Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a row of columns spaced at regular intervals in a similar way to a balustrade. They can be used to support a horizontal entablature, an arcade or covered walkway, or as part of a porch or portico. The most iconic example of a portico lined with a colonnade is the Parthenon in Greece. Colonnades can also be used to line open courtyards, and may often be a feature of landscape design.
The use of colonnades dates back to Ancient Greece and Roman architecture where they were used for large public buildings to border open spaces, such as temples and marketplaces.
Colonnades were later used in Baroque and Neoclassical architecture for buildings such as museums and courthouses to create an aesthetic of importance, and grandiosity, such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C (see image above).
Colonnade size and design can vary. They are usually made from materials such as marble, limestone and painted timber. Larger columns are used for more monumental buildings, while smaller and more slender columns can be found in the Regency architecture of formal homes.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Agora.
- Anta.
- Arcade.
- Architrave.
- Blind arcade.
- Blind arch.
- Church.
- Classical orders in architecture.
- Cloister.
- Courtyard.
- Crypt.
- Difference between pillars and columns.
- Egyptian hall.
- Elements of classical columns.
- Entablature.
- General Post Office, Dublin.
- Flying buttress.
- Frieze.
- Loggia.
- Monopteros.
- Narthex.
- Parthenon.
- Pedestal.
- Pergola.
- Pilaster.
- Pilotis.
- Portico.
- Pteron.
- Vault.
- Xystus.
Featured articles and news
Designing sustainability and performance into buildings
Specifying and selecting sustainable resilient timber products.
Modifying wood to improve resistance to decay and movement.
A last minute, long look for built environment professionals.
The architecture of creative reuse. Book review.
Installing solar panels on listed structures.
Sustainable development global goals, history in progress?
"Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been."
Mike Kagioglou FCIOB named CIOB President
'Sustainable Development Goals must be focus for construction'
BSRIA training; a look at what's on offer
From energy management to compliance training.
TESP video warns to beware of rogue trainers.
Highlighting the slippery tactics of non-approved providers.
New Building Safety Wiki launched
Boosting awareness and understanding of the new fire safety regime.
New playbook on AI in construction published by CIOB
How to get to grips with, and the best from AI.
Digital Construction Report NBS
BIM, cloud, off-site, immersive tech, AI, twins and sustainability.
ECA learning zone and industry focus video series
From updates and amendments to circular economy, emergency lighting and much more.