Superadjacency can exist between distant elements, such as the propylon before a Greek temple, which frames the composition and ties the foreground to the background. Such superimpositions change as one moves in space. Superadjacency can also occur where the superimposed elements actually touch instead of being related only visually. This is the method in Gothic and Renaissance architecture. The
nave walls of Gothic cathedrals contain arcades of varying orders and scales. The shafts and ribs, band courses, and arches which make up these arcades penetrate and are superimposed upon each other. At Gloucester Cathedral (108) the superadjacency is contradictory in scale and direction: the enormous diagonal buttress crosses the plane of the delicate order of arcades in the transept's wall. All Mannerist
and Baroque faqades involve superadjacencies and interpenetrations on the same plane. Giant orders in relation to minor orders express contradictions in scale in the same building, and the series of superimposed pilasters in Baroque architecture implies spatial depth in a flat wall.