Corinthian Columns: From the Past to the Present

Modern architects like to use ancient architectural principles as models to create edifices that are not just pretty, but marvellous. For instance, the inclusion of colossal columns in the designs of contemporary government houses, libraries and other federal offices is an extraction from historical Roman order of architecture that gives the buildings an authoritative character. The Corinthian columns that are used in today’s architecture is on loan from one of the Greek orders. The columns are tall and perceptively slender. So, how does a line of columns influence the overall feel of a building?

Corinthian Columns from the Greco-Roman Era

An important feature of Roman and Greek architecture, Corinthian columns is known for its aesthetic excellence. Together, with Composite columns, an offshoot of Corinthian order, these fluted pillars have aggrandized mammoth edifices and palatial buildings through the ancient period. Known to be the most ornate of all columns, the design theme of Corinthian capital column is scrolls and acanthus leaves.

Corinthian Columns in Modern Architecture

Corinthian capital columns, for instance, help the architects achieve a certain difference with that of other tall commercial properties. First off, in order to accommodate Corinthian columns, the design of the project has to be manifolds taller than the normal floor to ceiling heights. The columns are centrally placed at the front of the buildings, and when viewed from base in an upward perspective, they look a wee bit taller than what their measurements state. Their slender built give the design that finesse of the ancient Greeks and Romans who revealed to the world architectures of the highest order. All the same, the columns are not plain, but ornately decorated at the bases and heads. The points where they meet the floor and the ceiling are decorated with filigree works.

Contemporary Specimens

You don’t have to go all the way to Greece to look at the living examples of massive Corinthian columns. The Capitol Hill building has these pillars in good numbers both inside and outside. The Supreme Court Building is another building where you will see the use of these Corinthian pillars. Other government offices where Corinthian columns have been incorporated in the designs are the Library of Congress, The Cannon House Office and the Russel Senate Office.

Polyurethane Replicas

These buildings use columns made of marble, that is a little far-fetched, and might I say, a bit further than practical, for home architectures. The manufacturers have in store a lighter version of marble columns. Made of polyurethane, these columns are a lot lighter than the stone counterparts. However, they do not miss the decorative details of the Corinthian order. Modified versions of these columns arrive in the market every day. To suit the tastes of the mass at large, the makers contemporize the designs at the capital.

Author’s Bio: Jamie Slanders is a specialty writer in the genre of historical and modern architecture. Being an architect herself, she follows all new and old concepts of this discipline with passion and translates them in her writing.