Orders and Their Dimensions

The five standard orders came to be known as such during the renaissance, when architects such as Giacomo da Vignola (1507-1573) and Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) built on Vitruvius’ (circa 80-15 BC) previous work. The five orders are as follows:

• The Tuscan Order (Roman)
• The Doric Order (Greek and Roman)
• The Ionic Order (Greek and Roman)
• The Corinthian Order (Greek and Roman)
• The Composite Order (Roman)

Vitruvius’, Vignola’s, and Palladio’s works can be found via links in the Further Reading section. However, their work can be a bit convoluted at times. For ease of use it is recommended to use Michael Rouchell’s drawing below. It does a great job of clearly and concisely illustrating the five orders. A detailed write-up can be found on his blog here.

There are variations between Vitruvius’, Vignola’s, and Palladio’s dimensions. The dimensions below are Roman and based on Vignola’s work, the most commonly accepted and used of the three.

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