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Pier (architecture)

Upright support in arches or bridges

Note

the architectural support

A pier, in architecture, is an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge. Sections of structural walls between openings (bays) can function as piers. External or free-standing walls may have piers at the ends or on corners.

Description

The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, but other shapes are also common. In medieval architecture, massive circular supports called drum piers, cruciform (cross-shaped) piers, and compound piers are common architectural elements.

Columns are a similar upright support, but stand on a round base; in many contexts columns may also be called piers. In buildings with a sequence of bays between piers, each opening (window or door) between two piers is considered a single bay.

Bridge piers

Main article: Pier (bridge structure)

Examples

In the Arc de Triomphe, Paris (illustration, right) the central arch and side arches are raised on four massive .

St Peter's Basilica

Donato Bramante's original plan for St Peter's Basilica in Rome has richly articulated piers. Four piers support the weight of the dome at the central crossing. These piers were found to be too small to support the weight and were changed later by Michelangelo to account for the massive weight of the dome.

The piers of the four apses that project from each outer wall are also strong, to withstand the outward thrust of the half-domes upon them. Many niches articulate the wall-spaces of the piers.[[File:MontacuteNineWorthies.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Montacute House]] (England, ). [[Niche (architecture)|Niche]]s in the piers of the [[long gallery]] are occupied by statues of the [[Nine Worthies]].]]

References

M. Fazio, ''Buildings Across Time'', 312

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

architectural-elements structural-system foundations-(buildings-and-structures) bridge-components

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