HOA

History of Architecture
History
A systematic, often
chronological narrative of
significant events as relating
to a particular people,
country, or period, often
including an explanation of
their causes.
 MODULE 1: Prehistoric and
Ancient Architecture

MODULE 2: Classical Architecture

Course and the Western Succession

Outline MODULE 3: Architecture in Asia

and the Pacific Region

MODULE 4: Architecture in the

Philippines
 MODULE 1
Prehistoric and Ancient
Architecture
 Module 1 Overview

• Prehistoric Architecture
• Mesopotamian Architecture
• Sumerian
• Babylonian
• Assyrian
• Persian
• Egyptian Architecture
• Minoan Architecture
Prehistoric Architecture
A map of early human
Early
Dwellings
■Shift from nomadic, hunter-gatherer system to
a combination of farming and hunting.
■Domestication of animals and plants.
■ Created societies of villages near caves or
along shores and streams.
Rock caves
Earliest form of human
settlement.
Lascaux
CaveFrance.
Lascaux,

A cave in France containing wall

paintings and engravings of Paleolithic
humans thought to date from c.
13,000- 8,500 BCE.
Built
shelter
■ Primitive lifestyle was nomadic.
■ Temporary shelter were designed in direct
response to climate, local materials, and
hunting patterns.
■ Built with limited investment in time and energy.
Tipi
A portable Indian
shelter.
Beehive
hut
Kerry, Ireland.

A clochán is a stone beehive-shaped

hut with a corbelled roof, commonly
associated with the Irish coastline.
Trullo
Alberobello, Bari Province.

A traditional rendered stone dwelling

in Apulia, southern Italy, in which
square chambers are roofed with
conical vaulted roofs.
Wigwam
An American Indian dwelling, usually
of round or oval shape, formed of
poles overlaid with bark, rush mats, or
animal skins.
Hogan
A Navaho Indian dwelling
constructed usually of earth and
logs and covered with mud and sod.
Igloo
An Eskimo house, usually built of blocks
of hard snow or ice in the shape of a
dome, or when permanent, of sod,
wood, or stone.
Religious
Structures
Villages were connected by shared mortuary
and goddess ritual centers.
Megaliths
Ancient stone monuments.

After people started sharing community

life, they began turning their attention
to architecture that celebrated the
spiritual and the sacred.
Their tombs and temples imitated
nature in gigantic forms resembling
mountains and other landscape
formations.
Menhir
Monolith; A prehistoric monument consisting
of an upright stone, usually standing alone
but sometimes aligned with others in
parallel rows.
Kerloas
Menhir
Brittany, France.
Dolmen
From the words daul, a table, and maen, a stone;
A prehistoric monument consisting of two or
more large upright stones supporting a
horizontal stone slab or capstone, and usually
regarded as a tomb.
Kilclooney
County Donegal, Ireland.

It utilizes trabeation, the most

basic construction system for
structures.
It consists of vertical supports called
posts that hold up horizontal
elements called lintels.
Goindol
Gochang, South Korea.

The Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa

Dolmen Sites are the location of
hundreds of stone dolmen in Korea.
The sites were designated as a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
Variations
Cove Trilithon

Three standing stones, A structure consisting of

two on the sides and two upright stones
one at the back. supporting a horizontal
lintel.
Cromlech
A circular arrangement of megaliths
enclosing a dolmen or burial
mound.
Stone
Circle
Avebury, England

These stone circles were

associated with burials, others with
cremation.
They also worked as celestial
observatories that were meant follow
the movements of the moon and
stars, as would have been typical for
early agrarian-based societies.
Stonehenge
Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.

A megalithic monument consisting of

four concentric rings of trilithons and
menhirs centered around an altar
stone.
It is believed to have been used by a
sun cult or for astronomical
observations.
Tumulus
An artificial mound of earth or stone, especially
over an ancient grave. Also called barrow.
Etruscan necropolis of Banditaccia at
Early
Cities
■Ice Age to the Neolithic Age; the earth’s
climate warmed up.
■As settlements became more permanent,
hunters started farming communities.
■ New architecture was also developed to
represent communal and spiritual
values.
Fertile Crescent: An early, dense network of cities and
Jericho
Aerial view showing the ruins of Tell
es- Sultan. Jordan.

■ One of the world's oldest

continually-inhabited city.
■ A hilltop city; citizens lived in
stone houses with plaster floors,
surrounded by high walls and
towers.
Khirokitia
Cyprus.

■ One of the earliest

Neolithic village.
■ Utilized a complex architectural
system built according to a
preconceived plan, suggesting
a structured social
organisation.
Khirokitia
Partial modern-day reconstruction
of Khirokitia, Cyprus.

Houses, built in limestone, had a

circular plan, the exterior diameter of
which varied from about 2 to 9 meters.
Çatal
Hüyük
■Largest and most well-
preserved
Neolithic village.
■ Consisted of rectangular flat-
roofed houses packed
together into a single
architectural mass
■ No streets or passageways.
Typical house and reconstructed shine, Catal
Mesopotamian

Architectur
e
Mesopotamia
■ Fertile Crescent; present day Iraq;
■ From the Greek words mesos
and
potamas, meaning “middle river.”
■ Refers to the fertile plain
between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.
Sumerian (5000-2000
B.C.)
▪ Architecture developed by the Sumerians.
▪ Characterized by monumental temples of sun-dried
brick faced with burnt or glazed brick, often built
upon the ruins of their predecessors.
Ziggurat
Stepped structures constructed with outside
staircases and a temple or shrine at the top
for worshipping the gods of nature.
Ziggurat
▪ Ziggurats were built of mud bricks
made of dirt mixed with water and
straw. The mud was poured into
wooden molds and left to dry in
the sun (or baked in kilns).
▪ Its four corners were
oriented towards the
cardinal points.
▪ Priests conduct ceremonies at
the fire altar on top.
Ziggurat of
Urel-Muqayyar, Iraq.
Tell

A temple dedicated to the moon god

built by the Sumerian ruler, Ur
Nammu, and his successors around
2125 B.C.
Babylonian (2000-1600
B.C.)
▪ The last great Mesopotamian city-empire of
the ancient age.
▪ Architecture characterized by mud-brick construction,
had walls articulated by pilasters and recesses,
sometimes faced with burnt and glazed brick.
▪ Palaces and temples were decorated with
enameled brick friezes of bulls and lions.
Tower of Babel
Lucas van Valckenborch, 1594.

As described in the Bible, this

structure may have been built in
Babylon around 600 B.C. by King
Nebuchadnezzar II to “rival heaven.”
Herodotus recorded that the ziggurat
had 7 tiers covered in glazed tiles. The
tower may have risen to a height of
300 feet and may have been used as a
temple for worshipping Marduk, the
god of the city of Babylon.
Hanging Gardens
One of the “Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World.”
A royal palace constructed of mud
brick walls were covered with glazed,
colored tiles decorated with animal
reliefs.
Legend says that the sumptuous palace
was terraced with lush gardens that
were irrigated by water pumped from
the Euphrates.
Ishtar
Gate
Reconstructed.
Berlin.
Pergamon Museum,

Large, four-storey portal dominating the

processional avenue through the city.
It was covered in glazed bricks,
colorful tiles, and decorative figures of
bulls and dragons.
Assyrian (900-700
B.C.)
▪ Palaces took precedence over religious buildings.
▪ Architecture was characterized by mud-brick
buildings. Stone was used for carved
monumental decorative sculptures.
▪ External walls were plainly treated, but ornamented
with carved relief sculpture or with polychrome
bricks.
▪ Interior courts were all large, and filled with columns.
Dur-Sharrukin
Palace of Sargon. Khorsabad,
Iraq. Sargon II.

Squarish parallelogram city, with the

palace, temples, and government
buildings compressed within the
walls.
Palace, public reception rooms, inner
court, and harem. Temple with 7-staged
ziggurat. Stables, kitchen, bakery, and
wine cellar.
 Apartments in an
Assyrian Palace

Seraglio, palace proper

Haram, private chamber
Khan, service chamber

View of palace compound of Dur-Sharrukin

Persian (500-331
B.C)
▪ Characterized by a synthesis of architectural
elements of surrounding countries, such as Assyria,
Egypt, and Ionian Greece.
Persepolis
Fars Province, Iran. Darius.

Darius designed his own capital city,

Persepolis—“the city of the Persians,”
as the Greeks called it—located 10
kilometers to the southwest and closer
to the fertile lands along the coast.
 Apadana, great audience
hall. Throne room, “Hall of a
Hundred Columns.”
Palaces of Darius and Xerxes
I Harem
Council hall
Store rooms
Hillside tombs
No shrine or temple has
been identified.

Plan: Palace complex at

1) Staircase at Persepolis; 2) Part of the palace
 Egyptian

Architectur
e
Egyptian (3000 B.C.-200
A.D.)
▪ Characterized by the axial planning of massive
masonry tombs and temples, the use of
trabeated construction with precise stonework,
and the decoration of battered walls with
pictographic carvings in relief.
▪ A preoccupation with eternity and the afterlife
dominated the building of these funerary
monuments and temples.
Egypt, ca. 3rd
century B.C.
Egypt’s possession of the Nile was of
immense advantage, not only on
account of its value as a trade route,
and as a means of communication, but
also because its waters were the
fertilizing agents that made desert
sands into fruitful fields.
Religious
Structures
Saqqara, Egypt.
Mastaba
A tomb for the nobility or members of the
royal family.

Made of mud brick, rectangular in plan with a flat

roof and sloping sides, from which a shaft leads
to underground burial and offering chambers.
 1 stone facing
2 sacrificial chapel
3 tombstone (serdab)
4 fill
5 shaft
6 masonry seal
7 stone slab
8 burial chamber
9 sarcophagus

Cross section of a
Luxor, Egypt.
Temples
An edifice or place dedicated to the worship
or presence of a deity.
Kinds of Temple
Cult Temple Mortuary Temple

An ancient Egyptian An ancient Egyptian

temple for the worship temple for offerings
of a deity. and worship of a
deceased person,
usually a deified king.
 1RA, RE – sun
2OSIRIS – death, judgement
3ISIS – motherhood, protection
4HORUS – falcon, royalty
5SETH, SET – storms, chaos, evil
6 ATUM, TUM – sun, creator of
all things
7 MIN – fertility
8 MAAT – order
9 AMUN, AMEN, AMON – 'the
unseen one'
10 MUT – mistress of heaven
11 KHONSU – moon 'the traveller'
12 HAPI – the Nile's fertility
13 NUT – the firmament
15 SHU – air
14 GEB – earth
16 PTAH – creation,
craftsmanship

Egyptian gods.
Karnak Temple
Complex
Luxor, Egypt.

When Amun-Re, the god of the sun and

the heaven became the national deity
during the period of the New Kingdom,
at least a dozen temples were built in
his honor.
One of the main components of this
political/religious landscape was
the temple complex of Karnak.
Karnak Temple Complex. Luxor, Egypt. (Reconstructed model)
 1 1st pylons, c.320 BC
2 forecourt
3 birth house, mammisi
4 kiosk
5 pylon temple
6 2nd pylons, c.1320 BC
7 hypostyle hall, c.1290–1250 BC
8 3rd pylons
9 obelisks
10 4th pylons
12 5th pylons
13 6th pylons
14 barque temple
15 temple court (Middle
Kingdom)
16 festival hall
17 holy of the holies
18 ambulatory
Cult Temple of Amon (Amun), Karnak; 2000–300 `Botanical garden´
Avenue of
Sphinxes
Leads to a tall portal guarded by
a towering pylon.

Sphinx
A figure of an imaginary creature having
the body of a lion and the head of a
man, ram, or hawk.
 7androsphinx: human-headed sphinx Vatican
Museum, Rome
8androsphinx: human-headed sphinx
Amenemhet III, 12.dynasty, c.1800 BC
9 androsphinx: human-headed
sphinx
Thutmosis III, 18th dynasty, Rek-minh-
re, Thebes, Egypt
10 criosphinx: ram-headed sphinx
11 hieracosphinx: falcon-headed sphinx

Egyptian sphinxes.
Obelisk
An Egyptian monolithic four-sided
standing stone, tapering to a
pyramidical cap (a pyramidion), often
inscribed with hieroglyphs and erected
as a monument.
Pylon
A gateway guarding a sacred
precinct consisting of either a pair
of tall truncated pyramids and a
doorway between them, often
decorated with painted reliefs.
Hypostyle
Hall
A large hall having many columns
in rows supporting a flat roof, and
sometimes a clerestory.
Pylon
temple
An Egyptian temple type with
monumental gateways, formed
by twined pylons.
Kiosk
A freestanding stone canopy structure
supported by columns in Egyptian
architecture. (Hypaethral, classical
temple that is wholly or partly open to
the sky.)
Mammisi
Dendera Temple Complex. Dendera,
Egypt.

Birth-house; a small Egyptian side

temple, kiosk or tent shrine to
celebrate the place where the god of
the main temple was born, or where
the goddess bore her children.
Barque Temple
A room or building in which the image
of the Pharaoh or deity was revered.
Mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut and Shrine of Anubis, c.1470
Mortuary Temple
of Hatshepsut
Deir el Bahari, Egypt. Senmut.

Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple

played a key role in the processional
events as the temporary resting place
for the barque during the Beautiful
Feast of the Valley.
Located in the Valley of the Kings,
which was to become the main burial
place for the Egyptian royalty.
Rock-cut Tomb
A tomb hewn out of native rock, presenting only
an architectural front with dark interior chambers,
of which the sections are supported by masses
of stone left in the form of solid pillars.
20 outer court
21 sphinxes
22 ramps
23 colonnades (lower)
24 terrace (lower)
25 ramp to
shrine
26 shrine (of goddess
Hathor)
27 colonnades (upper)
28 chapel (chapel of
Anubis)
29 Osiris pillars
30 chapel (of Hatshepsut)
31 ceremonial court
32 sun temple
33 inner sanctuary
Temple at Abu Simbel, near Philae,
Abu
Simbel
The facade, carved directly into the
sandstone cliff, takes the form of a
pylon and is dominated by four colossal
seated figures, 22 meters tall, all
portrayals of Ramesses.
Pyramid
A massive masonry structure having a rectangular
base and four smooth, steeply sloping sides
facing the cardinal points and meeting at an
apex.

Used in ancient Egypt as a tomb to contain the

burial chamber and the mummy of the pharaoh.
Imhotep
▪ The first architect recorded
in history.
▪ Designed the Saqqara complex
and the Stepped Pyramid of
Zoser.
Pyramid
The Egyptian pyramids of the
Giza Necropolis.

The ancient Egyptians built more than

80 pyramids along the banks of the Nile
near modern-day Cairo from 2700 to
1640 B.C. The pyramids were designed
according to three forms:

▪ Step pyramid
▪ Bent pyramid
▪ Straight-sided/Sloped pyramid
Step Pyramid
A pyramid-type whose sides are stepped with tiers
rather than smooth, in Egypt predating the true
pyramids; the primary existing Egyptian example is
that of King Zoser at Saqqara, south of Cairo.
Pyramid of
Zoser
Saqqara, Egypt.

Built by Imhotep, architect to King

Zoser; begun as a mastaba-tomb then
successively enlarged; made of
limestone; and set within a complex of
buildings.
Mortuary
Complex of
Zoser
The Mortuary Complex of Zoser, located
on a slight hill west of Memphis and
just to the north of Saqqâra, was
enclosed by a 277-by-544 meter wall
laid out in precise orientation to the
four cardinal points.
Section through step pyramid and tomb of
Ka statue of
Zoser
In a small chapel positioned against the
north side of the pyramid was a life-
size statue of Zoser, showing him
wearing a priest’s Sed festival cloak, a
ceremonial beard, and a ritual
headdress.
Sitting in the dark chamber, he could
gaze through two small holes in the
wall placed at the statue’s eye level,
through which he could watch the
ceremonies taking place in the court.
Bent Pyramid
An Egyptian pyramid-type in which each triangular planar
surface changes direction as it approaches the top, as
in a mansard roof; sometimes also called a blunt or
false pyramid.
Pyramid of
Sneferu
Dahshur, Egypt.

Built by Sneferu (2613–2589 BCE),

who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty.
Originally planned to be a towering 150
meters high, it was too bold, and the
ground gave way under part of it. In an
effort to save the building, the
designers added a kink or bend to
reduce the weight and angle of the
slope.
Sloped Pyramid
An Egyptian pyramid-type in which four sloping
triangular sides, with a fixed angle, culminate at an
apex.
Pyramids of
Giza
Giza, Egypt.

Built of local stone on a core of rock

with casing blocks of limestone; 480
feet tall with a square base measuring
756 feet on a side.
Pyramid Complex
The ceremonial area of buildings and
structures surrounding an ancient Egyptian
pyramid.
Parts of a Pyramid
Complex
▪ Mortuary temple
In ancient Egyptian architecture, a place of worship of a
deceased king or queen, especially one adjoining a
pyramid or rock cut tomb, in which offerings of food
and objects were made; also called a funerary temple.
Parts of a Pyramid
Complex
▪ Valley temple
A temple pavilion in an ancient Egyptian pyramid
complex, connected via a covered causeway to a
mortuary temple at the foot of a pyramid; used
for preparing the Pharaoh for his final journey.
Parts of a Pyramid
Complex
▪ Pyramid temple
A mortuary temple connected specifically to a
pyramid, or part of an Egyptian pyramid complex.
▪ Pyramid causeway
A covered ceremonial route or corridor leading from
a valley temple to a mortuary temple at the foot of
a pyramid, notably at sites of the Nile valley
pyramids.
 11 Western
necropolis 12 boat
grave, boat pit 13
Eastern necropolis
14 pyramid
15 mortuary temple,
pyramid temple
16 pyramid causeway
17 valley temple
18 queen’s pyramid
19 sphinx
20 sphinx temple

Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops); pyramid of Khafre (Chefren); pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus), after 2472
Plan: Mortuary and valley temples of Khafre at
Section: Great pyramid of Khufu; King’s
Stela
A slab stela shows a royal personage at
a funerary repast sitting next to an
offering table covered with the loaves
of bread that have been brought to
him.
Next to him on the floor, on small
platforms, are containers holding
incense, ointments, figs, and
wine.
A scalar comparison of Egyptian
Why a tapering
shape?
Ancient rulers liked these artificial
mountains for their great height
(allowing them to commune with the
gods) and commanding visual
presence over flat river valleys.
On a practical level, a pyramid
concentrates most of its building on
the lower half, so fewer stones have to
be hauled to the top.
Egyptian
Capitals
 C palm capital, palmiform (plume capital) F bell capital, blossom capital, campaniform,
D papyrus capital, papyriform open capital
E bud capital, closed bud capital, closed G lotus capital, lotiform, lily capital
capital H tent-pole capital

Egyptian Capitals.
1) Composite column (Hathor capital); 2) Hathor column; 3) Hathor column; 4) Osiris column, Osiris
 Minoan

Architectur
e
Minoan (1800-1300
B.C.)
▪ A Bronze Age civilization flourished in Crete.
▪ Named after King Minos of Knossos.
▪ Gate buildings with multi-columnar porches
provided access to unfortified compounds.
▪ Foundation walls, piers and lintels were stone with
the upper walls in timber framework.
Palace at Knossos, Crete, Greece. (Largest palace built by the Minoans.)
Palace at
Knossos
Crete, Greece.

The palace contained residences,

kitchens, storage rooms,
bathrooms, ceremonial rooms,
workshops, and sanctuaries.
End of Module
1