Doric columns

Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric columns are the simplest.

They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square.

The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides.

There is no base in the Doric order. The Doric order is very plain, but powerful-looking

in its design.

Doric, like most Greek styles, works well horizontally on buildings, that's why it was so good with the long rectangular buildings made by the Greeks.

. There are many examples of ancient Doric

buildings. Perhaps the most famous one is the Parthenon in Athens.

 Doric columns stood directly on the flat pavement (the stylobate) of a temple without a base.

and they were topped by a smooth capital that flared from the column to meet a square abacus

  The Parthenon has the Doric design columns.

The entabulature is divided into architrave, freeze and cornice.

The freeze is divided into triglyphs and metopes.

Sometimes the metopes had statues of heroes or gods on them. The triglyphs are a pattern of 3 vertical lines between the metopes

The roof is not flat

Ionic columns

The next order to be developed by the Greeks was the Ionic 

 It is called Ionic because it developed in the Ionian islands in the 6th century B.C.

Roman historian Vitruvius compared this delicate order to a female form, in contrast to the stockier "male" Doric order

The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes.

It is more slender when compared to doric.

The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform.

The Ionic column is always more slender than the Doric

Ionic columns are most often fluted. the number of hollow flutes in the

shaft are 24.  The entablature resting on the

columns has three parts: a plain architrave divided into two,

or more generally three, bands, a frieze resting on it that may be

richly sculptural or plain a cornice built up with dentils . the roof is not flat.

Corinthian columns

By 400 BC, the Greeks had added a third type of column to the old Doric and Ionic styles. This was called the Corinthian column, after the city ofCorinth.

The Greeks never actually used the Corinthian column that much, but the Romansused it a lot.

Roman temple in the Corinthian style,at Nimes in southern France.

The Corinthian style is fancier and heavier than theIonic style.

In Corinthian temples, the columns have a fancier base to stand on.

At the top of the columns, on the capital, there's a stone carving of acanthus leaves, under the architrave

The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best.

Corinthian also uses entasis to make the shafts look straight.

The Corinthian capitals have flowers and acanthus leaves below a small scroll.

The shaft has flutes and the base is like the Ionian.

Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are at a slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat.

It has dentils.

Architectural Facts of the Parthenon The chief architects are Iktinos and

Kallicrates,  The Parthenon in Athens was carved out of

Pentelic marble and it took the Greeks approximately 10 years to construct the building, 447-438 B.C.

Nashville's Parthenon was created from brick, stone, structural reinforced concrete, and cast concrete aggregate. It took the City of Nashville nearly 10 years to build their Parthenon, 1921-1931.

All horizontal architectural elements arch slightly in the center. This means there are no true straight horizontal lines in the Parthenon.

These architectural refinements made the Parthenon look alive and flawless to the human eye.

The Parthenon is 65 feet high at its apex.

The peristyle consists of 46 Doric columns, 17 on each side, 6 on each end (not counting the corner columns twice).

All of the exterior columns incline slightly inward. The corner columns are diagonally inclined; that is, they are angled toward both sides. Scholars disagree on the precise reasons for these refinements, but they clearly serve the aesthetic functions of the building.

The columns of the building differ in diameter from the ones beside them and are all spaced slightly differently.

All of the columns share a refinement called the entasis, a slight bulge or convex curvature of the shaft. Thus, although the shaft tapers, the largest diameter is about one-third of the way up rather than at the base.

The interior of the Parthenon is divided into two rooms. The east room is called the Naos and it houses the statue of Athena. The Naos is 93 feet long and 63 feet wide and has a two-story colonnade around three sides. The west room is 44 feet long by 63 feet wide and is called the Treasury Room. In antiquity this room housed the treasure of Athens and the Delian League.

Theatre at epidaurus

colloseum

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy,

the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, built of concrete and stone.  It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman

architecture and Roman engineering. Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and

public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era.

It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Construction on the site started in 72 AD when an artificial lake in the former pleasure garden was filled in. The shape of the structure was laid out as a huge ellipse measuring 615 long (187m) and 510 feet wide (155m) on a foundation 40 feet (12m) deep.

The exterior walls, constructed of blocks of travertine limestone, rose in three layers (known as arcades) composed of arches flanked by columns.

Each level used a different type of column: Doric on the ground level, Ionic on the second level and Corinthian on the third level. After Vespasian died in 79 AD, his son, the Emperor Titus, added a fourth

level consisting of an attic that had no arches but small rectangular windows instead.

Corinthian pilasters (a low relief, square-shaped column) were used in the facade on the fourth level. T

his final section pushed the height of the stadium up to 159 feet (49m). Below the floor of the arena (which measured 157 by 272 feet - 48m by

83m) was a two level basement area known as the hypogeum. It was here that people and animals would wait before being brought out into the performance area.

there were at least eighty vertical shafts that provided access from the hypogeum to the surface using a surprising array of advanced hydraulic-powered machinery.

This allowed people, animals and scenery to be lifted by elevator to the floor of the Coliseum.

Hinged ramps were also used for large animals like elephants. The roof of the hypogeum was made of timber and on top of that was laid a layer of sand (in fact the word for sand in Latin isarena) that made up the floor of the Coliseum

The hypogeum had underground access to several of the surrounding buildings. This permitted the Emperor and other dignitaries to come and go without mixing with the crowd. There were also underground tunnels that ran to the gladiators' barracks and the nearby stables.

The Pont du Gard is a Roman monument built halfway through the 1st century AD. It is the principal construction in a 50 km long aqueductthat supplied the city of Nîmes, formerly known as Nemausus, with water.

Built as a three-level aqueduct standing 50 m high, it allowed water to flow across the Gardon river.

In essence, the bridge is constructed out of soft yellow limestone blocks, taken from a nearby quarry that borders the river. The highest part of the structure is made out of breeze blocks joined together with mortar. It is topped by a device designed to bear the water channel, whose stone slabs are covered with calcium deposits.

In designing this three-storey bridge, which measures 360 m at its longest point along the top, the Roman architects and hydraulic engineers created a technical masterpiece that stands today as awork of art.

As a result of numerous scientific studies, we now know that an impressive volume of rock was needed to complete the construction. The figures are impressive: over 21,000 cubic metres of rock, weighing 50,400 tonnes ! Moreover, archaeologists also uncovered evidence of how well organized the project was. They found numbering on the stones, points of support for scaffolding, and evidence of the use of hoists.

Standing 49 metres above the Gardon river, the Pont du Gard clearly constitutes the main construction in the Nîmes aqueduct.

Described asthe highest Roman construction in the world, it is principally noted for its imposing stature, its excellent condition and its huge arches, the largest of which measures 24.52 metres.

Built into the rock itself, the wide stone piles on the first level are equipped with solid pier-heads.

These are necessary for ensuring that the bridge can withstand the flooding of the Gardon river.

Despite much research into the subject by archaeologists and local historians, no written evidence has been uncovered that clearly reveals the name of the architect who designed this masterpiece. The only message we have from its designer is written in Latin, engraved on one of the lower stone piles. It refers to a stage of progress in the building’s construction. It says simply « mens totum corium », which means the entirety of the work has been measured. It would seem that this master engineer will forever remain in the shadow of his great work, the Pont du Gard.

Arch of setimus sevearus

The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus (Italian: Arco di Settimio Severo) at the northwest end of the Roman Forum is a triumphal arch dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194/195 and 197-199.

After the death of Septimius Severus, his sons Caracalla and Geta were initially joint emperors. Caracalla had Geta assassinated in 212; Geta's memorials were destroyed and all images or mentions of him were removed from public buildings and monuments. Accordingly Geta's image and inscriptions referring to him were removed from the arch.

Description The arch was raised on a travertine base originally approached by

steps from the Forum's ancient level. The central archway, spanned by a richly coffered semicircular vault, has lateral openings to each side archway, a feature copied in many Early Modern triumphal arches.

The three archways rest on piers, in front of which are detached composite columns on pedestals. Winged Victories are carved in relief in the spandrels. A staircase in the south pier leads to the top of the monument, on which were statues of the emperor and his two sons in a four-horse chariot (quadriga), accompanied by soldiers.

The column of trajan

Trajan's Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperorTrajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate.

It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106).

Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.

The structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in height, 35 metres (125 ft) including its large pedestal.

The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 32 tons,with a diameter of 3.7 metres (11 ft).

The 190-metre (625 ft) frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top.

The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of c. 34 m.

Ancient coins indicate preliminary plans to top the column with a statue of a bird, probably an eagle,but after construction, a statue of Trajan was put in place; this statue disappeared in the Middle Ages. On December 4, 1587, the top was crowned byPope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day.

A continuous frieze winds up around the tower from base to capital. The relief portrays Trajan's two victorious military campaigns against the Dacians; The interior of Trajan's Column is hollow: entered by a small doorway at one side of the base, a spiral stair of 185 steps gives access to the platform above, having offered the visitor in antiquity a view over the surrounding Trajan's forum; 43 window slits illuminate the ascent.[

The column stands 38.4 m high from the ground to the top of the statue base:[The interior of Trajan's Column is hollow: entered by a small doorway at one side of the base, a spiral stair of 185 steps gives access to the platform above, having offered the visitor in antiquity a view over the surrounding Trajan's forum; 43 window slits illuminate the ascent.

The column stands 38.4 m high from the ground to the top of the statue base:

pantheon

pantheon

In its sacred geometry, it has three main architectural components.

A rectangular portico or porch with its triangular pediment connects to a cylindrical drum in the cella or main temple structure, and is surmounted by a rotunda or dome.

Thus it contains the basic Pythagorean units. Viewers could see the sacred geometry of the cosmos in the triangle of pedimental portico roof, rectangle of portico and hemisphere of roof that actually becomes a full sphere in that space between roof and marble floor.

This is a perfect 44-meter [around 150 ft.] sphere matching the 44-meter width of the cylindrical main cella.

Hadrian intended its mathematical polygons to be harmoniously integrated, although the portico may not be as carefully connected to the drum as is the marvelous rotunda.

The 9 meter (around 30 feet) diameter oculus in the ceiling serves as a mirror of the round heaven – appropriately open to the sky - and its graduated ribbed ceiling coffers immediately below corresponded to the five planetary gods.

For its engineering genius, the Pantheon’s construction includes composite materials such as brick, concrete, tufa, basalt, pumice, granite columns, and leaded bronze roof, with much of the structure veneered inside and outside with marble over seven arched alcoves.

The primary external marble veneer was white whereas the interior veneer was multi-colored.

Well-planned foundations are of volcanic-related stone including basalt, with walls of tufa (in this case compressed volcanic ash), brick and concrete, and coffered ceiling of light pumice covered with leaded bronze sheets.

Basalt is the optimum foundation stone with its great compressive strength; pumice concrete equally understood as optimum for ceilings with its durable lightness.

Thus the structure proceeds from bottom to top in ever lighter materials which have served it well for durability.

Hagia sophia

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture.[6] Its interior is decorated with mosaics 

and marblepillars and coverings of great artistic value. The temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, "Solomon, I have outdone thee!" (Νενίκηκά σε Σολομών). Justinian himself had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years up until the completion of the cathedral in Sevillein Spain.

Justinian's basilica was at once the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim worlds alike. The largest columns are of granite, about 19 or 20 metres high and at least 1.5 metres in diameter; the largest weigh well over 70 tons apiece. Under Justinian's orders, eight Corinthian columns were disassembled fromBaalbek, Lebanon, and shipped to Constantinople for the construction of Hagia Sophia.[42]

The vast interior has a complex structure. The nave is covered by a central dome which at its maximum is 55.6 m (182 ft 5 in) from floor level and rests on an arcade of 40 arched windows.

Repairs to its structure have left the dome somewhat elliptical, with the diameter varying between 31.24 m (102 ft 6 in) and 30.86 m (101 ft 3 in).

At the western entrance side and eastern liturgical side, there are arched openings extended by half domes of identical diameter to the central dome, carried on smaller semi-domed exedras; a hierarchy of dome-headed elements built up to create a vast oblong interior crowned by the central dome, with a clear span of 76.2 m (250 ft 0 in).

Interior surfaces are sheathed with polychrome marbles, green and white with purple porphyry, and gold mosaics.

The exterior, clad in stucco, was tinted yellow and red during restorations in the 19th century at the direction of the Fossati architects.

The dome of Hagia Sophia has spurred particular interest for many art historians, architects and engineers because of the innovative way the original architects envisioned it.

The cupola is carried on four spherical triangular pendentives, an element which was first fully realized in this building

Basillica of trajan or basillica of ulpia

The Basilica Ulpia was an ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan. The Basilica Ulpia separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan's Column to the northwest

The Basilica Ulpia was composed of a great central nave with four side aisles with clerestory windows to let light into the space divided by rows of columns and two semicircular apse, one at each of the ends with the entry to the basilica located on the longitudinal side.

The columns and the walls were of precious marbles; the 50 meter (164 ft) high roof was covered by gildedbronze tiles.

The many rows of columns separating the side aisles are a traditional means of structure for basilicas. This method of structure can be traced back to Egyptian hypostyle Halls.

 The Basilica Ulpia is very similar to one of the most famous hypostyle halls, Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.

An architectural style peculiar to Rome, the basilica contained a central hall or nave with colonnaded aisles lit by a clerestory.

Dedicated to public use as law courts and a place of business, it became the preferred architectural type for the Christian church.

Venerable and admired even in the time of Constantine, the Basilica Ulpia was the largest and most lavish in Rome and would have been regarded as a model of its type.

Unlike previous imperial fora, in which a temple was placed frontally in the square, the Basilica Ulpia was set transversely to the axis of the forum and enclosed by two ambulatory colonnades.

At either end of the basilica were two semicircular apses (which had the same diameter as the hemicycles off the colonnades) and, at the center of the façade, a tetrastyle (four-column) porch.

The northwest corner of the forum has been recreated and is a vivid contrast to the original two-dimensional drawing above. Numismatic evidence indicates that a quadriga (four-horse chariot) surmounted the central porch and a biga (two-horse chariot) the lateral ones, all presumably of gilt bronze. Behind the Corinthian order of the fasçade, with its steps and columns of golden giallo antico and the purple-veined pavonazzetto colonnade behind, one can discern the Ionic order of the celestory.

In the background, the west colonnade is depicted, entered by a flight of three steps and floored with polychrome marble. The pavonazzetto columns of the portico support an entablature modelled on the Forum of Augustus, the deep attic broken by Dacian captives on a pedestal carrying an elaborate cornice, which carries another pedestal with bronze standards. Fragmentary inscriptions reveal that these pedestals commemorated Trajan's legions. Between the Dacian caryatids, in the bays between the columns, are imagines clipeatae, portraits set off by circular frames. Coins also show ornamental antefixes along the eave of the roof, which may be stylized eagles, as represented here, or more conventional vases.

The architectural drawing above shows a portion of the basilica's fasçade as it would have appeared to one entering the forum. The colonnade that flanked the square and the apse at each end of the basilica are in cross section. Trajan's Column soars in the background. The roof of the basilica was covered with tiles of gilded bronze, which especially impressed the traveler Pausanius, who thought it "worth seeing not only for its general beauty but especially for its roof made of bronze"

Flying buttreses (gothic architecture)

Gothic architecture has three distinct characteristics which set it apart from Romanesque; pointed arches, ribbed vault, and flying buttresses. 

  These developments allowed the architects to make the church much larger and brighter. By transferring the weight of the ceilings outward thrust to the flying buttresses, they were now able to place huge stain glass windows in the walls. 

this allowed the once dim Romanesque Cathedral to be transformed into a very bright and warm feeling  Gothic Cathedral.  

These churches also reflect the wealth and influence of the church in the Middle Ages.  Many of these churches and cathedrals took over a century to build.   

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved fromRomanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture.

Originating in 12th century France and lasting into the 16th century, Gothic architecture was known during the period as "French work" (Opus Francigenum), with the term Gothic first appearing during the latter part of the Renaissance. Its characteristic features include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress.

Greek cross

In churches of Western European tradition, the plan is usually longitudinal, in the form of the so-called Latin Cross with a long nave crossed by a transept. The transept may be as strongly projecting as at York Minster or not project beyond the aisles as at Amiens Cathedral.

Latin cross Many of the earliest churches of Byzantium have a

longitudinal plan. At Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, there is a central dome, frame on one axis by two high semi-domes and on the other by low rectangular transept arms, the overall plan being square. This large church was to influence the building of many later churches, even into the 21st century. A square plan in which the nave, chancel and transept arms are of equal length forming a Greek cross, the crossing generally surmounted by a dome became the common form in the Orthodox Church, with many churches throughout Eastern Europe and Russia being built in this way. Churches of the Greek Cross form often have a narthex or vestibule which stretches across the front of the church. This type of plan was also to later play a part in the development of church architecture in Western Europe, most notably in Bramante's plan for St. Peter's Basilica.[2][8]

Rib vault

he intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault.

rib vault : a masonry vault with a relatively thin web and set within a framework of ribs.

Pointed arch

One important innovation was the use of pointed arches. Earlier Romanesque churches had pointed arches, but builders didn't capitalize on the shape.

During the Gothic era, builders discovered that pointed arches would give structures amazing strength and stability.

In Gothic buildings, the weight of the roof was supported by the arches rather than the walls.

This meant that walls could be thinner.

Gothic windows Rose windows are

particularly characteristic of Gothic architecture and may be seen in all the major Gothic Cathedrals of NorthernFrance. Their origins are much earlier and rose windows may be seen in various forms throughout the Medieval period

pendentives

pendentive: A spherical triangle which acts as a transition between a circular dome and a square base on which the dome is set

sqinch

squinch: The lowest voussoir on each side of an arch. It is where the vertical support for the arch terminates and the curve of the arch begins.

Optical corrections To the unaided eye, columns tend to look narrower in the middle than at

the top or bottom.  Each of the columns in the Parthenon was built with a slight bulge in the middle, to make them appear “straight”.  Columns tend to “contract” near the top, and hence the base of each column was built a little thicker.  Columns further away from the centre appear thicker.  To counteract this effect, the columns in the centre were built a little thicker.  Furthermore, the spacing between the columns appear smaller towards the centre.  Therefore, they were spaced wider apart accordingly. 

Horizontal lines appear to “dip” in the middle, and hence the centre portion of the floor was slightly raised.  Furthermore, the columns were slanted inwards so that they would meet if they were extended one mile into the sky.  This to counteract the effects of hatched-line illusions (Fig. 64).  The triangular outline of the roof makes the top part of each column appear to slant outwards.   

The left portion of Fig. 34 shows how the Parthenon would appear before the optical refinements.  The optical illusions shown are grossly exaggerated for effect.  After the corrections were made to the columns and floor, the Parthenon now appears “correct”, as shown in the right portion of Fig. 34.  It is interesting to note that none of the “straight lines” seen in the Parthenon are geometrically straight.  Such concepts of making architecture appear to look “correct” are known as “counter-perspective”