Hidden Orders

You’re looking at a building façade and it looks “right” but you can’t say why. Base, middle, top, openings and bay rhythm give you a way to read its proportions.

Watch the pilasters and cornices fall away. The underlying divisions remain, making the difference between proportional structure and ornament visible.

The proportions survive the ornament

Full order · five bays

5 bays organize 3 stories. Pilasters, openings and horizontal bands show the full composition.

Drag the bay-count annotation or the top-right height handle to edit the façade.

5

bays

Bay rhythm

3

stories

Height division

4

Visible layers

Schematic classical orders use illustrative column height/diameter ratios of 7, 8, 9, 10 and 10. These are comparisons, not a measured historical elevation.