Caryatids in the architecture of
Buildings and structures have internal and external sides. The latter is commonly called facades, which in the usual sense are the facial parts of buildings. They often have ceremonial forms with rich decorative finishes and architectural elements and, depending on the purpose of the building, can look pompous enough.
Some sources say that by its appearance as facade elements of , caryatids are due to an unreasonable alliance with the Persians of the Greek city of Kariy during their wars with the Greeks. Others argue that it involves the amazing beauty of the girls who had a habit of dancing in honor of the gods with festively decorated baskets on their heads. However, the world-famous fame is a model of high-style architecture, like the marble portico of the caryatids( the height of each figure exceeds two meters) in the temple of the Erechtheion on the famous Acropolis Hill in Athens. He is amazingly handsome and is still considered a role model. The statues of male figures of a similar purpose began to be called Atlantis. Examples include fragments of the famous portico of the New Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Since the Renaissance, caryatids as elements of facades have received a new surge in popularity and have been widely used in the decoration of public and private buildings. An example of a facade decorated with stucco female images may be a well-known house with caryatids in Moscow's Print Street. Later( in comparison with the antique) samples were exposed to the waist and had a more pronounced playful and decorative character.
Portico and colonnade - what are these elements related to?
The portico in architecture is a kind of covered gallery with the support of its overlappings on a series of columns of various shapes. It is believed that it was also invented by the ancient Greek architects, with whose light hand this ornament moved to Rome and spread all over the world. Today, this architectural element continues to be an indispensable attribute of the facades. Open from the outside, from the rear, it is bounded by a building wall, which often has doors and windows.
Unlike female sculptures, porticoes, like the covered rows of columns adjoining the building, were widely used in the facades of medieval temples, palaces and castles. And today these elements are often used in the construction of such specialized buildings as banks, theaters and philharmonic societies. Classic porticos or galleries with columns give the facade a solid and classic look. Many buildings, supplemented by such details, acquire a new noble sound of the former form.
The colonnade in architecture, which was very popular in antique construction as an obligatory frame of temples and other public buildings, developed in the architecture not only as a facade component, giving it grandeur and festivity.
Often rows of marble( granite) columns with a common horizontal overlap connect individual buildings or parts thereof to a single complex or create an organic connection with the surrounding space.
As independent constructions of a colonnade in the form of covered galleries or transitions have received the big popularity. Their best examples are still admired and are a source of inspiration for modern architects. The techniques of using colonnades allow them to solve multiple problems of space and form.
Strand - space for decor
Columns are so popular in the design of facades that they are often imitated, in the form of protruding from the wall pilasters or blades. In addition to strengthening the structure, such elements allow vertical separation of the space, give the plane of the building additional expressiveness. The space between such protruding half-columns is called the spindle .
Also called part of the fortress wall between the towers, and a fence or a fence between stakes, pillars, pillars. Very often this element found application in the temple architecture, beginning with ancient Byzantium. Then other buildings began to decorate an intricately executed spit, the architecture of the temples of Ancient Rus presents many samples of the rich decoration of this space with an exterior decor, stucco and carvings on the stone.
Of course, modern exterior parts of buildings can be made in the form of load-bearing or enclosing structures, therefore they are made of different materials. A separate category of today's facades are hinged ventilated structures made of stone, metal, plastic or wood. The application of the classical elements described above to decorate the appearance of the building in modern conditions has the character of artistic finishes that revitalize the monotony and monotony of the walls.
Such techniques include elements of casting, stucco molding or tiled images in the decoration of glass and concrete facades. For example, the famous statues and gargoyles on the Chrysler skyscraper( Empire State Building).Widely used also decoration with special plasters, finishing or imitating marble, malachite, other valuable stones. All these techniques are based on the elements of the facade classics described above.
