Colonnade
**History:**
– Colonnades have been built since ancient times
– Interpretations of the classical model have continued through to modern times
– Neoclassical styles remained popular for centuries
– Porticos are continued along the front as a colonnade at the British Museum
– The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. features a porch of columns that can be termed a colonnade
**Architecture:**
– A colonnade in classical architecture is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature
– Paired or multiple pairs of columns are employed in a colonnade
– A colonnade can be straight or curved
– A portico is a colonnade in front of a building screening the door
– A peristyle is a colonnade enclosing an open court
**Examples:**
– The Harvard Stadium in Boston features a colonnade on top of the horseshoe-shaped stadium
– The New York State Education Building in Albany has the longest colonnade in the United States with 36 Corinthian columns
– Bernini’s great colonnade encloses a vast open elliptical space in St. Peter’s Square in Rome
– The Pantheon in Rome and the stoae of Ancient Greece have multi-rank porticos
– The western porch of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the east front of the Louvre have araeosystyle colonnades
**Modern Usage:**
– Colonnades are used in sports stadiums like the Harvard Stadium in Boston
– The New York State Education Building in Albany showcases a colonnade with 36 Corinthian columns
– Neoclassical styles have remained popular in modern architecture
– Colonnades are incorporated into buildings and monuments worldwide
– The classical model of colonnades has influenced modern architectural designs
**Significance:**
– Colonnades add architectural elegance and grandeur to structures
– They create a sense of space and enclosure in open areas
– Colonnades serve both decorative and functional purposes in architecture
– The use of colonnades has evolved over centuries but retains its classical appeal
– Colonnades are versatile architectural elements used in various types of buildings and structures
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curved. The space enclosed may be covered or open. In St. Peter's Square in Rome, Bernini's great colonnade encloses a vast open elliptical space.
When in front of a building, screening the door (Latin porta), it is called a portico. When enclosing an open court, a peristyle. A portico may be more than one rank of columns deep, as at the Pantheon in Rome or the stoae of Ancient Greece.
When the intercolumniation is alternately wide and narrow, a colonnade may be termed "araeosystyle" (Gr. αραιος, "widely spaced", and συστυλος, "with columns set close together"), as in the case of the western porch of St Paul's Cathedral and the east front of the Louvre.