Hypostyle
WHS containing "Hypostyle" structures.
"The word hypostyle comes from the Ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος hypóstȳlos meaning "under columns".... The roof may be constructed with bridging lintels of stone, wood or other rigid material such as cast iron, steel or reinforced concrete" Wiki). The term is used most strictly for buildings in which the roof is supported solely by Columns/Pillars without use of arches, vaults, buttresses or domes. It is, however, also used more widely where the main structure is still primarily supported by a "forest" of pillars holding up the roof, albeit with some "secondary" arching (e,g to allow a higher ceiling by preventing bending of the columns in the middle). Thus "In many mosques, especially the early congregational mosques the prayer hall has the hypostyle form" (Wiki). These, less strict uses of the term, are allowed where the structure is widely described as a "Hypostyle" but a reputable quote using the word should be provided. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostyle
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Ancient Thebes | Most Egyptian temples contained a Hypostyle Hall. The most famous is "The Great Hypostyle Hall" at Karnak | |
| Cordoba | The Mosque-Cathedral "is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns." See | |
| Delos | Hypostyle Hall (Stoa of Poseidon) | |
| Djenné | Great Mosque - "Djenné's mosque is just an extreme sample of Arabic type hypostyle mosque in contrast, making as many as ninety thick pillars of earth stand densely, causing impossibility to get even a penetrating view of the interior space. Standing up many columns together is a fate for the erection of a grand hall with a flat roof without using a dome structure. Since Djenné's mosque is made of earth, the pillars had to be much bulkier than stone columns." See - | |
| Historic Cairo | Cairo has several "Hypostyle" mosques. E.g Al-azhar Mosque - "the original structure was 280 feet (85 m) in length and 227 feet (69 m) wide, and comprised three arcades situated around a courtyard. To the southeast of the courtyard, the original prayer hall was built as a hypostyle hall, five aisles deep.... The marble columns supporting the four arcades that made up the prayer hall were reused from sites extant at different times in Egyptian history, from Pharaonic times through Roman rule to Coptic dominance" (Wiki). Al-Nasir Mohammad Mosque (Citadel) and the Ibn Tulun mosque - Ibn Tulun " had solid bricks baked and used, following the tradition in Mesopotamia.....(and) applied this policy even to the pillars of the hypostyle hall, making all of them very thick and solid by piling bricks, having quit taking marble columns from ancient Roman temples or Christian churches." See | |
| Kairouan | The Great Mosque "is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world, as well as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb. (It) is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa, its perimeter is almost equal to 405 metres (1,328 feet). This vast space contains a hypostyle prayer hall" See | |
| Kasbah of Algiers | The prayer room of the Great Mosque of Algiers (Djamaa el Kebir), without a central dome, is a hypostyle; the pillars are connected by large arches. (French Wiki) | |
| Museumsinsel (Museum Island) | Egyptian Court at the Neues Museum | |
| Nubian Monuments | Temple of Isis at Philae - "The striking Hypostyle Hall conisists of ten huge pillars. Once beautifully painted, the pillars symbolize the first plants, trees and flowers of the earth which began to grow on the Primeval Mound (symbolized by the temple floor). On the ceiling (representing the sky), are images of the Day Boat and the Night Boat, and of the vultures of Upper and Lower Egypt." See | |
| Persepolis | "As a word, "apadāna" (Old Persian) is used to designate a hypostyle hall," (Wiki) The Apadana Palace at Perspolis is such a structure - | |
| Susa | Apadana at the Palace of Darius | |
| Syracuse | Castello Maniace: "Of the original hypostyle hall, into which streamed light from 15 wall windows, one large window to the sea on the west side and from the central compluvium open to the sky, only the south side remains." (Nomination file, p. 85) | |
| Works of Antoni Gaudí | Parc Guell "The great entrance stairway leads to the Hypostyle Room, which was designed to be the market for the estate. It is made up of 84 striated columns inspired in the Doric order" . The Columns support the "Nature Square" directly above. |
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