introduction

First, this article presumes the readers’ understanding of the necessity for inter-disciplinary designers to be familiar with classical architecture. This article is intended to provide a general overview of the subject. Images are provided to supplement this text, and whenever possible, sources are credited.

History

Classical architecture is not so much a style as it is an approach to building in a trabeated (post-and-beam) manner. It originated in Greece, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Rome, and other areas of Greek and Roman conquest, and is widely accepted as the first Western building tradition. James Stevens Curl states that to be classical, something conforms in style, composition, or both to the rules or models of Greek and Roman antiquity. [1]

from Summerson's The Classical Language of Architecture

Classical architecture, like most architectural languages, began with the primitive hut, which, through refinement and ingenuity, eventually developed into post-and-beam construction. [2] Many centuries later, the refinements developed into the classical language, providing us with what we now understand to be Orders.

One of the characteristics of classical architecture, which you will find time and again upon closer inspection, is the tri-partition of the language at all scales; bottom, middle, top; beginning, middle, end (which is a logical progression when telling a story or explaining how to do something). Each Order consists of a pedestal, a column, and an entablature. In turn, pedestals consist of a plinth at the bottom, a dado or die in the middle, and a cornice at the top. A column has a base, a shaft, and a capital. The entablature has an architrave, a frieze, and a cornice. These can, in most cases, be reduced even further into three parts.

Tri-partition from Robert Adam's Classical Architecture

The Orders

There are five canonical Orders, or primary expressions of classical architecture, most easily identifiable by their associated columns. These are the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite (in order of sophistication). From ancient Greece we have received the Greek Doric, the Greek Ionic, and the Corinthian Orders. From Rome, the Tuscan, Roman Doric, Roman Ionic, and Composite Orders were born. There are many versions of the Orders provided by well-versed architects throughout history, the most significant architect being Vitruvius, whose De Architectura, also known as the Ten Books on Architecture, is the only surviving text delineating the Orders from antiquity (ancient Rome; he dedicated his tome to Caesar Augustus). Alberti was the first to canonize the Composite Order in 1452, Serlio was the first to canonize all five Orders in 1537, Vignola followed in 1562, Palladio in 1570, Scamozzi (who canonized a ‘new’ version of the Ionic Order) in 1615, and Perrault in 1676. [3]

Proportion

One of the most important ideals of classical architecture is that the part relates to the whole, at all scales, and in very particular ways. The most common relationship is between constituent parts and the module of one-half the diameter at the lower third of the column shaft. The proportions used to generate the orders are derived from relationships found commonly in the human body and elsewhere in nature, such as the spiral of a Nautilus shell and the proportions that leaves diminish on a fern bush stem. These relationships are latent, but are easily visible upon closer study.

Doric Proportion Study by Steve Bass

The relationships delineated by the Orders are merely guidelines for the designer, offering base information from which individual design can begin. There are guidelines for most architectural elements, from brackets and scrolls, to roof shapes and pitches, to superimposed (stacked) Orders. The point-of-departure that the Canon provides is evident in the variety of Orders found from one classical building to another, with pure canonical Orders very rarely built.

Latrobe's Tobacco Leaf Capital from Henry Hope Reed's The United States Capital	Latrobe's Corncob Capital from Henry Hope Reed's The United States Capital

There are four primary relationships that columns have with walls. The first is freestanding, where the column is completely separate from the wall. As the column engages the wall, the three-quarter column (sometimes 5/8) is the first level of amalgamation, then the half-column, followed by the pilaster, which is an engaged pier that usually projects from one-quarter to one-sixth its width.

Profiles

Profiles are the smallest units of classical architecture. Profiles are combined to produce every element, no matter how large or small. The variations on the complex profiles are endless, and with variations in scale, an infinite number of light and shadow sequences can be created.

Molding Profiles from William Ware's American Vignola

One of the largest profiles is the entasis of columns, which is the name for the taper of the column shaft as it rises toward the capital. There are several methods for drawing the entasis of columns, each of which is valid, and the particular use of which depends on the context and circumstances of the project, client, and designer.

Entasis Diagrams from Robert Adam's Classical Architecture

Other profiles can be segregated into two categories, simple and complex. Simple profiles are singular geometric shapes in section, and include the bead, torus, fillet, fascia, cavetto, and ovolo. The complex profiles are generated by the use of more than one curve in series, and include the cyma recta, cyma reversa, thumb mold, beak mold, and scotia. The Industrial Revolution made the profiles accessible to everyone, from builders to furniture makers, who were (and still are) able to select profiles from a catalog rendered in their materials of choice. These pre-fabricated profiles were then (and still are) assembled according to guidelines provided by precedent and Canon to produce meaningful classical architecture.

Standard Profiles from Ramsey & Sleeper's Traditional Details

Ornament

One of the aspects common in almost all types of traditional building, regardless of the language, is ornament. Ornament is the adornment of the building, much as man has naturally adorned himself throughout history with jewelry and paint.

Garland and wreath ornaments from Robert Adam's Classical Architecture

There are virtually endless kinds of ornament that can be classified as classical. Nature is the chief inspiration for classical ornamentation, ranging from the smallest leaf to the largest animal. The human figure has also been an ornament generator, as have geometric patterns. Some ornaments have traditionally become associated with particular profiles, such as the egg-and-dart with the ovolo, the leaf-and-dart with the cyma reversa, and the bead-and-reel with the bead profile.

The Acanthus plant has a long-standing tradition as a primary element of classical ornament. The Corinthian and Composite capitals have abstracted Acanthus leaves as primary elements, to show the depth to which the Acanthus has been integrated. Just as most ornamentation has traditional associations, the symbolism and meaning associated with the Acanthus is that of enduring life, and the plant is traditionally displayed at funerary celebrations. The Acanthus plant from the Mediterranean is more-or-less a hardy weed, much like Kudzu is in the eastern United States.

Various acanthus motifs from Robert Adam's Classical Architecture

Conclusion

All of the content in this article is just the dust on the tip of the iceberg that is classical architecture. Developing an understanding of the classical language of architecture is no easy task. Even when an understanding is attained, only the first step has been taken, because like many other complex ideas and systems, a mere understanding facilitates more complex questions, which can lead to issues and questions of morality and deeper philosophies.

Additional Reading

Introductory

The American Vignola: A Guide to the Making of Classical Architecture- Ware
Classical Architecture- Adam,and Brentnall (Illustrator)
The Classical Language of Architecture- Summerson

Intermediate

The Classical Orders of Architecture- Chitham
The Architecture of the Classical Interior- Semes
Learning from Palladio- Mitrovic

Advanced

The Elements of Classical Architecture- Gromort and Reed
The Ten Books on Architecture- Vitruvius
Classical Architecture: The Poetics of Order- Tzonis

[1] from James Stevens Curl’s Classical Architecture

[2] Although classical architecture is primarily trabeated, arcuated (arched) elements have been incorporated into the classical language in many ways, usually as a secondary expression.

Classical arches from William Ware's American Vignola

[3] Alberti prescribed uses for each of the Orders: Tuscan for forts and prisons, Doric for churches dedicated to extroverted saints, Ionic for churches dedicated to matronly saints and buildings for higher learning, Corinthian for churches dedicated to virgins (such as Mary), and the Composite had no particular association, but represented opulence and luxury.