Authors

Veslopolova Galina N.
EMBODIMENT OF A HARMONIOUS ORDER

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №3 (51) September, 2015

Establishing order and being the guarantor of the reliability of structures created by him, the architect relied until recently on the anthropomorphic principle of similarity, which is most vividly embodied in the classical order. This fundamental centuries-long imperative of the profession is been called in question today.

The extra-tectonic extra-order origins of life, another format of human life and of the individual are obvious signs of today. The possibilities of changing one’s sex and appearance and new forms of reproductive activity change the personal and physiological profile. What we observe is the incompatibility of the anthropomorphic metamorphoses with the traditional norms of the world order, the tectonic foundations of which are being undermined. Proportioning as the architectural and universal law of organisation is also losing its positions. The divine proportion which the world has been struggling to find since its creation is becoming the domain of history.

Veslopolova Galina N.
HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE CLASSICAL ORDER. POST-GREEK PERIOD

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №1 (41) March, 2013

Architectural orders present an “eternal” topic of interest for scholars and professionals since the famous treatise of Vitruvius written two thousand years ago. It is the first theoretical generalization of the Greek orders heritage that has come down to us and the first attempt to adapt it to different conditions. Since then the classical order has been one of the subjects of unfailing interest for architectural theory and practice. The order has established a consistent cultural tradition of recurrence on the professional and social arena after phases of oblivion. Even the radicalism of the early Middle Ages towards the cultural values of the Antiquity failed to expunge the order from the creativity of masters.

One of the results that the Renaissance derived from addressing the Antiquity was numerous models of orders that can be presumed as attempts of great architects to understand the secrets of harmony and express their comprehension of the order’s divine nature. As well as the Greek orders, the model orders have become an important object of attention, research and public interest. Claiming to be the absolute, this type of order goes beyond the confines of architectural reality and acquires the status of a self-sufficient exclusive system of signs, provoking thereby protest, which grew stronger during Baroque and Mannerism. In fact, this is where we discover the sources of the problem of historical heritage the focus of which is the order.

The value of the Greek antique heritage is beyond any doubt. Frequently revisited, reconsidered and adapted to the specific conditions of any new era, it would enable the creation of bright and stylish features. Unquestionable is also the impact of the column and beam system, brought by the Greeks to perfection, on subsequent unique historical tectonic structures. The paper presents a snapshot of the history and transformation of the classical Greek orders in the post-Antiquity space of the European civilization.