Karmen Peternelj, Sanja Alaber, Miloš Bavec, Stefano Devoto, Stefano Furlani, Goran Glamuzina, Jernej Jež, Tvrtko Korbar, Maja Oven Stanič, Maria Luisa Perissinotto, Fabiana Pieri, Duška Rokavec, Ivan Stanič, Domen Zupančič
The walls or shell of a building feature several different elements. The most prominent elements are doors, windows, niches for statues, stone sills, shade slabs, corner stones, pressure-relief stone arches and other elements in the form of cantilevers and pilasters.
Openings in the building shell play several roles and serve several purposes. They are frequently located on the axis as this better distributes the weight of the elements in the wall. From the point of view of façade design, this arrangement is reasonable because it introduced a rhythm of openings in the horizontal and vertical directions. The appearance of the façade is enhanced by shadows created by the elements that lie on the façade plain. In stone architecture, openings are framed by rough-carved stone frames (jerta). A pressure-relief stone arch is built above the opening and serves to relieve the pressure on the lintel (Fig. 5.8).
The chimney and fireplace are especially expressive architectural elements. The chimney is a vertical shaft for smoke extraction, and the external parts of the chimney serve more than just aesthetic purposes. The cross-section of the chimney demonstrates the functionality of the built in stone plates (Fig. 5.9).
When the chimney is built partly into the wall and partly outside the plane of the wall, it is supported by stones in the cantilever and arch. The chimney becomes narrower towards the top as this effectively reduces the weight of the element towards the top. Where the circumference changes, crossbars are constructed that highlight the division of the element.
