Architectural columns provide support - just like bricks or larger building blocks. But the beauty of the column is that in addition to support, it also provides space.
There is room for the eye and air to move through, rather than just over, the facade - and be invited in.
There is even a word for this space: intercolumniation.
Isaac Ware, The Four Books of Andrea Palladio's Architecture London 1738
Doric Order
Roman architect Vitruvius (1st century B.C.) compiled standard intercolumniations for the three classical Greek orders, expressed in terms of the column diameter. If you make the space between the columns too wide, the supported stone will break.
The challenge with columns then is to find the optimal combination of width, hight and space in between to both support the structure and to please the eye.
And observing the room left in between columns is a great alternative way of appreciating architecture, as well as training your eye to look at so-called ‘negative space’.
Today, go on a grand tour of temples and colonnades.
Travel through classical buildings on websites like Google Arts and Culture, and observe not only the columns but also the room left in between.
Where does that space best match the design of the rest of the building?
Share your images (and opinions) on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #kramerseye.