Lesene

Lesene

Lesene

Low-relief architectural element

A lesene, also called a pilaster strip,[1] is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital.[2] It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building styles.[3]

Lesenes and Lombard band (mini-arches), Old St. Martin, Kaarst

Function

Lesenes are used in architecture to vertically divide a façade or other wall surface optically. However, unlike pilasters, lesenes are simpler, having no bases or capitals. Their function is ornamental, not just to decorate the plain surface of a wall but, in the case of corner lesenes (at the edges of a façade), to emphasise the edges of a building.

  • Modern and post-modern
  • Robin Hood Gardens, London: lesene-shaped formation on the supporting wall in the Plattenbau style
  • Lesenes at Chile House, Hamburg
  • Lesenes on the Ludgerus Church in Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia

References

  1. [1]
    Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture
  2. [2]
    Curl, James Stevens (2006). Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 442. ISBN 978-0-19-860678-9.
  3. [3]
    Mulder, Koen (2016). Het Zinderend Oppervlak [The Thrilling Surface] (in Dutch) (2nd ed.). Koen Mulder architect & bouwtechnoloog (published January 2016). p. 157. ISBN 978-90-824668-0-5.
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