For centuries, the round Architectural Column has been a staple in architecture, adorning some of the most famous ancient buildings still standing, as well as adding a flair of elegance and support to modern buildings. The doric columns of the Parthenon and the Lincoln Memorial, as well as the Pantheon, are well-known to anyone who has ever sat in a world history classroom.
Architects often incorporate columns into their designs to add beauty , elegance, and an air of class to their designs. Round columns seeing more of both aesthetic and practical use in today’s modern architecture. So, what should you know about using round columns in architectural design?
Practical Use
Stone was the preferred material of choice in ancient times as seen in Greek and Roman architectural design with round columns. However, today fiberglass and stone composites, or other synthetic materials are more popular, due to their load bearing capacity, durability and lifetime warranties, as well as being available as a wrap for structural supports.
GFRC is another popular choice due to its durability, but it is usually heavier and more difficult to install and is only offered as a cover for structural supports. Fiberglass is a versatile material that can be used for both indoor and outdoor use. It is lightweight, durable, and easily fashioned into virtually any shape and style of column desired and comes with a lifetime warranty. Similarly, solid PVC is also a modern material seeing a lot of use in square columns, especially outdoors, as the material handles weathering quite well, is relatively inexpensive and is backed by lifetime warranties.
Visual Appeal
Architects are once again increasingly more often looking to incorporate round columns into their building designs. Architectural design with round columns is ideal if you want to add beauty, substance and classic elegance to your building design. Round Columns can be both load bearing or ornamental to beautify and cover structural supports. In renovation, round columns can authentically recreate historically important projects.
Adding them to existing facades gives the building a fresh, new, and elegant appeal, as well. The prevalence of round columns in architectural design has ebbed and flowed with design trends, but their practical use and visual appeal are timeless and never go out of style, so as a result round columns are making a strong resurgence in today’s design trends.