History of Roman Architecture

Ancient Roman Architecture

Made By:

Ankit Jain

Roman Cities

• The typical Roman city of the later Republic and empire had a rectangular plan and resembled a Roman military camp with two main streets—the cardo (north-south) and the decumanus (east-west)—a grid of smaller streets dividing the town into blocks, and a wall circuit with gates.

• Older cities, such as Rome itself, founded before the adoption of • Older cities, such as Rome itself, founded before the adoption of regularized city planning, could, however, consist of a maze of crooked streets. The focal point of the city was its forum, usually situated at the center of the city at the intersection of the cardo and the decumanus.

By the time of Augustus, Rome had

grown from a tiny settlement on the

Tiber River to a metropolis at the

center of an expanding empire.

Under the republic Rome became

Plan of the City of Rome

center of an expanding empire.

Under the republic Rome became

the political capital of the

Mediterranean and a symbol of

Roman power and wealth.

We will be discussing the following types of architecture:

� Temples

� Basilicae

� Vaulting Systems

� Amphitheatres

� Civic Buildings

� Roman Orders

� Triumphal Arches

� Aqueducts

Pantheon

• Roman temples were erected not only in the forum, but throughout the city and in the countryside as well; many other types are known. One of the most influential in later times was the type used for the Pantheon (ad 118-28) in Rome, consisting of a standard gable-roofed columnar porch with a domed cylindrical drum behind it replacing the traditional rectangular main room, or cella.

-Sense of

direction (N/S)

-Sense of space

on a definite axis

-Ritual

The Pantheon, rebuilt by Agrippa

PLAN

The rotunda is twice as high as the porch.

The exterior is made completely of brick.

The rotunda is also known as a honeycomb

structure.

-Dome made

of concrete

and mortar

-As the dome

rises near the

oculus it

consists mostly

of volcanic

material

-Such material,

which the

-The proportions

of the rotunda and

dome are based

upon geometry,

most like the

entire building

-The diameter and

height of the

rotunda are the which the

Romans had a

great supply

of, is called

pozzolana. It is

considered to

be true

cement

-Covered with

gilded bronze

rotunda are the

same: 43.2 meters

-The dome is 21.6

meters high,

exactly half the

height of the

rotunda

Interior of the Pantheon

-Floor is curved so rain water from

oculus runs off to the edge

-First story contains altars, second

story contains 14 blind windows and

drum that supports the dome, and

third story is the dome made up of

cofferscoffers

Oculus

-The only light source

for the structure

-For a building

dedicated to all the

gods, it should only

admit light from the

heavensheavens

-Floor patterns emphasize Romans’

fascination with geometry and

symmetry. The squares are finite

and measurable whereas the shape

are circles are infinite and

immeasurable. The opposition

creates a symmetry.

Floor patterns of Pantheon

creates a symmetry.

Coffer Method

-Series of indented squares

(five rows of 28 coffers each)

-Squares become smaller

towards the top of the dome

for proper support

-Each square would have -Each square would have

been painted blue with a

star in the center of each

-Creates optical illusion that

dome is wider than it

actually is

Forums

• The forum, an open area bordered by colonnades with shops,

functioned as the chief meeting place of the town. It was also the site

of the city's primary religious and civic buildings, among them the

Senate house, records office, and basilica.

Forum of Augustus.

-The front of the temple appears to be pushed up to one end of the square, relating to and

dominating the space in front of it.

-Domination of a defined space and on a definite axis are qualities in Roman architecture.

Roman Orders

Doric Ionic Corinthian

Levels of the Colosseum corresponding to the Roman orders

Level 1:

Doric

Level 2:

Ionic

Level 3:

Corinthian

Corinthian Column: Details of the acanthus leaf

A common plant of the Mediterranean, acanthus leaves adorned the capitals

of the Corinthian capitals, which were the most popular of the columns in

Roman architecture.

-Use of Corinthian columns, sense of space and direction, small cella, post-lintel structure

-One major difference from the Pantheon is the floor plan.

Maison Carree; Nimes, France

Circular/honeycomb/tholos Basilica (based on megaron)

Floor plan of the Pantheon Floor plan of Maison Carree

-Beehive or cylindrical structure

-Excessively large; known for its size (sense of space and ritual)

Mausoleum of Augustus

This temple is dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of

fire. The columns, in peristyle, protect an altar

and fire located inside the small cella

Temple of Vesta, Rome

-Circular cella

-Supported by Corinthian columns

Roman Vaulting Systems

A: Barrel Vault

B: Cross/Groin Vault

C: Pavilion Vault

D: Sail Vault

E: Domical Vault

F: Umbrella Dome

The barrel vault, cross vault, and domical structure

(A,C, E) are the most prominent vaultings in Roman

architecture

-This structure utilizes the barrel vault.

-At the other side of the vault the structure uses the round arch.

Basilica Nova of Maxentius, Rome

Pont du Gard; Nimes, France

-The bottom story is composed of six arches, and its piers are supported by buttresses. The

second story consists of ten arches, and the third story carries the actual conduit with thirty-

five arches.

-For an efficient water supply to Rome the bridge was built to follow gravity and slopes down

at a slight 0.025 meters/kilometer.

Aqueducts- a way to carry water• There wasn’t enough water in the city of Rome.

• The Romans brought water in from the surrounding countryside.

• The water was brought in by tubes called aqueducts.

How did the aqueduct work?How did the aqueduct work?

• The water flowed in a tube on

the top of the aqueduct called

a water channel.

• The arches supported the

water channel.

What did the water channel look

like?

• The water flowed through a

rectangular channel.

• The channel was lined with

concrete.

• The Romans invented concrete.• The Romans invented concrete.

Arches, especially the arches constructed in the Pont du Gard, were built around wooden

frames. The frames were removed upon completion.

-An arch was constructed from each end up to the top until the center piece, known as the

keystone, was ready to be placed.

-The keystone exerted a force on the adjacent stones so that this one stone at the top held the

entire arch together. Thus, it is the key to the structure.

CANQ?Characteristics of a triumphal arch

1. Combined columns

2. Arcuated system2. Arcuated system

3. Nike figures

4. Quadriga

Triumphal Arch of Titus

-Combined columns

-Arches

-Nike figures

-Quardriga

Triumphal Arch of Constantine, Rome

The Colosseum-

a place for sports

-Although the Colosseum is a triumph, it is not

triumphal.

-With the idea of an arch being a new Roman

technology in architecture, this mammoth

structure is a great achievement.

-It was the first large, permanent amphitheatre

in Rome.

-The parts of the Colosseum were made out

of different materials such as travertine,

tufa, and concrete.

-The travertine held together the façade.

-The inside walls are made of tufa blocks.

-Concrete was laid above the arches and

mainly used in the platform.

• Domus = house

• Atrium = entrance to house

• Outside plain, inside elaborate.

• Homes were considered sanctuaries

Domestic Architecture

Homes were considered sanctuaries

• Atrium would often have sculptures of family members

Floor plan of a Roman house

Atrium

House of Vettii Garden

Conclusion!

� Position of each structure with

respect to adjacent structures

emphasizes the importance of

direction, space, and ritual

� Geometrical shapes are present

in the construction and décor of

each building

� The most popular vaults, the

barrel, cross, and domical vaults, all

come from the idea of the round arch

� Arches were not sturdy because of

mortar, but because of the keystone

� Triumphal arches had a different each building

� There are three orders of

columns, but Corinthian is the most

prominent in Ancient Rome

� The majority of the Roman

population lived in insulae, which

were located in the city, poorly built,

yet a comfortable living space

� Triumphal arches had a different

purpose depending on who they were

built for, but all arches maintained

CANQ.

� Two major floor plans in Roman

architecture are the basilica and

circular plan