Introduction Over the past centuries, the column has been widely used as a CONTENTS: building element of great importance. From the ancient temples of the Pharaoh to the royal castle of Stockholm some thousand years Introduction (Page 1) later, the column still serves its function an essential piece of the architectural puzzle. CHAPTER I (Page 1) The Essential Column The reason why I pay a special interest in the column is, mainly, The Anatomy of a Column that I believe that it can sometimes be forgotten in the eyes of the audience, even though it is an essential element that holds our buildings standing over our heads. Thus, I decided to plunge into CHAPTER II (Page 2) the knowledge behind the column to learn more and study its The Column in Terms of History complexity rather than thinking of it as a subject of everyday life. The Classical Orders CHAPTER I - The Essential Column CHAPTER III (Page 3) The column is a vertical element that is used to guide the force The Column in Terms of Construction (compression) from the top to the bottom of an architectural Dealing with Forces structure. The column has a wide range of use: from the vertical Instability structure that transmit forces in structural engineering to the support of statues with great symbolism of grace and honor. It can Final Words (Page 3) also be used as decoration by esthetically means as in large cathedrals or royal palaces. References (Page 3) The Anatomy of a Column Even though we might think the column as a simple vertical supportive structure, it is still backed-up with a handful of thought behind the simplicity that is witnessed by our naked eyes. The column is divided into three main parts. These are the entablature (the beam) at the top, the column in the middle and the pedestal at the bottom. These are then, again, divided into three minor parts each: The entablature is divided into the cornice at the top, then the frieze and lastly the architrave. The column consists of the capital at the top, which makes contact with the entablature. Then the shaft, which is what most people think of in the terms of column. Do notice that the shaft is thicker at the bottom than the top. The reason behind this is that the amount of compression dealt to the whole structure will have a bigger impact at the bottom of the column than the top (as the force tends to move downwards due to gravity). Thus, making the bottom of the shaft thicker will even out the forces in the whole vertical structure, making it more likely to bare the force. At the bottom of the parts of the column-group, the base is located. Lastly, the pedestal can be divided into the cap, die and base. Page 1 of 3 CHAPTER II- The Column in Terms of History The column has been used in mighty temples since ancient Egypt “Let us now discuss the 2600 BC. But in this essay, I will discuss the column as a subject to proper structure of the Plot … A the ancient Greece and Rome. Since the Greeks were the pioneers whole is that which has a with the usage of the classical order , and the Romans developing the beginning, a middle, and an end” use of the classical order further with expansion. -Aristotle, Poetics (Section 1, part VII) As we noticed in the section above, the building blocks of the column is always divided into three parts. The reason for this, according to history, arrives from the poetics and drama of ancient Greece. The great Aristotle stated in his work Poetics, that the structure of the plot should be divided into three parts: the beginning, the middle and the ending. This has caused the way of philosophy in architecture as well. Thus true magnificent architecture should also adapt the structure of three. The Classical Orders The classical order is known as one of the ancient styles from in classical architecture. The styles were first introduced by the ancient Greeks with the orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders. The orders were then expanded by the Romans with the Tuscan and Composite order. The Doric order is the oldest in this category. The order originally came from the western and mainland of Greece. It is recognized by the lack of base. Other characteristics that one may find are the round capitals on top of the faceted, short and heavy columns. The Ionic order is distinguished by the two opposing volutes resting on a slender, fluted pillar. The Corinthian order is characterized by its ornamental beauty. The column is fluted, crowned with a capital that is vividly decorated with two rows of acanthus leaves and four scrolls. This order is also often classed as the most beautiful one. The Tuscan order can be considered a simple version of the Doric The six classical orders. Starting from order. It has a very plain design with an unfluted plain shaft and the top left going to the right: The simple capital, frieze and base, giving a solid impression. Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Modern Ionic, Corinthian and Composite order. The Composite order combines the characteristics of the Ionic order with the volutes with the leaves from the Corinthian order. Before the era of the Renaissance, the Composite order was considered as a late Roman form of the Corinthian order. But during the Renaissance the Composite order then grew into an order of its own. Page 2 of 3 CHAPTER III - The Column in Terms of Construction Apart from the historical aspects that have given the column the looks we witness today. The column is still designed to maintain the heavy forces of compression. In this chapter I will discuss the practical use of the column. The first columns were constructed out of stone with different ways of assembly. Some were made out of a solid block of stone while other were made in sections and then either stacked on each other through mortar or dry-fit. In some places the pieces of stones were pegged together. Dealing with forces Since the column is standing in a vertical position, it can deal very well with vertical forces coming from the load above. But the weakness of the column is its capability to deal with horizontal forces. Therefore to use the column to its maximum capacity it is crucial to make sure that the forces are facing completely downwards. Instability The ideal column passes through three states before total collapse: Stable equilibrium, neutral equilibrium and instability. To explain this, imagine a column supporting a load on top of it. The column remains in the stable equilibrium as long as it returns to its original form after being affected by lateral forces. Then the next condition, the neutral equilibrium, is reached as the load increases on top of the column. The column deforms but still remains in a standing A table over the behavior of the column. position as the lateral force is removed. This state is also known as critical or buckling load. The last condition, instability, is defined as when the weight of the load has reached over the capacity of the column. Any lateral force will cause the column to a complete collapse. Thus the solution is to make the column thick with a REFERENCES: strong foundation in order to make it stronger and capable of handling the amount of compression (as well as lateral forces). Vitruvius, översät Brigitta Dalgren (2009), Om Arkitektur, Dymlings Stockholm. Evers, Vernd (2003). Architectural theory: Final Words from the Renaissance to the present. Taschen Even though we all know what the column is, only a few know the knowledge and history hidden behind. You should not consider Summerson, John (1963). The classical this essay to explain the entire knowledge of the column. Rather language of architecture. MIT Press. think of this simple essay as an attempt to investigate the overall fields of the column. We have now covered a brief piece of history http://trad-arch.posterous.com/?page=6 as well as the basics of the vertical structure in terms of construction. And the further journey is left for the single person http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co to explore. mmons/6/6a/Classical_ordvers_from_the_ Encyclopedie.png Rui-Xin Li, LL4 2010 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co mmons/a/a2/ColumnEffectiveLength.png Page 3 of 3 .