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Attic style

In classical architecture, the term attic refers to a story or low wall above the cornice of a classical façade. The decoration of the topmost part of a building was particularly important in ancient Greek architecture and this came to be seen as typifying the Attica style, the earliest example known being that of the monument of Thrasyllus in Athens.

The word “Attica” probably comes from the Greek adjective attikos, which means “Attic” and thus refers to the origin of this design. A deviating explanation derives the name from the Latin verb attingere (“touch, touch”, also “abut, adjoin”), as the attic borders or touches the main building. However, it speaks against this attempt to explain that the participle formed to attingere is perfect passive attactus and not atticus.

Ancient architecture
The Attica is said to have been used for the first time in the Greek landscape Attica, hence the name. This is a walling above the Sima in the roof area. An important example of this can be found in Athens on Thrasyllosmonument. An almost indispensable part of the attic in Roman arches, at gates and triumphal arches as a pedestal for the erection of figures and vases and for the inclusion of inscriptions and reliefs. The classic attic was windowless, unless there was an attic behind it.

It was largely employed in Ancient Rome, where their triumphal arches utilized it for inscriptions or for bas-relief sculpture. It was used also to increase the height of enclosure walls such as those of the Forum of Nerva. By the Italian revivalists it was utilized as a complete storey, pierced with windows, as found in Palladio’s work in Vicenza and in Greenwich Hospital, London. One well-known large attic surmounts the entablature of St. Peter’s Basilica, which measures 39 feet (12 m) in height.

Nachantike use
From the Renaissance to the Baroque to Classicism, Attica was a popular architectural element. In the Renaissance, it was used in church buildings and secular buildings (town halls and palaces) mainly to cover the eaves. The attic was then either as a parapet walled or dissolved as a balustrade.

This usage became current in the 17th century from the use of Attica style pilasters as adornments on the top story’s façade. By the 18th century this meaning had been transferred to the space behind the wall of the highest story (i.e., directly under the roof), producing the modern meaning of the word “attic”.

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Polish Attic
In Poland and some neighboring areas, in the Renaissance and Baroque periods lavishly ornamented but generally horizontal façade façades were popular, often far removed from ancient models.

attic floor
The attic storey or Attic storey is a low upper storey located above the cornice, which assumes the role of the attic in the façade structure. At the baroque palace, this low floor was often set back and hidden behind the balustrade of the attic. The attic floor could also be flush with the facade and was then separated from it only by the cornice. The cornice was often omitted in classicism, so that the attic floor was a final mezzanine.

In Switzerland, attic apartment is a name for the apartment in a penthouse.

At present, the term Attica is also used for a raised edge on the flat roof edge.

technical
In classical architecture, the height of the attic is usually about one third of the underlying architectural order. Today, it is also referred to as an attic, when it projects only 30 to 50 cm above the top floor. At the present time, the Attica is also used as a security element. In particular, in hall construction with a flat roof fire walls are provided with a parapet to prevent in the case of a fire, a flapping of the flames on the roof.

Source From Wikipedia

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