Hypostyle

Etymology

The term hypostyle comes from the Ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος hypóstȳlos meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό hypó means below or underneath and στῦλος stŷlos means column).

Technical options

thumb|Design of the [[Great Hypostyle Hall]] constructed around –1224 BC The roof may be constructed with bridging lintels of stone, wood or other rigid material such as cast iron, steel or reinforced concrete. There may be a ceiling. The columns may be all the same height or, as in the case of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, the columns flanking the central space may be of greater height rather than those of the side aisles, allowing openings in the wall above the smaller columns, through which light is admitted over the aisle roof, through clerestory windows.

Applications

The architectural form has many applications, occurring in the cella of ancient Greek temples and in many Asian buildings, particularly of wood construction.

Mosques

With a combination of columns and arches, the hypostyle hall became one of the two main types of mosque construction. In many mosques, especially the early congregational mosques, the prayer hall has the hypostyle form. One of the finest examples of the hypostyle-plan mosques is the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba) in the city of Kairouan, Tunisia.{{cite web|url=http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612251/index.pdf |access-date=27 February 2015

References

References

1. "Hypostyle", Random House Dictionary (unabridged) 2011.
2. Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 14th. Boston: Wadsworth, 73. Print.
3. {{EB1911
4. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IJrN8rDirxkC&dq=hypostyle+early+congregational+mosques&pg=PA265 Fred S. Kleiner, ''Gardner's art through the ages : the western perspective'', Cengage Learning, 2010, p. 265]
5. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IJrN8rDirxkC&dq=Gardner%27s+art+mosque+of+kairouan&pg=PA267 Fred S. Kleiner, ''Gardner's art through the ages : the western perspective'', p. 267]