A coupled column (also accouplement, twinned or paired
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
) is one of a pair of columns that are installed nearer together and wider with others. The coupled columns should be of the same order and set closer enough to almost touch each other at their bases and
capitals
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
. These columns were mostly used in the architecture of the 17th century and later. In a
colonnade
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 curv ...
, all columns may be coupled or just the outer pairs. Сoupled columns are often installed at the building entrance, on both sides of a window, fireplace, niche, or stair.
Pilaster
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s and
engaged column
An engaged column is an architectural element in which a column is 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 ...
s can also be paired.
Controversy
The coupling of classical columns was both a recurring motif in French classical architecture and a matter of controversy in structural and aesthetic theory.
Quatremère de Quincy
Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (21 October 1755 – 28 December 1849) was a French armchair archaeologist and architectural theorist, a Freemason, and an effective arts administrator and influential writer on art.
Life
Born in Paris, ...
described the paired columns as a "fault" and a first step to vice (1788).
Claude Perrault
Claude Perrault (; 25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.[architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...]
spanning wide intercolumnation of paired columns rested wholly on the inner column at each end.
Openings
Double bays can also receive this name.
Thus a mullioned window is the name of an opening divided into two holes by a mullion or a mullion.
[ It is also sometimes referred to as mullioned arches.][
]
Gallery
File:Gothic architecture in France, England, and Italy (1915) (14801572593).jpg, Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
, Trinity Chapel
Drawing, Stage Design, Interior of Renaissance Portico, early 19th century (CH 18540979).jpg, Renaissance style portico with coupled columns in park
File:Trinity Church, Boston (3678106905).jpg, Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 4,000 households, was founded in ...
Cathedral-Parishjf6944 11.JPG, St. Paul the First Hermit Cathedral — N. Paulino St, Barangay V-D, Poblacion, San Pablo City, Laguna Province, Philippines.
File:Lincolnshire County Offices 01.jpg, Lincolnshire County Offices, Entrance Portico
File:Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae- House of Raphael MET DP870359.jpg, House of Raphael
Palazzo Caprini was a Renaissance palazzo in Rome, Italy, in the Borgo rione between Piazza Scossacavalli and via Alessandrina (also named Borgo Nuovo). It was designed by Donato Bramante around 1510, or a few years before.
It was also known ...
in Rome, 1512
Architecture-pilasters.jpg, Paired Corinthian pilasters with high bases on the county courthouse in Sidney, Ohio
Sidney is a city in Shelby County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,421 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, and is a ...
Further reading
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References
Colonnades
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