Set-off (architecture)

In architecture and masonry, the term set-off or off-set is given to the part of a wall or other architectural feature, which is exposed when the portion above is of a reduced thickness.[1] In plinths, this is generally simply chamfered. In other parts of stonework, the set-off is generally concealed by a projecting string course. In parapets, where the upper part projects (or is proud of) the lower, the break is generally hidden by a corbel. The portions of buttress caps which recede one behind another are also called sets-off.[2] The term for a set-off near ground level is water table, often sloped at the top to throw off water.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ Parker (1888), p. 254
  2. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Set-off". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 703.
  3. ^ Parker (1888), p. 327

Bibliography

edit
  • Parker, John Henry (1888), A Concise Glossary of Architure, london: Parker and Co