Download Roman Architecture

Ancient Greek and
Roman Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp
Topics
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Prehistory: The Etruscans
Roman Characteristics
Building Materials
Architectural Ideals
Structural Revolution
Structures
Civic Architecture
Tombs
Roman Architecture:
Prehistory: The Etruscans
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Etruscan civilization
Preceded the Roman Empire in Italy
 Most of their architecture was destroyed by the
Romans
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Only hidden structures, such as tombs, were spared
Much of their architecture was greatly influenced by
the Greeks
 The legacy of Etruscan architecture lives on through
its influence in Roman architecture
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Characteristics
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April 21, 753 B.C.
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Early Romans were militant and very disciplined
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Pinpointed by the Romans as the day Rome was
founded
Lacking in artistic culture
Romans absorbed the Greek culture
Literature, philosophy, science, and painting
 New appreciation of the arts
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Characteristics
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Roman architecture emerged from Hellenistic
and Etruscan influences
It held many original aspects, however
Materials and building techniques
 Fulfilled practical purposes
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Served commerce, industry, and shipping
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Ports
Roads
Aqueducts
Roman Architecture:
Building Materials
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Building materials were very important to the
success of Roman architecture
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Access to a wide variety of building stone including:
Volcanic tufa
 Limestone
 Travertine
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Nearly unlimited quantities of white marble
Quarry opened by Augustus north of Pisa
 Other varieties were imported from the Far East
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Roman Architecture:
Building Materials
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Brick
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Romans perfected the art of brick-making
Concrete
Perfected this material
 Became the most characteristic material in Roman
structures
 Was used to construct massive walls and great vaults
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Roman Architecture:
Architectural Ideals
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Space
To the Romans, the space inside a structure was just
as important as the exterior
 Interior space was the primary focus of Roman
architecture and was shaped by vaults, arches, and
walls
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Romans were fond of extravagance
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Architecture for the powerful was gaudy and
colorful, not like the ruins as seen today
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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The combination of arches, vaults, and concrete
in architecture are a pure Roman creation
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The individual elements had been used in earlier
civilizations
Egyptians and Mesopotamians had used primitive arch
forms
 Greeks had experimented with the arch and concrete with
little success
 Etruscans had constructed vault-like forms
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Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Arches
More intricate than a simple post-and-lintel system
 Formed by a multitude of small elements that curve
over space by resting against each other in a delicate
balance
 Voussoirs
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The elements used to create an arch
 The shape of the structure keeps each voussoir in place
 Held together by their own force
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Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Vault
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Created by extending an arch along its axis
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Merely an extended arch
Supports and provides a roof for a given area
 Types of vaults
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Barrel/Tunnel vault
 Cross/Groin vault
 Dome
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Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Barrel/Tunnel Vaults
The earliest type of vault
 Appear in limited form in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and
Hellenistic Greece
 Has a few limitations
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Exerts a continuous load, therefore needing constant
support
 Difficult to illuminate
 Increases in length require thicker vault supports
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Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Cross/Groin Vaults
Created to overcome the limitations of barrel vaults
 Employed by the Romans very heavily
 Formed by intersecting two barrel vaults at right
angles
 Limitations
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Resistant to square plans
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Dome
The grandest type of vault
 Types
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Cloister vault
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An eight-sided vault, with an octagon-shaped dome
Formed by crossing barrel vaults over an octagonal plan
Rare in Rome, more prevalent in medieval architecture
True dome
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Perfectly rounded dome, preferred by the Romans
Built up in complete rings wherein each ring forms a selfsupporting component of the final dome
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Concrete
A mixture of mortar-like cement with an aggregate
 Many advantages over traditional stone
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Does not need to be quarried, shaped, or transported
 Highly skilled labor was not needed to prepare the
concrete
 Can be cast in just about any shape imaginable
 Arches and vaults could be economically fabricated
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Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
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Concrete
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Surfaces
Romans developed many types of facings that were
weather resistant and pleasant to the eye
 Opus incertum
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Opus testaceum
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Random shaped stones of concrete
Brick facing; made concrete wall look as if it were constructed
from bricks
Opus mixtum
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Decorative patterns of tufa, stone, or brick
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Opus mixtum; Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Aqueducts
Used to supply the civilization with water from afar
 Utilized an arch to create a continuous line of decent
for water
 Aqua Claudia
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Brought water over solid masonry some ten miles into
Rome
 Some areas were over 100 ft. in height
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Bridges
Were generally lower in height and broader than
aqueducts
 Two important Roman Bridges:
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Pons Fabricus
 Pons Milvius
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Theatres
Adopted the Greek theatre and transformed it
 The Roman theatre was closed, unlike the Greeks
who preferred an open, outside theatre
 Theatre of Marcellus
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Integrated Roman style with that of the Greeks
 Provided around 10,000 seats arranged in three tiers
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Arenas
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The Colosseum
Built by Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Doitian
 Located on the site of an artificial lake that had been part
of Nero’s Golden House
 Extensive system of tunnels, chambers, and mechanical
devices below the arena floor
 Hydraulic provision used to flood the arena for naval
displays and mock battles
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Circuses
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Circus Maximus
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Oldest and largest circus
stadium
Rebuilt and destroyed from
the first through third
centuries A.D.
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Baths
Strenuous daily life prompted the Romans to
construct large public baths
 Wealthy citizens also constructed private baths in
their domiciles
 Featured elaborate heating systems
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Furnaces beneath floors
 Heat was transmitted to rooms by tile ducts, warming the
floors and the walls
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Temples
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Earliest Roman temples were indistinguishable from
those of the Etruscans
Axial plan
 Deep porch
 Widely spaced columns
 High podiums
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Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Temples
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Temple of Jupiter
Capitolinus
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Originally built in the late
sixth century B.C.
Rebuilt in 69 B.C.
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Temples
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Pantheon
Located in Rome
 Considered by many to be the greatest structure of
antiquity to have survived in a state of near completeness
 Built by Hadrian between A.D 118 and 128
 Three notable parts:
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Immense, domed cella
Deep, octastyle Corinthian porch
Block-like intermediate structure
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Basilicas
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An important category of Roman architecture
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Most important Roman source for early Christian
architecture
Pure Roman style of architecture
 Basilica
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Essentially means a roofed hall, rectangular in plan,
sometimes with an apse
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Basilicas
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Basilica Ulpia
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A.D. 98-117
Finest example of the
columnar basilica
Built by Trajan
Important model for later
ages
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
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Roman Basilicas
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Basilica in Trier, Germany
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Early fourth century A.D.
Built by Constantine
The final Roman basilica
Served as an important
model for the Romanesque
period of architecture
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Civic Architecture
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Houses and Villas
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Private domiciles reflected their inhabitants
Lower classes lived in meager, cramped apartments
located on the upper floors of shops and other buildings
 Middle classes lived on the lower floors and many homes
had balconies, good ventilation, and running water
 Upper classes usually owned a house, know as a domus.
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Standalone structures
Featured courtyards and gardens
Many had running water
Roman Architecture:
Tombs
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Tombs
Romans were great builders of tombs
 Different from the Greeks and Egyptians in scale
and religious style
 Tomb of M. Vergilius Eurysaces
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Citizen who made a fortune selling bread to Caesar's army
 Built a tomb in the shape of an oven
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Roman Architecture:
Tombs
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Tombs
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Tombs
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Roman catacombs
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Built by the poor as place
of burial
Photo: Sullivan
References
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Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html
Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to
Postmodernity
Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture
Ancient Greek and
Roman Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp