Arcade (architecture)
In architecture, an arcade is a series of arches supported by piers or columns, often forming a covered passageway. This architectural feature has its origins in ancient Rome, where it was widely used, particularly in large constructions such as aqueducts and the Colosseum, which incorporated numerous arcades. During the medieval period, particularly in the Romanesque style, architects adapted this design to create blind arcades—arch structures attached to walls that serve primarily as decorative elements rather than structural supports. In Gothic architecture, arcades were commonly used to delineate spaces within churches.
The revival of arcades continued into the Renaissance, as they became popular in European marketplaces, where they provided shelter for shops and pedestrians. Notable examples from this era include the Covered Market in Oxford and London's Burlington Arcade, both of which showcase the blend of utility and aesthetic appeal that arcades offer. Additionally, arcades are found in Islamic architecture, contributing to the design of courtyards and passageways. Overall, arcades represent a significant architectural tradition that marries form and function across various cultures and historical periods.
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Arcade (architecture)
In architecture, an arcade is a structure made up of a series of arches supported by piers, columns, or a covered passageway. Arcades grew out of the architecture of ancient Rome and were often used in the construction of medieval churches. Freestanding arcades were also used to house shops in European marketplaces of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An arcade structure attached to a wall is a purely decorative element known as blind arcade.
Overview
An arch is a curved architectural element that spans an opening and supports the weight above it. Arches are able to handle the weight by dissipating its force outward through the columns or support blocks. The ancient Mesopotamians used the first crude arches as a way to support small structures. The Romans borrowed the arch from earlier civilizations and improved on its design. They flattened its shape and used arches at intervals during construction to build larger structures capable of supporting more weight. Roman architects also adapted the design of the arch to make several revolutionary innovations. They combined a series of aches into a roof called a vault. An arch structure that extends for 360 degrees is a dome.
A Roman arcade was constructed of a row of arched columns or piers supporting a horizontal structure known as an entablature. Both arch and arcade are derived from the Latin word arcus, meaning "bow." The arcade was used in construction of many large Roman projects, including the aqueducts, bridge-like structures used to transport water. The famed Roman Colosseum, built around the year 80 CE, employed more than eighty arcades in its design.
From the tenth to the twelfth centuries, medieval architecture tried to recapture the glory of ancient Rome with a style known as Romanesque. Architects from the period built series of arches that resembled Roman arcades but attached them to a wall instead of leaving them freestanding. These were called blind arcades, and they did not act as structural supports. They served as a decorative element to an existing building. In the Gothic architectural style that followed the Romanesque period, Christian churches often used arcades set on columns to separate the nave section of the church from the side aisles. The nave is the large central area where the congregation sits or stands.
Arcades were used to create courtyards and covered passageways in both medieval monasteries and Islamic mosques. During the Renaissance period of the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, arcades were used to line shops in European marketplaces or Middle Eastern bazaars. The Covered Market in Oxford, England, was built in 1774, and it is one of the oldest surviving European shopping arcades. London's Burlington Arcade and Piccadilly Arcade were constructed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Other famous arcade structures include the Passage des Panoramas—a shop-lined covered passageway in Paris, France, built in the nineteenth century—and the Gostinyi dvor, a nineteenth-century indoor marketplace in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Bibliography
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