Arches, Arcades, and Colonnades

[Troubadour]

I'm a big believer in these elements of classical architecture and styles directly based on them. At their best, they represent a Formal ideal, and really clarify the dimensionality of a space into something almost magical while remaining thoroughly rational - a thing simultaneously spiritual and substantive.

In the modern world, the arcade and the colonnade are no longer structurally necessary: If you have a building that uses columns at all, they're either spindly poles or can be so widely spaced as to have nothing to do with one another. Either way, they usually aren't styled or made to fit any kind of aesthetic proportion - just square or cylindrical metal elements joining floor and ceiling, painted or not depending on the purpose of the area. Arches, likewise, are no longer a necessity. And yet the inherent beauty of the arch (and by extension, arcade) and the row of columns is such that they're still widely used in ways that enrich the environment.

Use this thread to post photos of your favorite arches, arcades, and colonnades. Try not to be obvious: E.g., everybody loves the Parthenon and the Notre Dame.

[Aaamazarite]

Well there's always the Arcade Building

[Suffice]

Italian cities are full of these. Turin, especially, is full of elegant boulevards with 19th century buildings with arcades & colonnades, providing shade during the day and a bit of creepyness at night.

Example:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=torino...33.12,,0,-4.76

[Troubadour]

Originally Posted by Aaamazarite

Well there's always the Arcade Building

Eww.

Originally Posted by Suffice

Italian cities are full of these. Turin, especially, is full of elegant boulevards with 19th century buildings with arcades & colonnades, providing shade during the day and a bit of creepyness at night.

Example:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=torino...33.12,,0,-4.76

I guess I was asking for specific examples of ones that are especially great, not just any old street in Italy (though I'm sure they're awesome compared to elsewhere in the world).

[CGII]

Originally Posted by Troubadour

Eww.



I guess I was asking for specific examples of ones that are especially great, not just any old street in Italy (though I'm sure they're awesome compared to elsewhere in the world).

Look closely Padawan. Note the use of a colonnade with arches to create a covered pedestrian retail space (arcade).

[vid]

Finally, an architecture topic in which my city can compete! Maybe...

Colonnade of the Ontario Government Building, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Architect Arthur Erickson (California Plaza, LA; Simon Fraser University, BC). Completed 1989.





The columns are a reference to the city's grain elevators. The exclusions of bases and capitals reflects the building's modern era, as does the design of the cornice, which was intentionally designed that way to avoid historical reference.