ancient roman architecture.pptx
TRANSCRIPT
ANCIENT ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
It developed different aspects of Ancient Greek architecture and newer technologies such as the arch and the dome to make a new architectural style.It flourished throughout the Empire during the Pax Romana. Its use of new materials, particularly concrete, was a very important feature. Roman Architecture covers the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC to about the 4th century AD, after which it becomes reclassified as Late Antique or Byzantine architecture. the style used in Western Europe beginning about 1000 is called Romanesque architecture to reflect this dependence on basic Roman forms.
ANCIENT ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, in the reign of Trajan, 117 AD
An area at the Ostia Antica archaeological site: at one time, shops were located here
Background
Factors such as wealth and high population densities in cities forced the ancient Romans to discover new architectural solutions of their own.
The use of vaults and arches, together with a sound knowledge of building materials, enabled them to achieve unprecedented successes in the construction of imposing structures for public use.
Examples include the aqueducts of Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla, the basilicas and Colosseum.
Roman Aqueduct
The multiple arches of the Pont du Gard in Roman Gaul (modern-day southern France). The upper tier encloses an aqueduct that carried water to Nimes in Roman times; its lower tier was expanded in the 1740s to carry a wide road across the river.
Rome's Porta Maggiore, formed by a supporting arch of the Aqua Claudia and Rome's highest elevated aqueduct, the Aqua Anio Novus.
The Basilicas
Remains of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in Rome. The building's northern aisle is all that remains.
The baths of Diocletian
The basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, built in the remains of the baths.
Baths of Caracalla
Rom Caracalla-Thermen von Süden
The Colosseum
Influences
The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as the use of hydraulics and the construction of arches.
The Romans absorbed Greek Architectural influence both directly (e.g. Magna Graecia) and indirectly (e.g. Etruscan Architecture was itself influenced by the Greeks). Example: Triclinium.
The Romans were also known to employ Greek craftsmen and engineers to construct Roman buildings.
Reproduction of a triclinium.
The Roman Pantheon was the largest dome in the world for more than a millennium. It is the largest unreinforced solid concrete dome to this day
Architectural features
The Roman use of the arch and their improvements in the use of concrete and bricks facilitated the building of the many aqueducts throughout theempire, such as the Aqueduct of Segovia and the eleven aqueducts in Rome itself, including the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus.
The dome permitted construction of vaulted ceilings without crossbeams and made possible large covered public space such as public baths and basilicas.
The Romans based much of their architecture on the dome, such as Hadrian's Pantheon in the city of Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla.
Domes
The Romans were the first builders in the history of architecture to realize the potential of domes for the creation of large and well-defined interior spaces.
Domes were introduced in a number of Roman building types such as temples, thermae, palaces, mausolea and later also churches.
Half-domes also became a favored architectural element and were adopted as apses in Christian sacred architecture.
Mosaics
The mosaic is a decoration made of colorful chips of stone inserted into cement.
There were two main techniques in Greco-Roman mosaic: opus vermiculatum used tiny tesserae, typically cubes of 4 millimeters or less, and was produced in workshops in relatively small panels which were transported to the site glued to some temporary support.
A specific genre of Roman mosaic obtained the name asaroton . It represented an optical illusion of the leftovers from a feast on the floor of reach houses
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of under floor heating, used to heat houses with hot air.
Hypocausts were used for heating hot baths (thermae), houses and other buildings, whether public or private.
The floor was raised above the ground by pillars, called pilae stacks, with a layer of tiles, then a layer of concrete, then another of tiles on top; and spaces were left inside the walls so that hot air and smoke from the furnace would pass through these enclosed areas and out of flues in the roof, thereby heating but not polluting the interior of the room.
Roman roofs
The largest truss roof by span of Ancient Rome covered the Aula Regia (throne room) built for emperor Domitian (81–96 AD) on the Palatine Hill, Rome.
In Sicily truss roofs presumably appeared as early as 550 BC.[15]Their potential was fully realized in the Roman period, which saw trussed roofs over 30 wide spanning the rectangular spaces of monumental public buildings such as temples, basilicas, and later churches.
Spiral stairs
The spiral stair is a type of stairway which, due to its complex helical structure, was introduced relatively late into architecture.
Apart from the triumphal columns in the imperial cities of Rome and Constantinople, other types of buildings such as temples, thermae, basilicas and tombs were also fitted with spiral stairways.
