Enduring Order

The definitive statement of how these components look and function, organized into five classic architectural orders, is in a book written by Giacomo Barozzi de Vignola and published in 1562. Vignola presented detailed examples and measurements of ancient buildings to illustrate the precise profiles, details and dimensions of the orders he characterized as Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite.

The first three had already been used masterfully in ancient Greece. The Romans adopted them, and also developed the last two, according to basic principles already recognized by Vitruvius in the first century CE. Vignola and other seminal Renaissance architects such as Andrea Palladio and Vincenzo Scamozzi documented existing buildings and ruins, some just being discovered in their time, and categorized the proportions and characteristics of each order. Vignola’s system for constructing columns in five classical orders has crossed centuries and oceans (see Image below). His principles are reflected in America’s iconic columned buildings, from the US Capitol to the plantation houses of the Old South, with many a bank and courthouse in between, and remain the basis for classically inspired columns today.

The orders are characterized by their elements, the details of their ornamentation, and perhaps most of all by their proportions. For example, the classic dimensions of column height vary by order and are calculated as a ratio between the diameter of the shaft’s base and the height of the column, a Tuscan column being seven diameters high, a Doric column eight, an Ionic column nine, and the Corinthian and Composite columns slenderer still at ten diameters high.

These classic proportions remain a reliable guide even to practical matters like choosing the size of a column for a particular space. For example, a Corinthian column should appear slender with an ornate capital. In an opening space of 9 feet or 108 inches overall, divide by 10 to determine an “ideal” diameter for the Corinthian order. In that example (108 divided by 10 equals 10.8), a column with 10-12 inch diameter would be appropriate. For a simpler form, such as Tuscan, you would divide the total space by 7, for a more massive, plainer look.

The exact dimensions varied even in ancient buildings, and are definitely negotiable in modern designs. The Vitruvian days of selecting orders according to the deity that needed to be pleased are also over (for the most part). But the orders and their distinctive characteristics are still the foundation for understanding columns, a rich resource for carefully designed historic reproductions and the inspiration for new recombinations and designs.

Today, manufacturers often use classical names for their products, some in a way consistent with Vignola’s definitions and other Renaissance models such as the famous Scamozzi capital. The closer the columns are to the classic principles, the more pleasing and durable the end result is likely to be.

Doric. Considered the oldest, the Doric order is often characterized by smooth, round capitals, but they are fluted in many of the most famous examples, like the Parthenon.

Ionic. The Greek Ionic column is distinguished by a slender shaft with 24 flutes, a large base (the tallest base of the three classic Greek orders) with two convex moldings, and a capital usually with two opposing scrolls, also called volutes. Scamozzi developed a four-sided Ionic capital with diagonal volutes, often used with other orders and still the inspiration for many modern column capitals.

Corinthian. Named for the fabled columns and colonnades of ancient Corinth, the columns in this order are the slenderest and most ornate of the classic orders. A slender fluted column is topped by a capital traditionally decorated with two rows of acanthus leaves and four scrolls. Columns in this style can be found inside and outside many buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, including the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court Building, the Library of Congress and Senate and Congress office buildings.

Tuscan. Compared to other orders, the simple, stout Tuscan has the most solid appearance. Prominently featured in Palladio’s Quattro Libri di Architettura, published in 1570, the Tuscan order is the Romans’ simplified adaptation of the old Doric order. Tuscan columns have plain design and generally the simplest of capitals and bases.

Composite: The Composite order typically combines the scrolls of the Ionic with the leaves of the Corinthian. In the Renaissance systems it began to be ranked as a separate order but had been considered as a late Roman variation of the Corinthian.

Other “orders” have been devised more recently. For example, in 1792 Benjamin Latrobe, the second Architect of the Capitol, gave a distinctly American character to Corinthian columns for the Capitol by replacing the acanthus leaves with half-husked corn and flowering tobacco. He wrote Thomas Jefferson that these “corn-cob capitals” had earned him “more applause from members of Congress than all the works of magnitude or difficulty that surround them.”

Comparing Materials

Most early columns were made of stone or marble (except for the very earliest, thought to have been upside down tree trunks), and those remained the materials of choice for hundreds of years. But in the 19^th century Greek Revival in this country, when columns became almost a required element not just in religious and public buildings but in homes grand and humble, many of those columns were built of wood. Sometimes the wood was painted or stuccoed to look like marble, but in many cases the wood was used proudly, as a statement about the dignity of ordinary houses in a democracy. Columns weren’t just for palaces and didn’t need to be marble.

Marble, stone and wood are still used in the construction of modern columns, but the majority of today’s columns are composed of new materials, lighter in weight, easier to maintain, and more cost effective. But the traditional beauty and historical accuracy of wood continues to have a timeless appeal.

Stock capitals and bases are generally composed of spun cast polyurethane or engineered resins, but marble bases are also available, and decorative capitals from composite molds of marble and polyester resin in a wide range of styles inspired by or even duplicating classical examples can be combined with wood or fiberglass columns.

Each column material has its own advantages.

Wood

Wood is still a highly desirable alternative, with a character, tradition and authenticity difficult to equal in some applications. Although the number of manufacturers with expertise in crafting wood columns has steadily decreased, it is still possible to find the combination of handcrafting skill and advanced milling capabilities necessary to execute new original designs in wood, or to reproduce historic designs accurately. Wood is also used for architectural column designs inspired by certain periods, such as Arts and Crafts or Shaker style, particularly for interiors, where the warm, aesthetic appeal of natural materials is especially desirable, although the styles can be achieved in other materials.

Quality wood columns are produced from finger-jointed board with stave construction for added strength and stability.

A wide range of different woods can be used, each with distinctly different qualities. Western Red Cedar and clear all-heart redwood are often used for exterior applications, and pine and poplar are cost-effective choices for interiors.

Wooden column shafts are typically treated with a preservative such as asphaltum. Other options available include cutting at the bead for the use of special capitals, cutting to different overall lengths, altering flute length, and splitting to various column configurations. Since most wood columns are created to custom specification, they are typically cut at the manufacturer and splined and tabbed for reassembly on site.