THE THREE ORDERS OF
CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE
A HISTORY OF THE ORDERS
• Classical architecture is based on human
proportions, and some think it is still the
most beautiful way to relate people to their
buildings and communities. Many of our
civic buildings were designed using the
Classical orders to reflect the ideals that
guided our nation's founders.
THE DORIC ORDER
• The oldest, most
substantial, and heaviest
of all the orders
• A very simple capital and
without a base
• Used in mainland Greece
and the colonies in
southern Italy and Sicily
DORIC FEATURES
THE IONIC ORDER
• Thinner and more elegant
than the Doric
• Capital is decorated with a
scroll-like design called
volutes
• First used in eastern Greece
(i.e. Ionia) and the islands
IONIC FEATURES
THE CORINTHIAN ORDER
• The lightest of all, which has a
base and a plinth
• A very decorative capital with
foliage - acanthus leaves
• Style similar to Ionic,
especially the architrave
• Seldom used in the Greek
world, but often seen in Roman
world
CORINTHIAN FEATURES
STYLES OF THE ORDERS
DORIC VS. IONIC/CORINTHIAN
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS
FLOOR PLANS
VITRUVIUS
• VITRUVIUS (1st century BC)
• Roman Architect Marcus Vitruvius is the author of
the famous treatise 'De architectura'.
The work is divided into 10 books dealing with city
planning and architecture in general; building
materials; temple construction; public buildings; and
private buildings; clocks, hydraulics; and civil and
military engines.
• He was an admirer of Greek architecture and wished
to preserve the classical tradition in the design of
temples and public buildings. His work was used as a
classic text book from ancient Roman times to the
Renaissance.
• http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/persons2_n2/vitruvius.html
THE PARTHENON
(448-432 BC)
• This was a temple sacred to
Athena, on the acropolis at
Athens. Built under Pericles
between 447 B.C. and 432 B.C.,
it is the culminating
masterpiece of Greek
architecture. Ictinus and
Callicrates were the architects
and Phidias supervised the
sculpture.
• THE Parthenon in Athens
• The Parthenon in Nashville
THE PANTHEON
(42 BC)
• The Pantheon was a temple to all
the gods. The Pantheon at Rome
was built by Agrippa in 27 B.C.,
destroyed, and rebuilt in the 2nd
century by the emperor Hadrian
(c. 120). Remarkably well
preserved, it is mainly of brick
with a great hemispherical dome
whose supporting walls are set in
concrete. In A.D. 609 it was
converted into a Christian
church. It is also the resting place
of the Renaissance painter
Raphael.
• The Pantheon
• The Pantheon – a Map
THE COLOSSEUM (80 AD)
• The Flavian Amphitheater is in
Rome, near the southeast end of the
Forum, between the Palatine and
Esquiline hills. Begun by Vespasian,
c. A.D. 75, and completed by his son
Titus in A.D. 80, it is the most
imposing of Roman antiquities. The
vast four-storied oval, much of which
is still standing, had tier on tier of
marble seats to accommodate c.
45,000 spectators. It encloses an arena
measuring 250 X 151 ft where
gladiatorial combats were held until
A.D. 404. The Colosseum has been
damaged several times by
earthquakes.
• Note the architectural feature of each
IDENTIFY THE ORDER?
•
IDENTIFY THE ORDERS
LOCAL ARCHITECTURE
• Look around your town.
Notice the architecture of
local banks, churches,
government buildings, and
libraries. Walk through
neighborhoods and look at
the details of houses. With a
keen eye, you are sure to find
evidence of the Classical
Greek "orders," even in the
most modern buildings.
• Here is the Circuit Court of
New Haven.
• Check out The Supreme
Court in D.C.!