L20 - Roman Architecture 2

History of Architecture I
Roman Architecture II
Geology
Travertine at the Colosseum
Concrete with bricks Tufa at Servian Wall

History
The Roman Empire (753 BC - 395 AC) can be divided to three main
periods:
1. Etruscan Civilization (753- 509 BC): Etruscans, who had previously

settled to the north in Etruria, seem to have established political
control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming the
aristocratic and monarchical elite
2. Roman Republic (500-31 BC): System based on annually elected

magistrates and various representative, assemblies was established
3. Roman Empire (31-395 AC): Which had the separation of West and
East
Roman Architecture shapes spaces - H. Kahler
Greek Roman
The Roman
Greek public
architecture is an
architecture was made
architecture of space,
up of sculptural
VS enclosed internal
masses set in balanced
space and outdoor
contrast to the
space, opened on
landscape
grand scale
Architectural Character
• The Romans adopted the columnar style
of the Greeks and joined to it the arch, the
vault, and the Dome
• As opposed to the one story buildings of

the Greeks, the romans built structures
with several stories and hence the orders
attached in design were only decorative
rather than structural
The Brick work
• Increasingly during the 2nd century AD, Roman

builders used concrete for the walls and vaults
of the public buildings
• Knowing that their exposed concrete did not

weather well, the Roman builders incorporated
brick or stone as an outer layer
The Brick work
• From about 200 to 100 BC, this facing consisted of random masonry
• During the next two centuries, regular square bricks were used, set
on the diagonal
• After about 100 AD, at bricks or tiles were used as the facing
fl
New Orders
• To the 3 Greek orders, the

Romans added the Tuscan,
which they made simpler
than Doric
• and the Composite, which

was more ornamental than
the Corinthian
Tuscan Order
Tuscan Order
• The column had a simpler base
• The column was un uted
• Both capital and entablature were without

adornments
• The modular proportion of the column was

1:7 in Vitruvius and Palladio's illustration
fl
Tuscan Order
Composite Order
• A mixed order, combining the

volutes of the Ionic order capital
with the acanthus leaves of the
Corinthian order
• The column of the composite

order is ten diameters high
Composite Order
The Arch of Titus, in the forum in Rome, built in 82 AD, is considered the
first example of a Composite order
Columns Arrangement
• The Romans also invented the

superposed order, it is when
successive stories of a building have
different orders
• The heaviest orders were at the

bottom, whilst the lightest came at
the top
• This means that the Doric order was

the order of the ground floor, the
Ionic order was used for the middle
story, while the Corinthian or the
Composite order was used for the top
story
Columns Arrangement
Domestic Architecture
• The entrance is connected with a large
public room, the atrium, open to the sky
through an opening in the roof
• The atrium was entered through a passage

in a blank street facade, unless the rooms
to either side of it were let off as shops,
usually the house was closed off from the
street and focused inward
• It was two story, and mostly houses had a

symmetrical floor plan
• The roof of the atrium pinched inwards so
that the rain water dripped into a pool
• Beyond it is another court, always unroofed

and used as a garden, surrounded by
colonnades and by the more private living
rooms
Etruscan Architecture
Etruscan Temple
Etruscan Temple
• The temple building was set at the back of the enclosure facing the
entrance and had a blank, rear wall
• An open-air altar was retained on the axis between the front of the
temple building and the entrance to the enclosure
Etruscan Temple
The axial arrangement was emphasized by raising the building on a podium

considerably higher than the stylobate of the Greek temple and by providing
entrance steps only at the front facing the altar
Etruscan Temple
Usually columns were employed only at the front of the porch,

occasionally they were used at the sides also but were never carried
round the whole periphery of the building
Etruscan Temple
The cella was a simple rectangular room, it used to be three cellas side-
by side for a triad of gods
Etruscan Temple
• The material used in buildings were timber, mud brick and terra-cotta,
but the podium was built from stone
• The use of these materials in place of

marble or stone gave rise to other
differences in proportion and details:
- Wide roof overhangs were necessary to

throw rain-water clear of mud-brick
walls
- Columns were more slender even when

protected by covering of terracotta
- Columns spacing were wider

The Capitoline Temple
(Etruscan Period, 509 BC)
• Called the Temple of Jupiter Optimus

Maximus, means ‘Temple of Jupiter
Best and Greatest on the Capitoline’
• It was dedicated to the triology of

Jupitor (Zeus), Juno (Hera), and
Minerva (Athena)
• Three cellas dedicated to

the 3 gods
• Side colonnades
• 3 rows of 6 columns at the

porch, each to support the
roof of the porch which is
equal depth to the cella
• The podium was

constructed of stone and
was 4m hight
Etruscan Arches
Etruscan Arches
• Main feature of the Etruscan

architecture, dating from the 4th
century B.C
• They consist of two pillar; like bases,

which supported a series of wedge-
shaped stones called voussoirs
• The voussoirs are arranged in a

semicircle, and are held in place by a
central stone ‘keystone’
Etruscan Cuniculus
Etruscan Cuniculus
• Cuniculus; a multi-use irrigation trench
• It consisted of an underground trench cut at a slight incline into the earth,

with a series of vertical shafts cut downward to join the trench and spaced
roughly 30 yards apart (27m)
Etruscan Cuniculus
• A cuniculus would be cut perpendicular to a flowing stream, bisecting it
• The water from the stream would be diverted into the inclined trench
through an inlet, would rise to the openings of the vertical shafts, and then
overflow, watering the dry land
Etruscan Cuniculus
The last shaft in the row was connected to an outlet, leading to a dry valley.
The outlet allowed the water to continue flowing into the dry valley, creating a
new stream
Etruscan Cuniculus
It was used as a conduits to carry water to larger Etruscan cities.

Cuniculi were the forerunners of the Roman aqueducts and sewage
systems
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Late republic & Early Empire architecture

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History of Architecture I

Travertine at the Colosseum

Concrete with bricks Tufa at Servian Wall

1. Etruscan Civilization (753- 509 BC): Etruscans, who had previously

2. Roman Republic (500-31 BC): System based on annually elected

• As opposed to the one story buildings of

• Increasingly during the 2nd century AD, Roman

• Knowing that their exposed concrete did not

• To the 3 Greek orders, the

• and the Composite, which

• The column had a simpler base

• The column was un uted

• Both capital and entablature were without

• The modular proportion of the column was

• A mixed order, combining the

• The column of the composite

• The Romans also invented the

• The heaviest orders were at the

• This means that the Doric order was

• The atrium was entered through a passage

• It was two story, and mostly houses had a

• Beyond it is another court, always unroofed

The axial arrangement was emphasized by raising the building on a podium

Usually columns were employed only at the front of the porch,

• The use of these materials in place of

- Wide roof overhangs were necessary to

- Columns were more slender even when

- Columns spacing were wider

• Called the Temple of Jupiter Optimus

• It was dedicated to the triology of

• Three cellas dedicated to

• 3 rows of 6 columns at the

• The podium was

• Main feature of the Etruscan

• They consist of two pillar; like bases,

• The voussoirs are arranged in a

• Cuniculus; a multi-use irrigation trench

• It consisted of an underground trench cut at a slight incline into the earth,

• A cuniculus would be cut perpendicular to a flowing stream, bisecting it

It was used as a conduits to carry water to larger Etruscan cities.

Late republic & Early Empire architecture

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