temple-front church
In temple-front churches a large portico projects from the facade. Although the portico derives from historic architecture, the use of orders is not extensive; Tuscan seems the most popular. The portico is frequently tall enough to obscure the roof and the main body of the church, but the side aisles of the nave often project beyond the width of the portico. This arrangement sets up an echo of pediment forms: the raking cornice of the pediment is repeated on the roof of the nave, so that the two forms establish parallel planes. To tie the planes to the same structure, the second cornice—that of the nave roof—may incorporate a return, so that the building’s lines move back toward the center. The focus of this kind of design is on orderly, rational design; a great deal of wall space is given over to windows in order to admit large quantities of light. Light, of course, is symbolically associated with rationality and the power of reason. The walls exhibit little division since the fenestration is the primary organizer of the side elevations, just as the portico is the prime mover of the facade. There is little ornamentation on these buildings. With the emphasis on rational order, even the entablatures are plain. Occasionally one finds an urn or a carved piece in the broken pediment over the entrance door. (Gottfried & Jennings, 1985)