Pilaster

In contrast to a Classical pilaster, an engaged column or buttress can support the structure of a wall and roof above.

Pilasters often appear on the sides of a door frame or window opening on the facade of a building, and are sometimes paired with columns or pillars set directly in front of them at some distance away from the wall, which support a roof structure above, such as a portico.

The pilaster can be replaced by ornamental brackets supporting the entablature or a balcony over a doorway.

[4] As with a column, a pilaster can have a plain or fluted surface to its profile and can be represented in the mode of numerous architectural styles.

[5] In the giant order pilasters appear as two storeys tall, linking floors in a single unit.