble (the principal story of the house). The rustication on the ground floor also contrasts the smooth face of the upper floors, but gives a strong base to the street front. -The garden facade also exhibits the juxtaposition of different elements. The oval shape of the dining room projects beyond the vertical wall plane. A section through the house reveals that the composition of discrete forms in the plan (oval dining and other rectangular rooms) informed the three-dimensional appearance of the facade. 20. limited inventory of parts - gabriel 1 -Classical architecture consists of limited but distinct elements of which the most important is the column. The different orders (the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian) allow for variations on the design of the column. -Its function is not merely to express structure and to carry loads but also to articulate the bay system. Columns are also implemented in pairs to frame an opening. -It could also be used by itself as a freestanding monument or marker in an urban space. . -Contrary to belief, classical elements are versatile and could play different roles in different parts of the building. 21. module Gabriel, pp 36 -37: