Lesene

A lesene, also called a pilaster strip,^[1] is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital.^[2] It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building styles.^[3]

Lesenes and Lombard band (mini-arches), Old St. Martin, Kaarst

Function

Lesenes are used in architecture to vertically divide a façade or other wall surface optically. However, unlike pilasters, lesenes are simpler, having no bases or capitals. Their function is ornamental, not just to decorate the plain surface of a wall but, in the case of corner lesenes (at the edges of a façade), to emphasise the edges of a building.

Gallery

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  Lesenes and Lombard band (arches) on a chapel
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  Lesenes forming blind arcades, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna (c. 430); dentils under the eaves.
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  Lesene on the staircase tower, Gernrode collegiate church (pre-1000)
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  Lesenes on the Maria Laach Abbey (1156)
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  Lesenes on the tower of All Saints' Church, Earls Barton (late 10th century)

• Modern and post-modern
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  Robin Hood Gardens, London: lesene-shaped formation on the supporting wall in the Plattenbau style
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  Lesenes at Chile House, Hamburg
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  Lesenes on the Ludgerus Church in Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia

References

1. Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture
2. Curl, James Stevens (2006). Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 442. ISBN 978-0-19-860678-9.
3. Mulder, Koen (2016). Het Zinderend Oppervlak [The Thrilling Surface] (in Dutch) (2nd ed.). Koen Mulder architect & bouwtechnoloog (published January 2016). p. 157. ISBN 978-90-824668-0-5.