Pinnacle
A pinnacle is a vertical ornamental element crowning a buttress, turret, parapet, spire or other structure. It is most commonly associated with Gothic architecture.
Pinnacles are typically made of stone and predominantly used for ornamental purposes, providing vertical emphasis breaking up hard outlines. In the case of some buildings, such as the Milan Duomo, they are topped with statues.
They can also serve a secondary structural purpose, crowning the piers of flying buttresses, where, being very heavy and often rectified with lead, they improve the stability of the buttresses, helping to counteract the lateral thrust of the vault, and shifting it downwards to the foundations.
The difference between a pinnacle and a finial is its greater size and complexity. The difference between a pinnacle and a tower or spire is its smaller size and performs a lesser architectural role.
Simple pinnacles were originally used on Romanesque churches, often as a means of distracting from the often abrupt transition from a square tower to a polygonal spire.
They became more common in Gothic architecture, where they were used in a much more decorative way, found at every major corner of a building, as well as on flanked gables and decorated parapets and buttresses.
Notable examples are to be found on Notre Dame in Paris, and the 24 m (80 ft) pinnacles of Reims Cathedral.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, pinnacles were used as part of the Gothic Revival style. Notable examples are to be found on the Palace of Westminster and New York’s Woolworth Building.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
IHBC NewsBlog
IHBC Marsh Award Nominations – Closing Date 30 March
Celebrate your local ‘retired members’ and ‘successful learners’ with £500 cash prizes and 2020 Brighton School places!
Biodiversity Net Gain through UK Construction Projects
The Conservation Hierarchy is a new framework developed by the University of Oxford to help construction projects achieve Biodiversity Net Gain.
How Project Managers for Town Centre Developments can Balance Risk
Jacqueline Hughes, senior risk analyst at Equib, in pbctoday discusses how project managers for town centre developments can get their risk management strategies right.
Red Tape is Strangling our High Streets
A new paper from the Adam Smith Institute argues that the problem with the High Street has been totally misunderstood, saying that we need to reform restrictive planning rules and reject a policy of managed decline to reinvigorate our town centres.
Calculating the full cost of energy used by buildings
The Whole Life Cost of Energy (WLCoE) calculator – issued by government in BETA form – is intended to help building owners and operators to understand the full financial cost of the energy their buildings use, and welcomes feedback
England’s heritage worth £31Bn: New Historic England report
New research published by Historic England (HE) shows the value of heritage to England’s economy as it contributes to economic prosperity and growth through jobs in the heritage and construction sectors and from tourism.
Part of Roman wall in Chester Collapses
Investigations have begun into what caused part of Chester’s Roman city wall to collapse during construction work.
Audit on new housing in England: Design overwhelmingly ‘mediocre’ or ‘poor’
Though conservation professionals' skills in understanding, defining and explaining local character and architecture can help inform new residential design.
Historic England’s ‘21 Fascinating Places Listed in 2019’
Over 500 historic places have been added to the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) in 2019 and Historic England (HE) has showcased 21 highlights.
UK’s iconic first red public telephone box upgraded to GII*
The K2 prototype telephone box situated outside the Royal Academy in London – built as part of the 1924 competition that gave rise to the iconic design and first listed at Grade II in 1986 – has had its listing upgraded to Grade II*.
Historic England publishes guidance on BIM for Heritage
The second in a series focusses on developing the Asset Information Model (AIM).
High Streets Face a Bleak Future Without Rethinking Regeneration Strategies
Reflecting issues that will be encountered across the IHBC’s June 2020 Brighton School, think tank Centre for Cities argues for High Street success.