Propylaea
This illustration of the exterior propylaea of Eleusis (1862) comes from the Gazette Des Beaux-Arts, a French art review. |
The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture (third edition) was published in 1980. It was created for Penguin Reference and compiled by John Fleming, Hugh Honour and Nikolaus Pevsner.
It defines a propylaea (which is also referred to as propylea, propylaia or propylaeum) as “The entrance gateway to an enclosure (usually temple precincts) as on the Acropolis at Athens.”
In ancient Greek architecture, propylaea was typically constructed on a grand scale. The origins of the word (which can mean fore gate) indicates that the original term propylaea was not one gateway, but a series of gateways.
It is believed that there was a propylaea that opened into a large, colonnaded atrium in Old St Peter’s Basilica.
[edit] Related articles
Featured articles and news
Sustainable development concepts decade by decade.
The regenerative structural engineer
A call for design that will repair the natural world.
Buildings that mimic the restorative aspects found in nature.
CIAT publishes Principal Designer Competency Framework
For those considering applying for registration as a PD.
BSRIA Building Reg's guidance: The second staircase
An overview focusing on aspects which most affect the building services industry.
Design codes and pattern books
Harmonious proportions and golden sections.
Introducing or next Guest Editor Arun Baybars
Practising architect and design panel review member.
Quick summary by size, shape, test, material, use or bonding.
Types of rapidly renewable content
From forestry to agricultural crops and their by-products.
Terraced houses and the public realm
The discernible difference between the public realm of detached housing and of terraced housing.
Looking back at the influence of climate events
From a designer and writer: 'There are limits to growth but no limits to development'.
Terms, histories, theories and practice.
Biophilic design and natural light
Letting in the light and natural elements into spaces.