In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns.
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).
["Hypostyle", Random House Dictionary (unabridged) 2011.]
Technical options
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
, 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.
[ Fred S. Kleiner, Gardner's art through the ages : the western perspective, Cengage Learning, 2010, p. 265] 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.
[ Fred S. Kleiner, Gardner's art through the ages : the western perspective, p. 267]
See also
