Molding (decorative)

Decorative moldings have been made of wood, stone and cement. Recently moldings have been made of extruded polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) as a core with a cement-based protective coating. Synthetic moldings are a cost-effective alternative that rival the aesthetic and function of traditional profiles. in the Cyclopedia • Bandelet: Any little band or flat molding, which crowns a Doric architrave. It is also called a tenia (from Greek an article of clothing in the form of a ribbon). Similar to crown molding, a bed mold is used to cover the joint between the ceiling and wall. Bed molds can be either sprung or plain, or flush to the wall as an extension of a cornice mold. • Bolection: Raised molding projecting proud of a face frame at the intersection of the different levels between the frame and an inset panel on a door or wood panel. It will sometimes have a rabbet on its underside the depth of the lower level so it can lay flat over both. It can leave an inset panel free to expand or contract with temperature and humidity. • ' or ropework': Convex molding carved in imitation of a twisted rope or cord, and used for decorative moldings of the Romanesque style in England, France and Spain and adapted for 18th-century silver and furniture design (Thomas Sheraton) • Cabled fluting or cable: Convex circular molding sunk in the concave fluting of a classic column, and rising about one-third of the height of the shaft It forms the crowning feature of Egyptian temples and took the place of the cymatium in many Etruscan temples. • Chair rail or dado rail: Horizontal molding placed part way up a wall to protect the surface from chair-backs, and used simply as decoration • Chamfer: Beveled edge between two adjacent surfaces • Chin-beak: Concave quarter-round molding, rare in ancient buildings, more common today. • Dentils: Small blocks spaced evenly along the bottom edge of the cornice • '''''': Molding placed over a door or window opening to prevent water from flowing under the siding or across the glass • Echinus: Similar to the ovolo molding and found beneath the abacus of the Doric capital or decorated with the egg-and-dart pattern below the Ionic capital • '''''' : Lambs Tongue is a molding having a deep, symmetrical profile ending in a narrow edge. • Muntin: Narrow strip of wood or metal separating and holding panes of glass in a window. • Ogee: see "Cyma" • Order: Each of a series of moldings • Ovolo: Simple, convex quarter-round molding that can also be enriched with the egg-and-dart or other pattern • '''''' • Panel mold: A molding that is flat on the back and profiled on the face. It is applied directly on a flat surface like a wall or flush door in squares or rectangles to simulate a panel. • '''''': Functional molding installed above the floor from which framed art is hung, common in commercial buildings and homes with plaster walls. • Rosette: Circular, floral decorative element found in Mesopotamian design and early Greek stele, common in revival styles of architecture since the Renaissance. also sculpted in stone on exterior of buildings, e.g. around entrance doors. Also carved in wood, and used for topiary designs for parterres. • '''''': Convex, semi-circular molding, larger than an astragal, often at the base of a column, which may be enriched with leaves or plaiting. In the Ionic orders there are generally two torus moldings separated by a scotia with annulets. • Trim molding: General term used for moldings used to create added detail or cover up gaps, including corner moldings, cove moldings, rope moldings, quarter rounds, and accent moldings. ==Use==

At their simplest, moldings hide and help weather seal natural joints produced in the framing process of building a structure. As decorative elements, they are a means of applying light- and dark-shaded stripes to a structural object without having to change the material or apply pigments. Depending on their function they may be primarily a means of hiding or weather-sealing a joint, purely decorative, or some combination of the three. As decorative elements the contrast of dark and light areas gives definition to the object. If a vertical wall is lit at an angle of about 45 degrees above the wall (for example, by the sun) then adding a small overhanging horizontal molding, called a fillet molding, will introduce a dark horizontal shadow below it. Adding a vertical fillet to a horizontal surface will create a light vertical shadow. Graded shadows are possible by using moldings in different shapes: the concave cavetto molding produces a horizontal shadow that is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom; an ovolo (convex) molding makes a shadow that is lighter at the top and darker at the bottom. Other varieties of concave molding are the scotia and congé and other convex moldings the echinus, the torus and the astragal. Placing an ovolo directly above a cavetto forms a smooth s-shaped curve with vertical ends that is called an ogee or cyma reversa molding. Its shadow appears as a band light at the top and bottom but dark in the interior. Similarly, a cavetto above an ovolo forms an s with horizontal ends, called a cyma or cyma recta. Its shadow shows two dark bands with a light interior. Together the basic elements and their variants form a decorative vocabulary that can be assembled and rearranged in endless combinations. This vocabulary is at the core of both classical architecture and Gothic architecture. == Design ==

Classical When practiced in the Classical tradition the combination and arrangement of moldings are primarily done according to preconceived compositions. Typically, moldings are rarely improvised by the architect or builder, but rather follows established conventions that define the ratio, geometry, scale, and overall configuration of a molding course or entablature in proportion to the entire building. Classical moldings have their roots in ancient civilizations, with examples such the 'cornice cavetto' and 'papyriform columns' appearing in ancient Egyptian architecture, while Greek and Roman practices developed into the highly regulated classical orders. Necessary to the spread of Classical architecture was the circulation of pattern books, which provided reproducible copies and diagrammatic plans for architects and builders. Works containing sections and ratios of moldings appear as early as the Roman era with Vitruvius and much later influential publications such as Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola's, Five Orders of Architecture, and James Gibbs's, Rules for Drawing the Several Parts of Architecture. Pattern books can be credited for the regularization and continuity of classical architectural moldings across countries and continents particularly during the colonial era, contributing to the global occurrence of Classical moldings and elements. Pattern books remained common currency amongst architects and builders up until the early 20th century, but soon after mostly disappeared as Classical architecture lost favor to Modernist and post-war building practices that conscientiously stripped their buildings of moldings. However, the study of formalized pattern languages, including moldings, has since been revived through online resources and the popularity of new classical architecture in the early 21st century. Gothic The middle ages are characterized as a period of decline and erosion in the formal knowledge of Classical architectural principles. This eventually resulted in an amateur and 'malformed' use of molding patterns that eventually developed into the complex and inventive Gothic style. While impressive and seemingly articulate across Europe, Gothic architecture remained mostly regional and no comprehensive pattern books were developed at the time, but instead likely circulated through pilgrimage and the migration of trained Gothic masons. These medieval forms were later imitated by prominent Gothic Revivalists such as Augustus Pugin and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc who formalized Gothic moldings, developing them into its own systematic pattern books which could be replicated by architects with no native Gothic architecture. == See also ==