The treasuries of Ancient Greece provided the architectural inspiration for centuries of design in financial buildings, or more specifically bank buildings. The example image above, of the famous Bank of Ireland building, shows us an extremely traditional use of treasury design elements. The buildings significant massing, large and squat in nature, provide those depositing their finances here with an innate sense of security in their keeping. A sense of credibility is also established by the "official" appearance of the building, which is derived partly from the fact that the ancient greek architectural tradition is so frequently drawn upon for another important type of architecture: the government building.
We can see the use of a handful of classical elements in this building's fine exterior. The trio of sculpted figures that preside upon the rooftop over the grand entrance is more than just reminiscent of what, for example, the Parthenon must once have looked like. Other similarities between the two buildings include the pediment, or the triangular piece carried by the columns and, in the case of the Parthenon, decorated heavily with what would have once been brightly colored high and low (or "bas") relief sculpture, now bleached white by the harsh Grecian sun.
One element that differs, though it remains definitively Classical Greek in design, is the use of Ionic columns and capitals, versus the Doric order we see employed throughout the temple to Athena. We also see a use of arches and curvature far more closely related to the Ancient Roman tradition, as illustrated by the Emperor Hadrian's temple to the gods on Mount Olympus, the Pantheon.
Image Credits:
(1) www.census.nationalarchives.ie
(2) www.mlahanas.de/ Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm
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