Pavilion Opposite The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia, there may be pavilions that are either freestanding or connected by covered walkways, as in the Forbidden City (Chinese pavilions), Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and in Mughal buildings like the Red Fort.
* As part of a large palace, pavilions may be symmetrically placed building ''blocks'' that flank (appear to join) a main building block or the outer ends of wings extending from both sides of a central building block, the ''corps de logis''. Such configurations provide an emphatic visual termination to the composition of a large building, akin to bookends.

The word is from French (Old French ) and it meant a small palace, from Latin (accusative of ). In Late Latin and Old French, it meant both ‘butterfly’ and ‘tent’, because the canvas of a tent resembled a butterfly's spread wings.

Free-standing structures

Pavilions may be small garden outbuildings, similar to a summer house or a kiosk; small rooms on the roof of a large house, reached only via the roof (rather than by internal stairs) may also be called pavilions. These were particularly popular up to the 18th century and can be equated to the Italian , formerly rendered in English "casino". These often resembled small classical temples and follies. Especially if there is some space for food preparation, they may be called a banqueting house. A pavilion built to take advantage of a view may be referred to as a gazebo. Bandstands in a park are a class of pavilion. A by a swimming pool may have sufficient character and charm to be called a pavilion. By contrast, a free-standing pavilion can also be a far larger building such as the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, which is in fact a large Indian-style palace; however, like its smaller namesakes, the common factor is that it was built for pleasure and relaxation.

A sports pavilion is usually a building adjacent to a sports ground used for changing clothes and often partaking of refreshments. Often it has a verandah to provide protection from the sun for spectators. In cricket grounds, as at Lord's, a cricket pavilion tends to be used for the building the players emerge from and return to, even when this is actually a large building including a grandstand. A pavilion in stadia, especially baseball parks, is a typically single-decked covered seating area (as opposed to the more expensive seating area of the main grandstand and the less expensive seating area of the uncovered bleachers).

Classical architecture

Externally, pavilions may be emphasised by any combination of a change in height, profile (a flat facade may end in round pavilions, or flat ones that project out), colour, material, and ornament. Internally they may be part of a rectangular block, or only connected to the main block by a thin section of building. The two 18th-century English country houses of Houghton Hall and Holkham Hall illustrate these different approaches in turn.

In the Place des Vosges (1605–1612), Paris, twin pavilions mark the ''centers'' of the north and south sides of the square. They are named the (“king’s pavilion”) and the (“queen’s pavilion”), though no royal personage ever lived in the square. With their triple archways, they function like gatehouses that give access to the privileged space of the square. French gatehouses had been built in the form of such pavilions in the preceding century.

Other uses

In some areas, a pavilion is a term for a hunting lodge. The in Luberon, France, is a typical 18th-century aristocratic hunting pavilion. The pavilion, located on the site of an old Roman villa, includes a garden , which was used by the guests for receptions.

Gallery

File:Istanbul Bosphorus Küçüksu Palace IMG 7764 1920.jpg, Küçüksu Pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey
File:Houghton Hall 20080720-2.jpg, The frontage of Houghton Hall ends in a pavilion on each side
File:Plan de Holkham Hall.JPG, Plan of the main part of Holkham Hall, where, unlike Houghton, only a thin section connects the pavilions to the main block
File:Wien - Schloss Belvedere, oberes (1).JPG, Pavilions at each end of the facade of the Upper Belvedere, Vienna
File:Naulakha Pavilion in Lahore Fort.jpg, The white marbled Naulakha Pavilion at the Lahore Fort, Pakistan
File:Studley Banqueting House - geograph.org.uk - 1525700.jpg, A banqueting house at Studley Royal Park
File:Woodfarm Pavillion.JPG, Woodfarm Pavilion, Glasgow. An example of a more common pavilion in an urban area.
File:München Hofgartentempel.jpg, The Dianatempel (1613–1617), the Hofgarten, Bavaria
File:SaabgheraniehPalace.jpg, Ahmad Shahi Pavilion, the Niavaran Palace Complex, Tehran (19th century)
File:LeytonCricketGround.JPG, The wooden cricket pavilion at Leyton Cricket Ground in London (1886)
File:Emir Adb or-Rahman's garden house, Kabul. Wellcome L0025012.jpg, Abdur Rahman Khan's garden house inside the royal Arg Palace, Kabul (19th century)
File:Michael Dwyer-Edgewater Poolhouse.jpg , A at Edgewater in Barrytown, New York, United States (1998)
File:Zürich - Bürkliplatz IMG 0525 ShiftN.jpg, A bandstand () at Bürkliplatz in Zurich, Switzerland (1908)
File:Heinolan Harjupaviljonki.jpg, Rigde pavilion in Heinola, Päijänne Tavastia, Finland
File:Zürich - Chinagarten - Inselpavillion IMG 0190.JPG, Island pavilion in the Chinese Garden, Zürich (1993)
File:Picnic shelter Yarramundi Reach Canberra.JPG, Picnic shelter, Yarramundi Reach, Canberra
File:19-15-073-indian-springs.jpg, A stone pavilion, Indian Springs State Park, Georgia
File:White Sawan or Bhadon pavilion.jpg, A marble pavilion, Red Fort, Delhi

See also

* Chahartaq (Persian pavilion)
* Chinese pavilion
* Dance hall (dance pavilion)
* Dharamshala (type of building)
* Gazebo
* Mirror tent
* Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England
* Sala Thai (Thai pavilion)

References

External links

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Buildings and structures by type
Garden features