The Classic Column PVC Pipe system is modeled after the Tuscan order of Historic Columns.

Based on today’s architecture, the most popular column capitals in order of use nation wide are:

1.Tuscan

2. Scamozzi

3. Roman Ionic

4. Corinthian.

5 other styles

DORIC COLUMNS
Doric Columns are the oldest and simplest column of the Greek style.  This Greek column typically features fluted sides, a smooth rounded top, or capital, and no separate base. There are many examples of ancient buildings and temples using the Doric order. Perhaps the most famous one is the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon in Athens, some of the most studied buildings standing. Buildings built even now borrow some parts of the Doric order.  It is generally believed that the column and its capital derive from an earlier architecture in wood. The cornice details, resembling carpentry forms, have also led to the theory of its origin in wooden column forms. The type had arrived at a definite form in the 7th cent. B.C., but further improvements to the Doric order of columns produced the perfected order in the 5th cent. B.C.

TUSCAN COLUMNS
The Tuscan Order is also simple and elegant in its design, with a very smooth shaft. The order is beautifully represented at Saint Peter’s Plaza and the Temple of Piety in Rome Italy. Tuscan columns are always smooth without flutes and a smooth linear frieze design. These columns tend to be widely spaced and short in proportion. It has a tapered and non-tapered shaft whose length is usually seven times the diameter of the column. It is the most popular of all of the styles and is easily integrated into today’s architecture. It is very similar to the Greek Doric order column.

IONIC COLUMNS

Ionic columns are identified by the scroll-shaped ornaments on the capital, which resemble rams horns and egg-and-dart detailing in the center, which is representative of the life cycle. It is a graceful and well-proportioned style used for small buildings and decorative interiors. Dating back to the 6th century, the Ionic style has also been found in Egypt and Syria, with the Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome a beautiful example of classic Ionic architecture. The Ionic column rests on a rounded base.  Ionic shafts are often taller than Tuscan. This makes the columns look more slender and elegant. They often had flutes carved into them from top to bottom of the column shaft as well. The frieze is plain. The bases were often large and looked like a set of stacked rings, (Attic Base). Ionic capitals consist of scrolls above the shaft. The Ionic style is more decorative than the Tuscan. The spreading parallel scroll-shaped capital is the distinctive feature of the Ionic order.  It was primarily a product of Asia Minor, where early embryonic forms of this capital have been found. In the Ionian colonies of Greece on the southwestern shores of Asia Minor, the Ionic order had attained a full development in the 6th cent. B.C. Ancient writers considered the Ionic order more feminine in design than the earlier more masculine Doric.

SCAMOZZI COLUMNS

The 16th-century Renaissance architect and theorist Vincenzo Scamozzi [1552-1616] designed a version of such a perfectly four-sided Ionic capital, which became so much the standard, that when a Greek Ionic order was eventually reintroduced, in the later 18th century Greek Revival, it conveyed an air of archaic freshness and primitiveness, perhaps even republican, vitality. His works include the Vettor Pisani Villa in Vicenza, Italy, the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore and the Palazzo Contarini on the Grand Canal, both in Venice, Italy. Scamozzi takes much of his inspiration from the Roman Ionic period.

TEMPLE of the WINDS

The Temple of Winds style capital takes components from the Tuscan and Corinthian styles and makes it uniquely its own. It was an early Roman creative combination using the features from 2 popular columns. The simple and elegant top [abacus] and two rows of stylized acanthus leaves bring about a graceful style that is as distinctive as it is beautiful.

CORINTHIAN COLUMNS
Corinthian Columns are the latest of the three Greek column styles and show the influence of Egyptian designs in their capitals. It was not used often by the Greeks but was modified and used extensively by the Romans and Egyptians. A wonderful example of Roman Corinthian architecture is Pantheon in Rome.

The capitals are shaped like inverted bells decorated with olive, laurel, or acanthus leaves. Corinthian columns rest on a base similar to that of the Ionic style. The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves below a small scroll. The shaft is often smooth or fluted and has a base like the Tuscan columns. Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are at a slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat. It was also the last of Greek columns, not arriving at full development until the middle of the 4th cent. B.C. The oldest known example is found in the temple of Apollo at Bassae.

The Classic Architectural Orders

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS The classic Architectural Orders are an architectural system based on the style of the column including the elements; capital, shaft and base.

The five classic orders of architecture are the classic Greek Doric, Ionic,Corinthian,Roman Tuscan and Composite.

Each Order consists of specific relative proportions of each element and has its own distinctive style. The following describes the five classic orders in addition to several other popular styles.

The Classic Architectural Orders

DORIC The Doric Order was the earliest order developed and was named for one of the two major ethnic divisions of the Greeks. It was by far the most

widely used and beloved by Greek architects. The Doric style was mainly used on the exterior of large structures and buildings. Some of the best

examples of the Doric style can be found on the Parthenon, the Temple of Hera and the Temple of Poseidon in Athens, Greece.

DORIC CAPITAL, The Greek Doric capital consists of a square stone slab [abacus], above a round molded slab and is elegantly simple in design. The Roman

version is more decorative including a three-stepped curved support.

DORIC COLUMN, Originally Greek Doric columns did not have a base, although later the GREEK, Roman Doric version did and is the more popular version of

the Doric style today. The height of the tapered column in relationship to its diameter in true architectural proportions, including the capital and base,

is five [5] and one-half meters. Doric columns are always fluted, the number of flutes per column is dependent upon the size [diameter] of the column. 

DORIC COLUMN, The Roman version of the classic Greek Doric column includes a more ROMAN decorative capital moulding and the addition of a base. The

Roman Doric columns are featured in either a smooth or fluted version.

DORIC BASE, The Roman Doric base consists of a three-tiered round moulded base with a squared base slab or plinth.

The Classic Architectural Orders

IONIC, One of the five Orders of Architecture originating from the Greeks. Named for one of the two major ethnic divisions of the Greeks. The Ionic Greek order

was developed much later than the Doric Order. It is a graceful and well-proportioned style used for small buildings and decorative interiors. Dating back to the

6th century, the Ionic style has also been found in Egypt and Syria, with the Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome a beautiful example of classic Ionic architecture.

IONIC CAPITAL, Greek Ionic capitals were more elaborate than their Doric counterparts. The richly ornamented downward volute scrolls in the formation of an

animal’s horn, and egg-and-dart detailing in the center. Ancient writers considered the Ionic order more feminine in design than the earlier more masculine Doric.

IONIC COLUMN, Greek Ionic columns are traditionally fluted with 24 flutes separated by fillets, typically one-third the width of the flutes. Today you will find both fluted and smooth versions of these columns. Ionic columns are tapered and customarily nine diameters to the height, including the capital and base. They are typically more slender than the Doric column and almost always with an Attic Base.

Roman Ionic Capital

Animal Horn Volute

Egg-and-Dart Detail

The Classic Architectural Orders

CORINTHIAN, The third Order of Architecture developed by the Greeks and appearingi n the Fifth century was the Corinthian style. It was not used often by the

Greeks but was modified and used extensively by the Romans. A wonderful example of Roman Corinthian architecture is Pantheon in Rome.

CORINTHIAN COLUMNS, Corinthian columns consists of 24 Ionic flutes with an attic base that is traditionally ten diameters to the height of the

column,including capital and base. Today you can purchase Corinthian columns in either a fluted or smooth version.

CORINTHIAN CAPITALS, Roman Corinthian capitals feature a profusion of carved acanthus leaves [a thistle plant found in the Mediterranean area] and a more

detailed version of the Ionic downward volute scroll of an animal horn at the top. The large inverted cup shape is distinctive in appearance and style.

Roman Corinthian Capital

Acanthus Leaves

Animal Horn Volute

Timeless Architectural Reproductions, Inc.

The Classic Architectural Orders

TUSCAN The Romans added two Orders of Architect one being Tuscan and the other Composite. The Tuscan Order is a very elegantly simple style. In

proportion it resembles the Roman Doric column style yet it is unadorned, plain consisting of a simple base and capital. This elegant style today is the most

popular version of all the orders and is beautifully represented at Saint Peter’s Plaza in Rome.

TUSCAN COLUMN, Tuscan columns and capitals are noted for their simple beauty and CAPITAL elegance. When used in true architectural proportions, the height of the

column is seven diameters, including the capital and base. The Temple of Piety in Rome, Italy is a classic example of Tuscan columns. Tuscan columns are always

smooth without flutes.

Also noted for its simple elegance, the Tuscan base consists of one round molded cushion with small bead on top, all resting on a square slab base.

COMPOSITE, Composite, the last of the Orders of Architect was developed by the Romans. By some accounts, a richer version of the Corinthian order, the

capitals consist of a larger Ionic top and with more fluidity of shape and light. This is largely due to the invention of concrete, allowing for greater

freedom of design elements. Richly ornate, the Composite style was especially used on triumphal arches such as the Arch of Titus in Rome.

FLUTING, The shallow vertical grooves in the shaft of a column that either meet in a sharp edge as in Doric columns or are separated by a narrow strip as in

Ionic columns.