History of Architecture Lascaux Cave (Lascaux, France)

- It is a record of man’s effort to build beautifully. - A cave in France containing wall paintings and
It traces the origin, growth and decline of engravings of Paleolithic humans thought to date
architectural styles which have prevailed lands from c. 13,000-8,500 BCE.
and ages. - Most famous caves
Historical Styles of Architecture
- The particular method characteristics and - TENTS
manner of design which prevails at a certain
place and time.
Factors affecting the styles of Architecture:
- History
- Society
- Religion
- Geography
- Geology
- Climate

PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE

Why did man seek shelter?

1. Protection
a. From elements of nature
- SCEILINGS
b. From wild animals
2. Comfort
a. To sleep and rest
3. Food storage
4. Perpetuation of human life

Influences:
HISTORY
Neolithic or New Stone Age
(8000-3000 BC)
-Hunting and food gathering
Examples:
- HUT

- BEEHIVE HUT

- CAVE

- TENT DWELLERS OF EASTERN EUROPE

Groups of hunting people in Eastern Europe 20,000
years ago lived in tents set in hollows in the ground. The
tents were made from animal skins stretched over a
frame of wood or mammoth tusks.
 A Navaho Indian dwelling constructed usually of earth
- TRULLO (Alberobello, Bari Province and logs and covered with mud and sod.

- IGLOO

A traditional rendered stone dwelling in Apulia, southern

Italy, in which square chambers are roofed with conical
vaulted roofs.

- WIGWAM An Eskimo House, usually built of blocks of hard snow

or ice in the shape of a dome, or when permanent, a sod,
wood, or stone.

- TIPI

An American Indian dwelling, usually of round or oval

shape, formed of poles overlaid with bark, rush mats, or
animal skins.

- HOGAN
A portable Indian Shelter

RELIGION
No organized religion
Burial rituals and monuments
 MEGALITHIC ARCHITECTURE The Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites are
Preserve remains of monument made partially or wholly the location of hundreds of stone dolmen in Korea. The
of giant stones are found on islands or near the sea coast sites were designated as a World Heritage Site by
of the mainland. Unesco in 2000.

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM Variations:

Megalith – large stone used to construct a
structure either alone or together with other
stones, utilizing an interlocking system without
the use of mortar or cement.

Megalithic Structures
• Dolmen
- Two or more upright stones supporting a stone
or stone slab
- From the words dual, a table, and maen, a stone;
a prehistoric monument consisting of two or
more large upright stones supporting a Cove – Three standing stones, two on sides and one at
horizontal stone slab or capstone, and usually the back.
regarded as a tomb.
Examples:
- KILCLOONEY (Country Donegal, Ireland)

Trilithon – A structure consisting of two upright stones

supporting a horizontal lintel.

• Cromlech
It utilizes trabeation, the most basic construction system - A circular arrangement of megaliths enclosing a
for structures. It consists of vertical supports called posts dolmen or a burial mound.
that hold up horizontal elements called lintels. Examples:
- STONEHENGE (Wiltshire, England)
- GOINDOL (Gochang, South Korea)
A megalithic monument consisting of four rings of Tumulus – a mound of earth or stone protecting a tomb
trilithons and menhirs centered around an altar stone. It chamber or simple grave also called barrow.
is believed to have been used by a sun cult or for
astronomical observations.

Etruscan necropolis of Banditaccia at Cerveteri

• Menhirs (Monoliths)
- A prehistoric monument consisting of an upright
stone, usually standing alone but sometimes
- STONE CIRCLE (Avebury, England) aligned with others in parallel rows.

Example:
- KERLOAS MENHIR (Brittany, France)

These stone circles were associated with burials, others

with cremation.
They also worked as celestial observatories that were
meant to follow the movements of the moon and stars, as
would have been typical for early agrarian-based
societies.

• Passage Grave (Tumuli)

- The dominant Megalithic Tomb type, of which
may exist in France and England, has a corridor
lined with large stone slabs leading to a circular
chamber often having a corbelled vault.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE ANCIENT NEAR - Palaces and Temples were decorated with
EAST enameled brick friezes of bulls and lions.
- Fertile Crescent; present day Iraq Examples:
- From the Greek words mesos and potamas, - TOWER OF BABEL (Lucas Van
meaning “middle river”. Valckenborch)
- Refers to the Fertile plain between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.

S U M E R I A N (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.
- 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 bake
in kilns).
- Its four corners were oriented towards the As described in the Bible, this structure may have been
cardinal points. built in Babylon around 600 B.C. by King
- Priests conduct ceremonies at the fire altar on Nebuchadnezzar II to “rival heaven”.
top.
Examples: Herodutus recorded that the ziggurat had 7 tiers covered
- ZIGGURAT OF UR (Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq) 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.

According to the Old Testament (see Genesis 11:1-9).

The builders intended the lower to reach to heaven; their
presumption, however, angered Yahweh, who
interrupted construction by causing among them a
previously unknown confusiori of languages. He then
scattered these people, speaking different languages,
over the face of the earth.

- HANGING GARDENS
One of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.”

A temple dedicated to the moon god built by the

Sumerian ruler, Ur Nammu, and his successors around
2125 B.C. It has a solid core of mud brick and faced
with burnt brickwork. It carried the usual temple at the
summit.

B A B Y L O N I A N (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.
 body constituted the actual temple of Marduk, with an
outbuilding attached to the temple.

A S S Y R I A N (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.

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 Example:
lush gardens that were irrigated by water pumped from - DUR-SHARRUKIN
Euphrates. Palace of Sargon. Khorsabad, Iraq. Sargon II
- ISHTAR GATE
Reconstructed, Pergamon Museum, Berlin.

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,
Large, four-storey portal dominating the processional and wine cellar.
avenue through the city. It was covered in glazed bricks,
colorful tiles, and decorative figures of bulls and APARTMENTS IN AN ASSYRIAN PALACE:
dragons. Seraglio – palace proper
Haram- private chamber
Eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. Khan – Service chamber

- THE TEMPLE OF MARDUK (The Supreme PERSIAN (500-331 B.C.)

God) - Characterized by a synthesis of architectural
An impression of power radiated by this massive elements of surrounding countries, such as
architecture. Heavily bastioned, built in clay, with its Assyria, Egypt, and Ionian Greece.
huge square towers and its crenelated terraces. The main
PERSEPOLIS (Fars Province, Iran. Darius)
 - Darius designed his own capital city, Persepolis
(“the city of the Persians”)

PARTS OF THE PALACE PERSEPOLIS EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

○ Apadana- great audience hall
○ Throne Room – “Hall of a Hundred Columns.”
○ Tachara- smallest of the palace buildings in Persepolis.
○Tripylon- Reception chamber and guard room.
- 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.
- Centralized omnipotent authority of the Pharaoh
(King of ancient Egypt), seen as a god dwelling
on earth, and sole master of the country and its
inhabitants.
- Knowledge in astronomy, mathematics,
philosophy, and music.

Plan (Persepolis)
GEOLOGY/GEOGRAPHY
Egypt’s possession of the Nile was of immense
advantage, not only on account of its value as a trade
route, and as means of communication, but also
because its waters were the fertilizing agents that
made desert sands into fruitful fields.

RELIGION
- Cult of many Gods representing nature.
- Egyptians wished for a fine burial, embalmment
and funeral rites. A permanent tomb or eternal
dwelling.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
- Simplicity
- Massiveness
- Monumentality

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
- Columnar and Trabeated
Staircase of Persepolis
MATERIALS
- Stone: Abundant in variety and quantity
- Soft stone: limestone. Sandstone, alabaster
- Hard stone: Granite, quartite, basalt

CLIMATE
- Spring and Summer

COLUMNIATION, CAPITALS
- Lotus Capital
- Papyrus Capital
- Palm Capital
- Square Pillar
 - Polygonal Column
- Palm-Type Column
- Bud-and-bell Column
- Foliated Capital Column
- Hathor-headed column
- Osiris Pillars

ROOF AND CEILING

- Flat roofs sufficed to cover and exclude heat.

WALL
- Batter wall diminishing in width towards the
top.

OPENINGS (1stone facing, 2 sacrificial chapel, 3 tombstone

- No windows; skylights, roof slits, clerestories (serdab), 4 fill, 5 shaft, 6 masonry seal, 7 stone slab, 8
burial chamber, 9 sarcophagus)
DECORATIONS
- TEMPLES
- “Gorge” or “Hollow and Roll” moulding
An edifice or place dedicated to the worship or presence
- Hieroglyphics
of a deity.
- Sphinxes
- Solar Disc and vulture with spread wings
- Scarab, symbol of resurrection
- Papyrus, lotus, and palm symbolizing fertility
- Grapes symbolizing eternity

ORIENTATION
- Faces towards cardinal points

Pylon – monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple

consisting with slanting walls flanking the entrance Kinds of Temples
portal. - Cult Temple
An ancient Egyptian temple for the worship of the deity.
Examples:
- MASTABA - Mortuary Temple
A tomb for the nobility or members of the royal family. An ancient Egyptian temple for offerings and worship of
a deceased person, usually a deified king.

-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. An Egyptian monolithic four-sided standing stone,
One of the main components of this political/religious tapering to a pyramidical cap (a pyramidion), often
landscape was the temple complex of Karnak. inscribed with hieroglyphs and erected as a monument.

- PYLON

A gateway guarding a sacred precinct consisting of both

a pair of tall truncated pyramids and a doorway between
them, often decorated with painted reliefs.
- AVENUE OF SPHINXES
- HYPOSTYLE HALL

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.

- OBELISK
 A freestanding stone canopy structure supported by
columns in Egyptian Architecture.

Hypaethral –a classical temple that is wholly a partly

open to the sky.
A large hall having many columns in rows supporting a
flat roof, and sometimes a clerestory. - MAMMISI (Dandera Temple Complex,
Dendera Egypt)
- PYLON TEMPLE

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
An Egyptian Temple type with monumental gateways, children.
formed by twined pylons.

- BARQUE TEMPLE
- KIOSKS

A room or building in which the image of the Pharaoh or
deity was revered.
- MORTUARY TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT
Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple played a key role
in the professional 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.
Built along hillsides for nobility, not royalty.
- TEMPLE AT ABU SIMBEL (near Philae,
Egypt)
The façade, 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 contains 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 Djoser.
FORMS OF PYRAMID
- Step Pyramid
A pyramid-type whose sides are stepped with tiers rather
than smooth, in Egypt predating the true pyramids.
PYRAMID OF DJOSER (Saqqara, 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.
Built by Imhotep, architect to King Zoser; begun as a In an effort to save the building. The designers added a
mastaba-tomb then successively enlarged; made of kink or bend to reduce the weight and the angle of the
limestone; and set within a complex of buildings. slope (from 52 to 43.5 degrees)

- Slope Pyramid/Straight-sided Pyramid

An Egyptian pyramid-type in which four sloping
triangular sides, with a fixed angle, culminate at an apex.
Also, true pyramid.

NORH PYRAMID OF DAHSHUR (Dahshur, Egypt)

Section through step pyramid and tomb of Djoser.

- 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

The first true pyramid completed in Egypt; built by King

Sneferu between 2575-2551 BCE.

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA (Giza, Egypt)

(Cheops. Chephren, Mykerinos)

Erected on the west bank of Nile River; 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. 11 Western necropolis
12 boat grave, boat pit
PARTS OF A PYRAMID COMPLEX 13 Eastern necropolis
- Mortuary Temple 14 pyramid
In ancient Egyptian Architecture, a place of worship of a 15 mortuary temple, pyramid temple
deceased king or queen, especially one adjoining a 16 pyramid causeway
pyramid or rock cut tomb, in which offerings of food 17 valley temple
and objects are made; also called a funerary temple. 18 queen’s pyramid
19 sphinx
- Valley Temple 20 sphinx 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.

- Pyramid Temple
A mortuary temple connected specifically to a pyramid,
or part of an Egyptian pyramid complex.
Mortuary and Valley Temples of Khafre at Giza
- 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.

A scalar comparison of Egyptian pyramids

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 Bell capital, blossom capital, campaniform, open capital
building on the lower half, so fewer stones have to be
hauled to the top.

EGYPTIAN CAPITALS

Lotus Capital, Lotiform, Lily Capital

Palm Capital, Palmiform (Plume Capital)

Tent Pole Capital

Papyrus Capital, Papyriform

Bud capital, closed bud capital, closed capital

Composite Column Hathor Column

Papyrus Capital, Papyriform


Hathor Column Osiris Column, Osiris Pillar
MINOAN ARCHITECTURE
- 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 of Knossos, Crete, Greece
- Largest palace built by the Minoans.
The Palace contained residences, kitchens, storage
rooms, bathrooms, ceremonial rooms, workshops, and
sanctuaries.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
- Delicacy of outline, perfected proportions and
refined treatment.
- Based the different proportions of their
construction systems on mathematical ratios.
- The first manifestation was a wooden structure
of upright posts supporting beams and sloping
rafters.
- Completed with sophisticated optical corrections
for perspective.
- Major public buildings were built with limestone
and marble. Blocks of stone were held in place
by Bronze or iron pins set into molten lead.
PHASES : Aegean, Hellenic, Hellenistic
AEGEAN PERIOD
- Structures were generally rough and massive.
- The capital is ornamented with a square abacus,
and a circular bulbous ehinus.
- Cyclopean walls: large stones without mortar,
on clay bedding.
- Use of corbelled arch.
- Megaron: Single storey dwelling with a central
room and porticoed entrance; columns support
roof; thalamus (bedroom).
-
HELLENIC PERIOD
- Of or pertaining to ancient Greek history, culture
and art.
- The temple became the chief building type.
- Columnar and Trabeated; Carpentry in marble.
- Materials used were timber, stone, and terra
cotta.
 - Refinements to correct optical illusion (entasis,
swelling of columns)
- Structures were ornamented with sculptures,
colors and mural paintings.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD
- Greek culture was modified by foreign elements.
- A diversion from religious building types; civic
structures were also built; later will be an
inspiration for Roman Architecture.
- The design and layout of building are
symmetrical and orderly.
- Moldings were used for decorations.
- Temple entrances faced east.

Greek Temples – are the chief building type of the

Hellenic Period.

ACROPOLIS
- “City on the Height” : In classical Greek
Architecture, a city stronghold or fortress
constructed on higher ground than surrounding
urban fabric.
- Built from 447-438 B.C. in honor of Athena, the
city’s patron goddess.
- Used the proportion 2n+1 in determining the
number of columns on the sides of a temple
(n=number of column at front)

Parts of Greek Temple

Acropolis of Athens (Reconstructed Model)

TEMENOS
- The sacred area or enclosure surrounding a
classical Greek Temple.

PROPYLAEA THE GREEK ORDERS (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian)

- A monumental gateway to a sacred enclosure,
fortification, town or square. DORIC
- Oldest, simplest and most massive of the three
Examples: Greek orders.
- Developed in Greece in the 7th century B.C.
PARTHENON (Athens, Greece)
Characteristics:
- Fluted (concave curves) Columns having no
base
- Capital : square abacus at top, rounded echinus
at the bottom.
- Entablature: plain architrave, a frieze of
triglyphs and metopes, and a cornice, the corona
on which has mutules on its softfit.