roman architecture july 2010

8/7/2019 Roman Architecture july 2010

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PAX ROMANARoman Architecture


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Introduction

Began in a small way in 8th BCSmall prehistoric settlement into anempire

Huge empire flourished over thecentury bringing peace and prosperity

Basis of modern Western Civilization

Based only very loosely on Greekarchitecture


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peopl

ePractitioners ofPower and law

Upper classpatricians

General body ofcitizens (Plebeians)

were kept out

Augustus in

Armor


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Stages1. Kingship 2. Republic 3. The

Empire Kingship

(750BC-509BC)

Latines, Sarbins,Etruscans

Republic Aristocratic form of

Government

Headed by the

The Empire

(31BC AD 476)

Two great rival forpower in Rome.Pompey the Greatand Julius Ceasar

Both madereputation in thearmy with their high

ambitions


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Roman character

Sense of ingraineddecipline- impeachablehonour

Patriotic responsibility-served the state

Sense of importance of

the matter at hand-austerity


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timeline

1. Republican Rome 3rd CBC Senate and assembly

3rd , 2nd CBC Latruscan Italian Architecture

2. Republican Rome 63 CE Pompei was damaged by

Earthquake and preserved under

volcanic ash

Death of Julius Caesar

3. Augustus Pax Romana 2nd CBC Augustus rose to power

Peace and prosperity 200 years

Etruscan and Greek Corinthian

4. Flavians 69 79 CE Emperor Vaspasian imperial

dynasty

64 CE - Destruction of city by fire

5. Colosseum 70 CE amphitheatre by Vaspasian

gift to the city


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6. Trajan 98CE Spanish soldier, emperor,builder

Conservativearchitecture

7. Hadrian 117 138 - Architectural trends lateimperial

118-28 - Pantheon built by hadrian

609 CE conservation of Pantheonas a church by

Pope Boniface

Timelinecontinued


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architecture

Influenced from, and a continuation of Greek styles

Supremacy of space control

Sophisticated Engineering skills

Most Formative element is the Arch forceful and dynamic

Developed the vault system


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Urban planning

Forum equivalent to the Greek agora

Heart of old cities irregular rectangles/ notaligned with points on the compass

Orthogonal planning

Military camp planning


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Architectural elements

Arches

Bridges, Sewers, aquaducts,

tunnels

Barrel vaults cross/grain

Semi Dome

Walls


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Building types

1. Domestic

a) Insulae b) Domys c) villas

2. Public buildings

a) Theatres b) Amphitheatres c) Stadium d) Baths

e) Aquaducts

3. Sacred buildings

a) Temples b) Churches


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1. Domestic Architecture

Apartment house

Island

Ie. Similar as inbeing separateislands

Multi storeybuildings

the Plebs (lower &middle classes)

and Equites

a) Insulae

An insular from early 2nd

century A.D. in the Roman townOstia Antica


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Latin term meaninghouse/home

Town house domestic city house

Symmetrically wellbalanced

occupied by the

wealthy and middleclass

b) Domus

Schematic ofthe Domus


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Atrium of a Pompeian Domus


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Suburban country

houseMany wealthy liveprimarily orexclusively in their

villasWealthy Romansescaped the summerheat in their villas in

the hills round RomeWere generally muchgrander in scale andon larger land

Located outside the

c) Villas

Roman VillaRustica


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1. Public Architecture

Earliest theatricalperformances weredances accompanied by

music introduced by theEtruscans around 300BC

Relatively small with a

stage and audience onone side

Based on Greek models

a) Theatre

Basic form of

the Theatre


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Earlier Romantheatres weretemporary woodenstructures

Believed to be thefirst Roman model for

a Theatre

Built by Pompey the

Great

Theatre of Pompey

A visual of Theatre ofPompey


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amphi meansround in Greek

Amphitheatres areround enclosed

theaters

Often remarkably largeand audience all

aroundBuilt for visualspectacle, rather thansound

Has no Architectural

b) Amphitheatre

Basicamphitheatreform


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ColosseumThe largest and themost famous ancientRoman amphitheatre

Emperor Vaspasianstarted theconstruction

Elliptical, 189m longand 156m wide

Interior, 47m high

Is a 3 storey arcade

The colosseum:aerial view

Amphitheatre ofFlavia


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The Colosseum with itsevening flashes


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Thermae baths werethe biggestcontributions fromthis time period

Included massivescomplexes

Contained

- great public

swimming-baths

c) Public Bathsentrance Interi

or


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Bath of Caraccalla


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A closer feel of the baths


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3. Religious Architecture

Built by EmperorHadrian

Replaced formerAgrippa temple27BC

Significant Oculus

at the centre of thedome

Originally

dedicated to all theods

a) Temples the Pantheon

The Roman

Pantheon


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Vitruvius & the Ten Books onArchitecture

De Architectura by

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

1 BC.The end is to build well.

Well buildings hath three

conditions;firmness, commodityand delight


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Vitruvius and Ten books of Architecture

I

Dedication to the Emperor; branches of knowledge that an architect must be acquainted with; the factors involvedin siting a town and designing its walls, including a rather odd extended explanation of the various winds.

II

A story about Dinocrates, architect to Alexander the Great, serves as prologue. Second prologue, on the origins ofarchitecture; but most of the book is about materials: bricks, sand, lime, pozzolan concrete; kinds of stoneand types of stone masonry; timber.

III

Some comments on the chance nature of fame in the arts serve as a rather irrelevant prologue: it seems clearVitruvius felt he had to have one. The book then proceeds to temples, setting forth some basic definitions,then describing a canon for the construction of temples of the Ionic order.

IV

Corinthian and Doric temples; temple doors and altars; the Tuscan order, which Vitruvius seems to find primitive.

V

In which the author warns you that architecture is highly technical, then proves it in spades in his exposition ofcivilpublic spaces: the forum, the basilica, the theatre and its porticos, the palaestra and the baths; harbors.Vitruvius takes particular delight in the acoustics of the theatre about which he seems to know much, muchmore than he has allowed himself to tell us for fear of boring us: it's a pity.

VI

Prologue: poor but honest makes a good architect. A second sort of prologue on the diversity of mankind fromclimate to climate, easing into the topic ofprivate houses: their construction should depend on the climateas well. Layout of the Roman house and the Greek house; considerations of weather, function of the rooms,social position of the owner.

VII
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Book 1 Landscape Architecture

e education of thechitect

e fundamentalinciples of architecture

e departments ofchitecture

e site of a city

e city walls

e directions of streets;

Roman Arles,

France.


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Pompei, Italy.


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AncientRome.


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Book 2 -Materials

The origin of the dwelling houseOn the primordial substance according to the physicists

Brick

Sand

LimePozzolana

Stone

Methods of building walls

Timber


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Book 2 Materials Pozzolana is a fine, sandyvolcanic ash- originally dug in Pozzuoli, Italy,

near

Vitruvius speaks of 4 types ofpozzolana. It is found in all the volcanicareas of Italy in various colours:- black,- white,- grey

- red.

Pozzolano Cement is still used.

B k 3 T l (P 1)


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Book 3 Temples (Part 1)On symmetry in temples and in the humanbody

Classification of templesThe proportions of intercolumniations and ofcolumns

The foundations and substructures of temples

Proportions of the base, capitals, andentablature in the Ionic order

Leonardo is clearly illustrating VitruviusDe Architectura3.1.3 which reads:

The navel is naturally placed in the centre of thehuman body, and, if in a man lying with his face

upward, and his hands and feet extended, from his

navel as the centre, a circle be described, it willtouch his fingers and toes. It is not alone by a circle,that the human body is thus circumscribed, as may

be seen by placing it within a square. Formeasuring from the feet to the crown of the head,and then across the arms fully extended, we find

the latter measure equal to the former; so that linesat right angles to each other, enclosing the figure,

will form a square.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruviushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius


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Classification oftemples

Greek image

Etruscan and Tuscan

Republican

Tivoli

Augustan

Imperial

B k 4 T l


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Book 4 Temples(Part 2)The origins of the three orders,and the proportions of thecorinthian capital

The ornaments of the orders

Proportions of doric temples

The cella and pronaos

How the temple should face

The doorways of templesTuscan temples

Circular temples and othervarieties

1 = porch, the steps and front entrance of the temple2 = stylobate, the base3 = column4 = capital, the very top portion of a column5 = arcatrave6 = frieze, the bas reliefs inside the pediment7 = pediment


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The Tuscantemple


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Book 5 Public places:forum, basicila, theatres, walks,

palaestra, harboursThe forum and basilicaThe treasury, prison, and senate house

The theatre: its site, foundations, andacoustics

Harmonics

Sounding vessels in the theatrePlan of the theatre

Greek theatres

Acoustics of the site of a theatre

Colonnades and walks

Baths

The palaestra

Harbours, breakwaters, and shipyards

B k 6 P i t h


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Book 6 Private houses

On climate asdetermining the style ofthe house

Symmetry, andmodifications in it to suitthe site

Proportions of theprincipal rooms

The proper exposures ofthe different rooms

Book 7 Finishes and


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Book 7 Finishes andcoloursFloorsThe slaking of lime for stuccco

Vaultings and stucco work

On stucco work in damp places, and on the decoration of diningrooms

The decadence of fresco painting

Marble for use in stucco

Natural colours

Artificial colours Black, Blue, Burnt ochre

White lead, verdigris, and artificial sandarac

Purple

Substitutes for purple, yellow ochre, malachite green, and indigo


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Book 8Water

How to find water

Rainwater

Various properties ofdifferent waters

Tests of good water

Levelling and levellinginstruments

Aqueducts, wells, andcisterns

B k 9 S di l d l k


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Book 9 Sundials and clocks

The zodiac and the planets

The phases of the moon

The course of the sunthrough the twelve signs

Tee northern constellations

The southern constellations

Astrology and weatherprognostics

Sundials and water clocks

B k 10 M h i l


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Book 10 Mechanicalengineering

Machines and implements

Hoisting machines

The elements of motion

Engines for raising waterWater wheels and water mills

The water screw

The pump of Ctesibius

The water organ

The hodometer

Catapults or scorpiones

Ballistae

The stringing and tuning of catapults

concl sion


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conclusion

Unlike the Greeks who gave the world great ideas/theories ofproportion ,

Romans left great inventions and sophisticated legal systems

The Romans laid the foundations for many social and culturalaspects of the modern day society

The Roman style was more predominantly seen in publicdwellings and social gathering areas such as basilicas and forums

- Pantheon is an exception

Roman buildings are generally beautiful both on the outside andinside

Perfected many of the Greeks Architecture and also foundingenous other methods

d


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end

roman architecture july 2010

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