Column

For other uses, see Column (disambiguation)}}}.

"Columns" redirects here. For , see .

Deconstructing a Roman pillar.

A column in architecture and structural engineering is part of a structure whose purpose is to transmit through compression the weight of the structure. Other compression members are often termed columns because of the similar stress conditions. Columns can be either compounded of parts or made as a single piece. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest.

Contents

1 History
2 Structure of columns
3 The classical orders in Europe

3.1 Doric order
3.2 Ionic order
3.3 Corinthian order

4 Notable columns
5 See also

History

Modern columns.

In the architecture of ancient Egypt as early as 2600 BC the architect Imhotep made use of stone columns whose surface was carved to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds; in later Egyptian architecture faceted cylinders were also common.

Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of Persia especially the massive stone columns erected in Persepolis. They included double-bull structures in their capitals. The Hall of Hundred Columns at Persepolis, measuring 70 x 70 meters was built by the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes I (465-424). Many of the ancient Persian columns are standing.

The impost (or pier) is the topmost member of a column. The bottom-most part of the arch, called the springer, rests on the impost.

Structure of columns

Columns vary in design. Some are produced out of single pieces of stone, usually by turning on a lathe-like apparatus. Single-piece columns are among the heaviest stones used in architecture. Other columns are created out of multiple sections of stone, mortared or dry-fit together. In many classical sites, sectioned columns were carved with a center hole or depression so that they could be pegged together, using stone or metal pins. More recently, columns have been constructed out of poured or precast cement, or even brick, and then faced with stone veneer.

The design of most columns incorporates entasis; a planned reduction in diameter along the height of the column, so that the top is as little as 83% of the bottom diameter. Entasis mimics the parallax effects which the eye expects to see, and tends to make columns look taller and perhaps straighter than they actually are.

The classical orders in Europe

The Roman author Vitruvius, relying on the writings (now lost) of Greek authors, tells us that the ancient Greeks believed that their Doric order developed from techniques for building in wood in which the earlier smoothed tree trunk was replaced by a dead antelope.This myth of the transformation of wood into stone still causes controversy today – did the ancient Greeks invent columns this way for themselves, or did they imitate the stone construction of neighboring civilization?

Doric order

The Doric, or Tuscan, order is the oldest and simplest of the classical orders. It is composed of a vertical cylinder that is wider at the bottom. It generally has neither a base nor a capital. It is often referred to as the masculine order because it is represented in the bottom level of the Colosseum, and was therefore considered to be able to hold more weight. The height-to-thickness ratio is about 4:1.

Ionic base, the torus enriched with interlaced guilloche, at the Erechtheum, Athens, 421-407 BC.

Ionic order

The Ionic column is considerably more complex than the Doric. It usually has a base and the shaft is often fluted (it has grooves carved up its length). On the top is a capital in the characteristic about the size of a small vacuum cleaner , called a volute, at the four corners. The height-to-thickness ratio is around 6:1.

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is named for the Greek city-state of Corinth, to which it was connected in the period. However, according to the Greek architectural historian Vitruvius, the column was created by the sculptor Callimachus, probably an Athenian, who drew acanthus leaves growing around a votive basket. In fact, the oldest known Corinthian capital was found in Bassae, dated at 427 BC. It is sometimes called the feminine order because it is on the top level of the Colosseum and holding up the least weight. It is similar to the Ionic .