Architecture: Column and Pilasters Essay

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Anachronism is something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time. An anachronism prefers older, often obsolete cultural artifacts over newer ones.
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists. It has often been dismissed as crude and unrefined, but also has proponents who highlight its importance in current design.

A column in structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture "column" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and decorative features. A column might also be a decorative or triumphant feature but need not be supporting any structure.

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column. Pilasters often appear on the sides of a door frame or window opening on the facade of a building, and are sometimes paired with columns or pillars set directly in front of them at some distance away from the wall, which support a roof structure above.

A buttress is an architectural structure built against (a counter fort) or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings. Buttresses can be decorative, both in their own right and from the designs carved or constructed into them.

Differences: Columns can be very plain or extremely ornate. The only difference between columns and pilasters is that pilasters appear to be embedded in the surface of the house's wall. In addition, pilasters have the look of a 16th or 17th century column, with narrow pillars and ornate tops and bottoms.
Buttress is an exterior mass of masonry set at an angle to or bonded into a wall which it strengthens or supports; buttresses often absorb lateral thrusts from roof vaults.

Classical Temple Front is made with columns or pilasters carrying an entablature and pediment, applied to an elevation.
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section
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