greek architecture & styles
TRANSCRIPT
Date: 22 April 2016Abhinand GopalTHE DEMOCRACY
THE CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILISATION
PANTHALASSA
The Greek Islands
PANGEA
Plate Tectonics Movement200 mil years ago
apes started descending to the land from trees, attaining upright posture and rotating the thumb
Greece: a country in the E. Mediterranean Sea made of small islands and having a long indented coastline
present day international boundaries showing countries around the Mediterranean Sea
Egypt (5000 - 300 BC) Mesopotamia (4500 - 550 BC) Indus Valley (3000 - 1300 BC)
PLACES
GREECE1. Crete
2. Athens
3. Sparta
4. Troy
5. Corinth
6. Rhodes
7. Mt Olympia
A. Med. Sea
B. Aegan Sea
C. Sea of Crete
D. Ionian Sea
E. Black Sea
Archaic Greece (800- 480BC) Hellenic (480-323 BC) Hellenistic (323- 146 BC) Dark Ages of Greece
Archaic Greece: lays foundations for the classical period of architecture, society & culture
Hellenic Period: often referred to as the Classical Architecture Building & Classical Philosophy period of the Greeks (Socrates & Plato)
Hellenistic Period: the decline of the Greek empire to the conquest of the Roman Empire
unknown 1100 - 800 BC
Timeline of Ancient Greece
HELLENIC PERIOD ENDS WITH THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER
HELLENISTIC PERIOD BEGINS IN 323 BC, WHEN THE GREEK EMPIRE IS DIVIDED AMONGST GENERALS WITH NO APPARENT HEIR OF ALEXANDER
What is the first thing that comes to mind about Greece other than Alexander, the Great?
The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Zeus, every 4 years from 776 BC to 394 AD, when it was abolished.
BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE, BETWEEN SPARTANS & PERSIANS
ANCIENT WONDERS OF THE WORLD
BATTLE OF TROY
AERIAL VIEW SKETCH OF TROY & IT’S FORTIFIED WALLS
development of Greek civilisation & Architecture in the Hellenic period
FACTORS INFLUENCING HUMAN SOCIETY & ARCHITECTURE
▸ natural factors - geography, geology, climate
▸ civilisation factors - religion, social structure, technology & history of the group, economy
geography: availability of water, fertile soil & natural barriers
geology: building materials & construction
climate: building design & orientation, presence of fenestrations (doors, windows)
NATURAL FACTORS
GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE▸ Mediterranean climate.
▸ Unique geography of Greece develops local micro-climates.
▸ Highest Peak: Mt. Olympus
▸ Dry & hot summers - wet winters
▸ Mainly consists of the peninsula & the islands in the Aegan Sea
▸ rocky and barren, bad for agriculture. People lived along coastlines.
CIVILISATION FACTORS
DEMOCRACY & RELIGION▸ Greeks created their own gods
▸ Invented the concept of ‘DEMOCRACY’: a system of government by elected representatives of the citizens.
▸ new political system of city states, they ruled as independent nations.
▸ fast paced population growth in the city states & competition
▸ advocating political, economic & legal equality which was missing during the dark ages.
▸ slaves did exist, but they did not enjoy the same rights as citizens did.
Uranus: Father of Zeus, Gaia: Mother of Everything;
Zeus: God of Sky; Hades: god of Underworld; Poseidon: god of the Sea & horses; Athena: daughter of Zeus & Hera; Apollo: God of Truth, Music & Prophecy. Artemis: Goddess of hunt, wildlife & protection, twin sister of Apollo; Helios: Sun God; Selene: Moon God, sister of Helios; Ares: God of War, Aphrodite: Goddess of Love
THE YOUNG GODS: THIRD ORDER OF HUMAN BEINGS AFTER THE TITANS & PRIMARIES
“I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.’
— Antipater of Sidon, Greek poet in 2nd century BC
Statue of Zeus, Olympia, 435 BC by Greek sculptor Phidias
Temple of Artemis, present in modern day Seluck, Turkey, 550 BC
Colossus of Rhodes, for Sun god Helios, 290 BC
GODDESS OF VICTORY - IS PERSONIFED WITH WINGS, THE DIVINE CHARIOTEER IN THE WAR AGAINST THE TITANS a famous brand has taken her personality & attributes. the logo has been derived from her wings. guess?
Goddess & Zeus on the Silver Medal of the first Olympics 1896 AD, Rear: Acropolis
World’s First Concept of Democracy & foundations to the Modern western world
AN ASSEMBLY: A SPACE FOR CONGREGATION OF IDEAS & DISCUSSIONS
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The concept of sister states to promote healthy competition
▸ started with Crete, which built the first naval empire
▸ introduced to “thalassocracy” to the world (naval supremacy)
▸ currently world’s third largest cargo fleet (6% of tonnage)
▸ their technology was highly advanced
▸ economy revolved around naval routes & trade of goods
TRADERS & SEA VOYAGERS
GREEK NAVAL POWERS
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS BETWEEN GREEKS & THE REST OF THE WORLD
Trade Routes of Egypt & Mesopotamia
TRADE ROUTES
INDUS VALLEY TRADE ROUTE WITH PERSIA AND MESOPOTAMIA
THE ANCIENT TRADE ROUTES SERVED AS A PRECURSOR TO THE SILK ROAD
Ancient trade routes laid the foundations for the Silk Road by the Han dynasty in 270 BC - 220 AD
VARI
OUS
DIAL
ECTS
& C
ULTU
RE P
RACT
ICES
IN G
REEC
E
GREEK SYMBOL DECEPTIONS GO PLANETS, INTERPRETATIONS & SPACE
present day math, physics & military codes
THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT
THE CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILISATION
▸ The Megaron Plan evolution & the Palace of Knossos
▸ Acropolis & it’s buildings
▸ Different Orders: Architecture Elements & Proportions
▸ Doric Style: Parthenon
▸ Ionic Style: Temple of Nike & Erecthiernon
▸ Corinthian style:
▸ Optical Corrections for buildings & Proportions
REPRESENTED WITH 9 LINES REPRESENTING GODDESS MUSE, GODDESS OF ARTS, LITERATURE & SCIENCE
Flag of Greece
FEATURES OF MARBLE STONE
“GREEK ARCHITECTURE IS CARPENTRY IN STONE”
‣ Exactness, architecture lines can be best represented
‣ Refinement of Structure
‣Aesthetics
TWO DIVISIONS OF HOUSE BUILDING
▸ first: single room rectangular in shape developed in main land Greece, areas around Troy
▸ second: agglomeration of asymmetrical placed rooms found mostly in Asia Minor & island of Crete
FIRE BAKED BRICKS, MORTAR, TERRACOTTA TILED ROOF & STRONG FOUNDATION
DUPLEX HOUSES EVOLVED AROUND THE COURTYARD
Gynaeceum: place for women recreation
Andron, place of
male members of
the family
Positioned on lower floor
Kitchen with vents
THE MEGARON PLAN: ANCIENT ARCHAIC GREECE
The Megaron was the throne room, the above shows a standard Mycenaean Megaron. The entrance was the feature that helps to distinguish the Megaron. The walls were decorated with frescos & the roof was made of ceramic tiles, either flat roof or barrel vault roof was used. The Megaron's functions were many, including poetry, feasts, meetings, and worship. In the theory of architecture, the Megaron is considered to be the earliest architectural act.
NaosPronaos
EVOLUTION OF PERISTYLE TEMPLE
▸ increase in number of columns
▸ attempt to achieve grand scale
▸ peristyle plan is the standard design concept for a Greek temple
Other examples of temple plans showing the modifications done to the peristyle plan
The citadel of Troy started from the Megaron plan in 2500 BC and evolved into a fortified city
Palace of KNOSSOS
Palace of Knossos 1375 BC, Crete
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4 acres/ 1.6 hectares
1 North Entrance
2 Bastion
4 ante room
5 throne room
15 gallery
10 Propylea
25 Queen’s Suite
Dialects in ancient Greece
Ionic was spoken in the coastlines, while the Doric developed from Crete & Dorian Corinth from which it derives it’s name
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Mt Olympus: the place of the Gods
ACROPOLIS 1782 BC
BAGHDAD
the elevated hill considered holy by the Greeks, was the
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GODDESS ATHENA, PATRON OF THE CITY OF ATHENS
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PROPYLEA, ENTRANCE GATEWAY TO ACROPOLIS
WESTERN ENTRANCE THROUGH PROPYLEA
Section of the Propylaea
PLAN OF PARTHENON
SECTIONS
PARTHENON
STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
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Viewing Angle of a person & the spherical aberrations
a tendency for the human eye to perceive curves instead of straight lines at the distance
TYPICAL FEATURE IN GREEK DORIC COLUMNS
METHOD OF ENTASIS▸ The technique used by Greek
builders: slight convexity in columns
▸ It is the slight curvature of a classical column that diminishes as it rises.
▸ In the doric column of Parthenon: 34’ feet in height & 6’3” feet in diameter at the bottom, with convexity of 3-4 inches
▸ Adopted later by the Romans
Fibonacci Series: The Golden Ratio || Universal Design Principle
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1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 45 79 ….. AN INFINITE SERIES OF NUMBERS
GOLDEN RATIO 1.618Based on the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio describes the relationship between 2 proportions. Fibonacci numbers follow a ratio of 1:1.618 ratio - which is referred to as the golden ratio
Throughout history, the ratio of length & to width of rectangles has been considered most pleasing to the eye.
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A TYPICAL DIAGRAM SHOWING THE GREEK COLUMN
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL GREEK ARCHITECTURE▸ Stylobate
▸ Column + Entablature
▸ Column: Base, Shaft, Capital
▸ Entablature:
▸ Pediment
1. Architrave
2. Frieze: Triglyph + Metope
3. Cornice
A stylobate is the top-most step of a Greek temple upon which columns are placed. While stereobate is used to describe the remaining steps of the platform beneath the stylobate and just above the levelling course.
Height of the column in early Greek Temples 1/3 of the width of stylobate=
CAPITAL, SHAFT & BASE
ELEMENTS IN A COLUMN
IONIC COLUMN
▸ Doric order obtained its proportion, its strength, and its beauty, from the human male.
column height
Entablature
=
=
3 x entablature
1 3/4 of the lower dia.
MASCULINE FORM IN STONE
IONIC COLUMN
column height
Entablature
=
=
9 x base dia.
2 1/4 x base dia.
FEMININE FORM IN STONE
▸ temple of artemis
▸ temple of nike
▸ slender columns that are taller than ionic and rest on the base
CORINTHIAN COLUMN: THE LAST PRINCIPAL ORDER
NAMED AFTER THE CITY OF CORINTH‣ It is the most ornate of the orders,
characterised by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls.
‣ Developed by architect Callimachus after being inspired by a basket of flowers on the grave of a young girl.
‣ The capital represents vegetation.
Shaft height
Entablature
=
=
10 x base dia.
2 1/2 x base dia.
POTTERY WORK SHOWING GYNAECEUM
COLUMNS & ASSEMBLIES DERIVATIVES OF GREEK ELEMENTS
MERGER OF THE CLASSICAL GREEK ARCHITECTURE WITH BUDDHIST THOUGHT: GANDHARA SCHOOL OF ART
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON DC, USA
OSLO TRADING CENTER, NORWAY
White House, Hyderabad A/C Marriage Hall
The Agora was a central space or square in ancient Greek city-states. The literal meaning of the word is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the centre of athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city.
VIEW OF ANCIENT ATHENIAN AGORA FROM ACROPOLIS
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head.
The Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion, Athens, 407 BC
PRESENT DAY GREECEDECONSTRUCTIVISM IN GREECE
TEXTTHE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM, ATHENS, GREECE
THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM
▸ Architect: Bernard Tschumi
▸ Client: Archaeology Dept. of Greece
▸ Built year: 2002
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
A CLEAR VISUAL OF THE ACROPOLIS
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REFECTION OF THE PARTHENON
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 3
Sketches Required:
The Classical Greek Civilisation
1. Map of Greece
2. Acropolis Plan understanding
3. Parthenon: Plan, Column Elevation & Optical Correction
4. Ionic, Doric, Corinthian orders
Date of Submission: 1st week of June
Mode of Submission: A3 sketch books
Movies recommended for better visual understanding into Classical Greek Architecture & Democracies: Troy, 300 & Series, Helen of Troy: miniseries, The Greek Tragedy movies: Iphigenia, The Trojan Women & Electra, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (the house set is interesting, else someday this will become a desi movie), Clash of Titans 2010
Date: 29 April 2016Abhinand GopalTHE MAJESTIC ROMANS
BUILDINGS OF THE ROMAN CIVILISATION
COLOSSEUM OF ROME
TREVIS FOUNTAIN, ROME, ITALY
PANTHEON, ROME