Ancient Greek architects laid the foundation for modern European architecture. Buildings that were built more than two and a half thousand years ago are still considered standards and examples of how to build. The city planning system, the order system, the perfect proportions in architecture and sculpture - that's all what made the architecture of Ancient Greece famous. One of the elements that were then widely used in construction is the architectural bummer.
Definition of concept
Architectural breaks are the profiles of elements that are part of the external or internal cornices of buildings, decorative vases, plinths, pedestal contours, and so on. By the way, sometimes they are also called mules or profiles. Separate parts of architectural breaks are proportional to each other, that is, they have certain ratios. These elements have a fixed shape and size. Breaks are straight and curvilinear.
Where breaks are applied
For the first time, architectural breaks began to be used in Ancient Greece, then in Ancient Rome. They decorate furniture, picture frames, decorative items.
Orders and architectural breaks were used in almost all famous ancient Greek buildings: in the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, in the temple of Nike Apteros, in the Parthenon and in many others, and later in ancient Rome: in the Colosseum, in the Roman forum and in Temple of Vesta.
Purpose
Some architectural breaks, such as a heel and a shelf, served to support structures, as they supplemented the supporting elements of the building from above or below, primarily columns. And others performed only a decorative function. The change in the curvature of the break gave the structures the effect of power or lightness and sophistication.
In interior design, more and more elements of ancient architecture are now beginning to be used. They can be used to smooth out sharp corners, as well as emphasize ledges or recesses in the wall, mirrors, windows, fireplaces, niches and so on.
Straight-line breaks
Rectilinear architectural breaks in the section profile do not contain arcs, but consist only of straight lines. These items include:
- plinth - a rectangular or square large slab, usually located at the bottom of a column or base;
- shelf - a small narrow ledge of a rectangular shape;
- the belt is also a rectangular ledge, but it is much larger than the shelf.
Rectilinear architectural breaks performed mainly a practical function - they supported the structural elements of a building or structure.
Curvilinear breaks
Curvilinear breaks contain both arcs and straight sections in the section. According to the shape of the profile, they are divided into simple and complex. The first includes:
- quarter shaft - a long protrusion, which in cross section has a quarter of a circle;
- fillet - a concave bummer, in cross section it also turns out the fourth part of the circle;
- shaft - an architectural protrusion having a semicircle in cross section;
- roller - a bummer that looks like a shaft, but has smaller dimensions compared to it.
And to the architectural breaks of a complex profile:
- goose is a profile that is a combination of two convex and concave arcs, it is also called Doric cymatium;
- half-shaft - an architectural ledge with a semicircular section;
- heel - Ionic cymatium, an inverted gooseneck, which also consists of convex and concave arches;
- skotsiya - a bummer with a concave profile of a two-center arc, unlike the gusset and heel, it is asymmetrical;
- complex torus - a combination of the contours of two shafts.
Complex profiles are obtained by combining simple ones. Curvilinear breaks most often serve as components of a composition called an architectural order.
Step-by-step construction of architectural breaks
Build straight linesbreaks, as well as straight curvilinear ones, are quite simple: you just need to know all the sizes and proportions. The situation is much more complicated with complex curvilinear breaks, their construction is carried out in a certain sequence.
Step by step construction of goose and heel
To build a forward and reverse jib you need:
- connect two given points A and B, this will be the beginning and end of the arc;
- divide the segment in half at point C;
- draw circles from points A, B and C with radius AC=BC=R until they intersect at O1 and O2;
- from O1 and O2 describe two circular arcs of radius R.
The heels are built in the same sequence.
Building a complex torus
To build the contour of a complex torus, you should:
- set radius R;
- draw 9 squares with sides equal to R;
- find point O2 and O1;
- draw an arc of radius 3R from point O2;
- from O1 draw an arc of a circle with radius R.
Building scocia
The construction of a scocia is similar to drawing a complex torus:
- select radius R;
- construct 6 squares with sides equal to radius R;
- find points O1 and O2;
- from points O1 and O2 draw arcs with radius R and 2R respectively.
Decoration of bummers
The breaks were decorated with either organic ornaments or simply embossed ones. The gussets were complemented by elements with a lotus flower motif, the heel - with leaves resembling hearts, the quarter shaft - ovs (this is an ornament with the image of egg-shaped patterns), the shelves - a meander (an ornament made up of right angles forming a continuous line) and so on.
Everything complex is made up of simple things. It is the same with architectural bummers - from elements that seem primitive at first glance, amazing objects are generated. That is why the architecture of Ancient Greece became a classic and even now serves as an example for the authors of music frozen in stone.
