For this week’s Ask OMS topic, we have the definition of the word capital. As a reminder, the purpose of Ask OMS is for you to post your questions related to architecture, and then we’ll provide the answers. Please send us your questions.

Capital: in architecture, crowning member of a column, pier, anta, pilaster, or other columnar form, providing a structural support for the horizontal member (entablature) or arch above. In the Classical styles, the capital is the architectural member that most readily distinguishes the order.

Three widely used forms of the capital were created by the Greeks. The Doric capital consists of a square abacus surmounting a round form with an egg-shaped profile called the echinus, below which are several narrow, ridge-like moldings linking the capital with the column. The Ionic capital—probably related to the volute capitals of western Asia—has a tripartite design consisting of a pair of horizontally connected volutes inserted between the abacus and echinus. The Corinthian capital is basically an abacus supported on an inverted bell surrounded by rows of stylized acanthus leaves.

The gold capitals depicted in the photo below adds the elegance of the Corinthian order to the Monroe County Courthouse rotunda.

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Monroe County Courthouse Photo Copyright: OMS Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/93840/capital

Monroe County Courthouse
Photo Copyright: OMS

Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/93840/capital

Odle McGuire Shook is an Indiana architecture firm with a focus on Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Engineering, and Architectural Design. We are experts in architecture and one of our professionals will be personally responsible for your project from start to finish. We’ve been dedicated to serving Indiana since 1916, and we have a history of forward thinking. Most of all, we believe that quality, innovative designs don’t have to cost more.