Hagia Sophia

The Church of Divine Wisdom

Hagia Sophia (ah-YEE-ah So-FEE-ah)

Hagia Sophia

Architect Isidoros and Anthemios Location Istanbul, Turkey Date 532 to 537 AD Building Type Church Style Byzantine

Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of Hagia Sophia after he won a bloody battle over rioting masses. He wanted it to be unique and show the power of the church and state. The construction phase took 5 years, 10 months, and 4 days. The

emperor set aside all other items in his life to focus on his church.

Hagia Sophia

History

In 553 AD part of the church had fallen to an earthquake, it was rebuilt by the son of one of the original architects. He also added buttresses to

support the dome.Another earthquake damaged the church in 869 AD

which closed it until it could be repaired and reopened in 994 AD

History

Hagia Sophia

HistoryThe Turks turned the church into a mosque in 1453 when they conquered Constantinople. Many of the mosaics were painted over and other architectural changes took place. Like the addition of the two

minarets in front of the church.In 1935 Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum.

Hagia Sophia

ArchitectsAnthemios and Isidoros were the architects ordered to build Hagia Sophia. Isidoros was an architect, Engineer, and Scholar. Anthemios was an experimental scientist and

theoretician, who master the technical aspects of architecture. Their work on Hagia Sophia was considered to be more of a math

problem than architectural masterpiece. Many concepts in their

designs were based off of the examples that the Romans

presented.Hagia Sophia

Design

Hagia Sophia

The original portion of the church is 250’ x 230’,

which is almost a perfect square. Inside that exterior rectangle is a 100’ square. The dome and the two half

domes are the most attractive features. Which

are supported by pendentives. massive piers support arches that cross

the square to form the high ceiling.

At 107’ in diameter and 180’ high, the dome is Hagia Sophia’s signature piece. A feeling of

suspended mass is achieved through the 40 round windows that profile the base of the dome. Also the

massive structural supports are hidden , and the dome seems to float.

Design

Hagia Sophia

Light suspends the Dome

Church of holy wisdom

Hagia Sophia

Clayton Taylor

Arch 70Architecture History 1

Instructor: Rolando L. Gonzalez, M. Arch. Architect A.I.A.

FallTwo

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College of the SequoiasDivision of Industry and Technology