Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 25

L INE AR ELEMENTS

Vertical linear elements, such as columns, obelisks, and towers, have been
used throughout history to commemorate significant events and establish
particular points in space.

Bell Tower, Church at Vuoksenniska,
Finland, 1956, Alvar Aalto

Menhir,
a prehistoric monument consisting of an
upright megalith, usually standing alone
but sometimes aligned with others.

Column of Marcus Aurelius,
Piazza Colonna, Rome, A.D. 174.
This cylindrical shaft commemorates
the emperor’s victory over Germanic
tribes north of the Danube.

Obelisk of Luxor,
Place de la Concorde, Paris. The obelisk, which
marked the entrance to the Amon temple at Luxor,
was given by the viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, to
Louis Phillipe and installed in 1836.

Vertical linear elements can also define a transparent volume of
space. In the example illustrated to the left, four minaret towers
outline a spatial field from which the dome of the Selim Mosque
rises in splendor.

Selim Mosque, Edirne, Turkey,
A.D. 1569–75
10 / A R C H I TE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R