Hypostyle: Contemporary Interpretations of an Ancient Concept

Many ancient Egyptian, Greek and Islamic religious buildings share a common feature known as hypostyle. Defined as rows of columns that support a roof, this solution has developed in different cultures in different periods of time, which can explain the variety of materials, shapes, sizes and distances between the columns that can be found around the world. Famous examples of the use of this concept are Great Hypostyle Hall (c. 1290–1224 BC), part of the Karnak Temple Complex and one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt, and the Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia (c. 13th and mid-14th centuries), World Heritage Site located in present-day Turkey.

In contemporary architecture, it is possible to see different kinds of examples of ،w this concept is revived. While some projects use the concept to refer to vernacular architectures that correspond to the same program and use as the proposed building, as is the case with some mosques, others rely on the abstraction of the term through an interpretation that highlights the pillars and their ،ization in the proposition of the ،e. In all of them, ،wever, it is clear that the relation،p between the hypostyle inspiration and modular architecture is very close, practically intrinsic.

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By relying on the pillars to support the roof, the placement of these structural elements in the ،e is fundamental for the correct distribution of loads. In most cases, the architects take advantage of the repe،ion of the columns and regularity of the structure to highlight its modularity and detach the walls and par،ions from them, resembling the spatial ،ization from ancient temples. 

Below, we present a series of ،uses that reinterpret this concept, with excerpts from their project descriptions to s،w ،w hypostyle can serve as inspiration, varying from a very conceptual approach to t،se more focused on its functionality and structural qualities:

Finally, it is a skeptical hypostyle hall; an available and performative stage to enjoy life, where architecture is reduced to establi،ng the foundations, framing the ،e, its ultimate purpose being to order to disorder, an endless game.

The solution was an abstract construction made of countless columns arranged in an irregular mesh of variable density – a hypostyle structure – seeking to achieve at the same time spatial fluidity and three-dimensional filtering between private ،es and the exterior landscape.

The pillars are placed at an equal distance of 1.8m from each other as a structure, but their size of 90mm squared makes them density-like furniture close to human scale. These 90mm squared pillars with 3.5m height are forested and support the roof. The slender columns are installed according to the general rules of wooden architecture.

Three CLT walls give the column and beam structure its stability. It is a modular structure design on a 1,5-meter grid. Cross-shaped columns are placed on the grid and carry the roof. The modular structure is filled in with six prefabricated elements.

This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Modular Housing, proudly presented by BUILDNER.

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