Engaged column

Anengaged columnis anarchitectural elementin which acolumnis embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, which may or may not carry a partial structural load. Sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached,^[1]engaged columns are rarely found inclassical Greek architecture,and then only in exceptional cases, but inRoman architecturethey exist in abundance, most commonly embedded in thecellawalls^[1]ofpseudoperipteral Roman templesand other buildings.

In the temples it is attached to the cella walls, repeating the columns of theperistyle,and in the theatres and amphitheatres, where they subdivided the arched openings: in all these cases engaged columns are utilized as a decorative feature, and as a rule the same proportions are maintained as if they had been isolated columns. InRomanesquework the classic proportions were no longer adhered to; the engaged column, attached to thepiers,has always a special function to perform, either to support subsidiary arches, or, raised to the vault, to carry its transverse or diagonalribs.The same constructional object is followed in the earlierGothic styles,in which they become merged into the mouldings. Being virtually always ready made, so far as their design is concerned, they were much affected by the Italian revivalists.^[1]

Gallery

Engaged columns of the House of the North, detail of papyrus-shaped capitals, in theHeb-sed court,Djoser's funerary complex,Saqqara,Egypt,unknown architect, 2667-2648 BC^[2]
Engaged columns on theBeaux Artsfacade of the University of Bucharest on Strada Edgar Quinet,Bucharest,Romania,byNicolae Ghika-Budești,in collaboration withDuiliu Marcu,1914-1934^[3]
Romanian Revivalengaged columns on the C.N. Câmpeanu House on Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest, byConstantin Nănescu,c.1923^[4]
EngagedCorinthiancolumns on the Ministry of Internal Affairs Building, Bucharest, byEmil Nădejde,1938-1941^[5]
Mediterranean Revivalengaged columns of the Prof. C.A. Teodorescu House on Bulevardul Eroii Sanitari, Bucharest, Ion Giurgea, 1941^[6]

References

^^a ^b ^cOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Engaged Column".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 404–405.
^Robertson, Hutton (2022).The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View.Thames & Hudson. p. 90.ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8.
^Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017).Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide.Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p. 37.ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.
^Woinaroski, Cristina (2013).Istorie urbană, Lotizarea și Parcul Ioanid din București în context european(in Romanian). SIMETRIA.ISBN 978-973-1872-30-8.
^Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017).Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide.Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p. 62.ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.
^Ghigeanu, Mădălin (2022).Curentul Mediteraneean în arhitectura interbelică.Vremea. p. 360.ISBN 978-606-081-135-0.

Stierlin, HenriThe Roman Empire: From the Etruscans to the Decline of the Roman Empire,TASCHEN,2002

Thisarchitectural element–related article is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

[EB1911-1] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Engaged Column".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 404–405.

[2] Robertson, Hutton (2022).The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View.Thames & Hudson. p. 90.ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8.

[3] Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017).Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide.Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p. 37.ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.

[4] Woinaroski, Cristina (2013).Istorie urbană, Lotizarea și Parcul Ioanid din București în context european(in Romanian). SIMETRIA.ISBN 978-973-1872-30-8.

[5] Mariana Celac, Octavian Carabela and Marius Marcu-Lapadat (2017).Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide.Ordinul Arhitecților din România. p. 62.ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.

[6] Ghigeanu, Mădălin (2022).Curentul Mediteraneean în arhitectura interbelică.Vremea. p. 360.ISBN 978-606-081-135-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Classical ordersand othercolumns
Greco-Roman orders	Doric Ionic Corinthian Tuscan Composite
Other orders	Aeolic Ammonite Giant Nonce Superposed
Related articles	Caryatid Colonnade Concatenation Coupled column Egyptian column Engaged column Estipite Intercolumniation Knotted column Marian column Persian column Pier Compound pier Pilaster Piloti Pulvino Robot order Solomonic column Stoa Waterleaf

Gallery

See also

References