PREPARED BY:

AYSHA S.,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
IN ARCHITECTURE

Byzantine Architecture
http://www.slideshare.net/altamashbhambro/byzantine-empire-eastern-roman-empire
Justinian the Great or
Saint Justinian the
Great in the Eastern
Orthodox Church, was
a Byzantine
emperor from 527 to 565.

During his reign, he

sought to revive the
empire's greatness and
reconquer the western
half of the Roman
Empire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_I
• Byzantine churches are illustrious by the great central
square space covered using dome, supported by means of
pendentives.

• On each side extend short arms, forming a Greek cross

• The narthex and the side galleries make the plan nearly
square.

• The narthex was placed within the main walls.

 NARTHEX
• A portico or lobby of an early Christian or Byzantine church
or basilica, separated from the nave by a railing or screen.

• Divided into two: an inner narthex, between the outer

porch and the body of the church separated from the nave
and aisles by a wall, arcade or colonnade.

• Outer narthex outside the main façade of the church,

usually part of a colonnaded or arcaded atrium; which may
be either open on the western end or enclosed, with a door
leading to the outside.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf9.jpg
 Major ATTRIBUTES…
• The use of a centralized church plan

• The use of surrounding aisles

• The use of pendentives and dome on pendentives

• The use of a complex structure

• The use of lighting and decoration to create fascinating

interiors
 WALLS

• Often constructed of brick

• Internally; marble casing and mosaic being applied to the walls; hence a
flat treatment

• Absence of mouldings

• Externally; left comparatively plain, sometimes done by alternate rows

of stone and brick, in various colors.
 OPENINGS
• Doors and windows are semi-circular headed.

• Segmental and horse-shoe arched openings are sometimes seen.

• Windows are small and grouped together.

• The churches depend largely for light on the ring of windows at the
base of the dome or in the drum or circular base on which the dome is
raised, and on openings grouped in the gable ends.

• Portions of the windows are occasionally filled with thin slabs of

translucent marble.
 ROOFS
• The method of roofing these buildings was by a series of domes formed
in brick, stone, or concrete, with frequently no further external
covering.

• The Byzantines introduced the dome placed over a square or octagonal

plan by means of pendentives.
 DOMES AND DOMES ON PENDENTIVES
• These provided the Byzantine
architects with a exclusive way
of altering the circular form of a
dome roof to a square or
polygonal plan.

• This type of dome was invented

by the romans but was seldom
used by them.

• It was the Byzantine builders

who used it to create dramatic
interiors.
 DOMES AND DOMES ON PENDENTIVES
• This is derived by trimming the
sides of a regular dome over a
square plan as shown in A.

• This enables to transfer the load

of the dome to the four corners,
hence only the four corners
need to be reinforced. This
allows the dome roof to be
adapted for a square building as
shown in B.
 DOMES AND DOMES ON PENDENTIVES
• Additionally, the top can be
trimmed to introduce another
dome on top of it as shown in C.

• The additional dome can further

be raised to introduce a cylinder
between the pendentive dome
and the additional dome as in D.

• Windows can then be

introduced in the cylinder to
create dazzling interior light
effects.
 COLUMNS
• Columns were used constructively, but were always subordinate
features, and often only introduced to support galleries, the massive
piers alone supporting the superstructure.
THE HAGIA SOPHIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia#/media/File:Hagia-Sophia-Grundriss.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf4.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf5.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf1.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf3.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf6.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/byzantine/bf2.jpg
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http://www.lynncjackson.com/travel/jurnal20.htm
https://s3.amazonaws.com/classconnection/824/flashcards/7640824/jpg/hagia-sophia-dome-14C758E30614D4AB7E5.jpg
 REFERENCES

Sir Banister Fletcher’s a History of Architecture, Architectural Press, 1996.

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.thefreedictionary.com
THANK YOU!