by Barrie Christian » 14 Oct 2013, 15:55
Window openings are one of the most important secondary elements of a building.
Their size, shape, proportions and placement have a major affect on the appearance of an elevation.
The subdivisions of a window adds a further layer of visual subtlety, effected by the thickness, shape and arrangement of those subdivisions.
Georgian buildings are often regarded as having a beautiful appearance, largely due to the disposition of the windows on the front elevation.
It might be assumed that the proportions of the windows are derived from the classic ratios of the Golden Rectangle (phi φ1.618) or root2 (√2 1.414 ).
An examination of one building in Bath shows Georgian architects (builders) did not follow these precepts to any extent, if at all.
In the building shown, the ratios of the windows from top to bottom, are 1.8, 2.3, 2.0 (double square).
This change in shape is a result of:
- each floor in the building having a different ceiling height.
- the size of windows reflect the height of the floor; the higher the ceiling, the taller the window.
- to produce an ordered appearance the windows align with each other horizontally and vertically.
It follows therefore that once the width of the window is fixed, windows of different heights will inevitably have different proportions.
This has been the case since Roman times, and has been the dominant (almost exclusive) arrangement of windows in all building types ever since, from the humblest cottage to the grandest palace.
[attachment=0]Rectangles 1.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]Georgian Windows.jpg[/attachment]
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