INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR

DESIGN&ANCIENT PERIOD – EGYPTIAN

 CONTENT

 Introduction
 Ancient period – Egyptian
(Brief history of Egypt – geographical climate, society)
 INTRODUCTION

In the past, interiors were put together instinctively as a part of the process of building. The
profession of interior design has been a consequence of the development of society and
the complex architecture that has resulted from the development of industrial processes.
The pursuit of effective use of space, user well-being and functional design has contributed
to the development of the contemporary interior designing.

In ancient Egypt, "soul houses" or models of houses were placed in tombs as receptacles for
food offerings. From these, it is possible to discern details about the interior design of
different residences throughout the different Egyptian dynasties, such as changes in
ventilation, porticoes, columns, loggias, windows, and doors.

Throughout the 17th and 18th century, and into the early 19th Century, interior decoration
was the concern of the homemaker or, an employed upholsterer or craftsman who would
advise on the artistic style for an interior space. Architects would also employ craftsmen or
artisans to complete interior design for their buildings.
 ANCIENT PERIOD – EGYPTIAN

Egypt, country located in the northeaster corner of Africa. Egypt’s heartland, the Nile River
valley and delta, was the home of one of the principal civilizations of the ancient Middle
and, like Mesopotamia farther east, was the site of one of the world’s earliest urban and
literate societies. Pharaonic Egypt thrived for some 3,000 years through a series of native
dynasties that were interspersed with brief periods of foreign rule. After Alexander the
Great conquered the region in 323 B.C, urban Egypt became an integral part of the
Hellenistic. Under the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, an advanced literate society thrived in the
city of Alexandria, but what is now Egypt was conquered by the Romans in 30 bc. It
remained part of the Roman Republic and Empire and then part of Rome’s successor state,
the Byzantine Empire, until its conquest by Arab Muslim armies in ad 639–642.

Despite the incongruent ethnicity of successive ruling groups and the cosmopolitan nature
of Egypt’s larger urban centres, the language and culture of the rural, agrarian masses—
whose lives were largely measured by the annual rise and fall of the Nile River, with its
annual inundation—had changed only marginally throughout the centuries.
 EGYPT: GEOGRAPHY

The geography of ancient Egypt was dominated, as is today, by the combination of lack of
rainfall and the Nile River. The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the "gift of the Nile",
since the kingdom owed its survival to the annual flooding of the Nile and the resulting
depositing of fertile silt. The Nile River flows into the Mediterranean Sea, and there is a
delta at the mouth.

The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black
land' and the 'red land'.

The 'black land' was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians used
this land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be
farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile
flooded.

Black land Red land

The 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts
separated ancient Egypt from neighbouring countries and invading armies. They also
provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semi-precious stones.

Egypt is 386,650 square miles of land and its highest point is 6,668 feet and the lowest
point is 436 feet below sea level. Almost all of Egypt’s land is desert and there are hardly
any trees to see for miles. One of the best sites in Egypt is the Nile River. The Nile River runs
north trough Egypt and it’s the longest river in Africa. The Nile River has seasonal flooding
so the people built the Aswan Dam. The Aswan Dam allows more crop planting but it may
cause environmental problems.
Egypt has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The country borders
Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east, and Sudan to the south.

A gift to the people of Egypt, the longest river in the world flows north from the heart of
Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Its flood plain was an extensive oasis, a magnet for life --
human, plant and animal. Humans were drawn there because they could grow crops and
settle into permanent villages. The annual flooding of the Nile deposited nutrient rich silt on
the land, creating all the ingredients needed to support life and the growth of a great
civilization.

Bounded on the south, east and west by a impenetrable desert, and on the north by the
sea, ancient Egypt was protected from outside influences, which allowed it to evolve in its
own unique way.
 EGYPT- CLIMATE

Egypt essentially has a hot desert climate .The climate is generally extremely dry all over
the country except on the northern Mediterranean coast which receives more rainfall in
winter. Throughout Egypt, days are commonly warm or hot, and nights are cool. Egypt has
only two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to
October. The only differences between the seasons are variations in daytime temperatures
and changes in prevailing winds. In the coastal regions, temperatures range between an
average minimum of 14 C in winter and an average maximum of 30 C in summer.

Temperatures vary widely in the inland desert areas, especially in summer, when they may
range from 7 C at night to 43 C during the day. During winter, temperatures in the desert
fluctuate less dramatically, but they can be as low as 0 C at night and as high as 18 C during
the day.

The average annual temperature increases moving southward from the Delta to the
Sudanese border, where temperatures are similar to those of the open deserts to the east
and west. In the north, the cooler temperatures of Alexandria during the summer have
made the city a popular resort. Throughout the Delta and the northern Nile Valley, there
are occasional winter cold spells accompanied by light frost and even snow. At Aswan, in
the south, June temperatures can be as low as 10 C at night and as high as 41 C during the
day when the sky is clear.

Egypt receives fewer than eighty

millimetres of precipitation annually
in most areas. Most rain falls along
the coast, but even the wettest area,
around Alexandria, receives only
about 200 millimetres of precipitation
per year. Alexandria has relatively
high humidity, but sea breezes help
keep the moisture down to a
comfortable level. Moving southward,
the amount of precipitation decreases
suddenly. Cairo receives a little more than one centimeter of precipitation each year. The
city, however, reports humidity as high as 77 percent during the summer. But during the
rest of the year, humidity is low.
The areas south of Cairo receive only traces of rainfall. Some areas will go years without
rain and then experience sudden downpours that result in flash floods. Sinai receives the
areas south of Cairo receive only traces of rainfall. Some areas will go years without rain
and then experience sudden downpours that result in flash floods. Sinai receives somewhat
more rainfall (about twelve centimetres annually in the north) than the other desert areas,
and the region is dotted by numerous wells and oases, which support small population
centres that formerly were focal points on trade routes.

A phenomenon of Egypt's climate is the hot spring wind that blows across the country. The
winds, known to Europeans as the sirocco and to Egyptians as the khamsin, usually arrive in
April but occasionally occur in March and May.
 EGYPT- SOCIETY

The ancient Egyptian people were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the
top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest the top of society
were the richest and most powerful.
The Pharaoh was believed to be a God on earth and had the most power. He was
responsible for making laws and keeping order, ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or
invaded by enemies and for keeping the Gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there was
a good harvest.

The Vizier was the Pharaoh's chief advisor and was sometimes also the High Priest. He was
responsible for overseeing administration and all official documents had to have his seal of
approval. He was also responsible for the supply of food, settling disputes between nobles
and the running and protection of the Pharaoh's household.
Nobles ruled the regions of Egypt (Nomes). They were responsible for making local laws
and keeping order in their region.

Priests were responsible for keeping the Gods happy. They did not preach to people but
spent their time performing rituals and ceremonies to the God of their temple
Scribes were the only people who could read and write and were responsible for keeping
records. The ancient Egyptians recorded things such as how much food was produced at
harvest time, how many soldiers were in the army, numbers of workers and the number of
giftsgiven to the Gods.

Soldiers were responsible for the defence of the country. Many second sons, including
those of the Pharaoh often chose to join the army. Soldiers were allowed to share riches
captured from enemies and were also rewarded with land for their service to the country.
Craftsmen were skilled workers such as - pottery makers, leatherworkers, sculptors,
painters, weavers, jewellery makers, shoe makers, tailors. Groups of craftsmen often
worked together in workshops.

Farmers worked the land of the Pharaoh and nobles and were given housing, food and
clothes in return. Some farmers rented land from nobles and had to pay a percentage of
their crop as their rent.
 EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

The principle architecture of ancient Egypt was developed mainly on post and lintel construction. This
system of columns and lintels is known as Trabeated Construction and is one of the most characteristic
features of Egyptian architecture. Excavations show that Egyptian houses were two or three stories high,
often with arched ceilings and were constructed from sun-dried brick called adobe As these bricks were
not very strong the walls were built in a slanting form i.e. the walls were thicker at the base and narrowed
as the height increased. With the invention of stone cutting tools, the slanting walls were imitated in
granite. In wide rooms numerous columns had to be placed in the interior to support the short stone
beams. These columns were arranged in long rows and were richly decorated with carvings.

The Egyptians believed that the spirits of the dead lived on in an afterlife. The stone pyramids were built as
the last resting-place of their kings. These tombs were lavishly outfitted to ensure a good after life.
Probably the most famous structure in all of Egypt, the Pyramids are still on of the world’s best
architectural achievement, even though they were built many centuries ago. These structures can be as tall
as 482 feet high. The Pyramid towers over many other famous landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty.
 The first true pyramid was built at Saqqara for the King Zoser. It was called a step pyramid because of its
step shape. The later pyramids were smooth sided, like the Great Pyramid at Giza, built for the king Khufu
about 4,500 years ago.

The smooth sided pyramid was built from the Dynasty IV and on. They were built by first having men chisel
the block of granite the way that they wanted it. The stonemasons used special rods to check that a stone
block was cut accurately. Next, the blocks stayed in the quarry until the flood season. They did this so they
could use barges to haul over the heavy granite blocks. Once the boast had arrived near the pyramid and
unloaded the blocks, they were hauled up a ramp. Then, ropes and levers were used to maneuver the huge
blocks into position. The overseer checked that every block was laid correctly. Once all of the granite
blocks were placed in place, labourers rubbed the casing blocks with polishing stones until they would
shine in the sun. The overseers used plump lines to check that the angle of the slope was correct.

As for the finishing touches, workers placed hieroglyphics around the pyramid as well as many statues.
There were also a lot of bright and vibrant coloured columns. There were also one or two large boats
buried near the tomb so the king to have a peaceful sail over to the Next World.
As for the path that leads up to the pyramid, there was first the Valley Temple. When the king died, his
body was first rowed across the Nile to the Valley Temple to be mummified. Next, there was the causeway.
This was a covered processional way which came from the Valley Temple. The walls on the inside were
decorated many times, and there were holes in the roof to provide light. At the end of the Causeway, there
was the Mortuary Temple. This was built against the side of the pyramid. The Mortuary Temple was the
place where priests made offerings to the king's spirit every day for eternity.

The number of granite blocks was enormous. There had to be a huge quarry to supply the huge demand.
And of course, there were many accidents at the construction site. There were doctors on the site, but
little helped for sprained or broken body parts. Eventually, the whole pyramid was built, and all of the
sweat and toil paid off.

Before the pyramid, the kings used to be buried inside of tombs. The tomb itself was usually composed of
two distinct parts: the chapel and crypt. The highly decorated walls of the funerary chapel accommodated
a false door. This was the symbol linking the living with the dead, and there was a carved image of the
tomb owner. The halls were flanked by several smaller rooms housing the deceased's provisions such as
furniture, offerings, sacred text, victuals, etc.
The original Early Dynastic shape of the royal funerary monument evolved to a 'true' pyramid in a couple of
steps. Netjerikhet's Step Pyramid at Saqqara represents the earliest type of pyramid-shaped monument.
The pyramid at Meidum was apparently originally built to be a Step Pyramid, but its shape was altered to
correspond to the Old Kingdom standard, before it collapsed. The Bent Pyramid at Dashur represents the
first attempt to build a 'true' pyramid. The final outcome is best demonstrated by the pyramids at Giza.

In the rear, there was a burial shaft below ground which led to the actual crypt. Although it was walled in
or dissimulated by all sorts of subterfuges-fits, snares, booby traps, and false galleries- the storerooms and
chapel were devoted to the cult which remained accessible to the deceased's family and friends and to the
priests who continued rituals. The crypt was highly decorated with carved reliefs and wall paintings which
described the truths expected to exist for eternity and depicting the figures of priests and servants. They
would accompany the deceased and his retinue to his afterlife.

Evolution of the Egyptian Pyramid

Pyramids of Giza

The pyramids of Giza, built in the Fourth Dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state.
They were built to serve both as grave sites and a way to make their names last forever. The size and
simple design show the level of Egyptian design and engineering on a large scale.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, which was probably completed c. 2580 BC, is the oldest and largest of the
pyramids. It is also the only surviving monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The pyramid of Khafre is believed to have been completed around 2532 BC. Khafre ambitiously placed his
pyramid next to his fathers.

It is not as tall as his father's pyramid, but he gave it the impression of appearing taller by building it on a
site with a high foundation.
Great Sphinx

Along with building his pyramid, Khafre commissioned the building of the Great Sphinx as guardian over his
tomb. The face of a human, possibly a depiction of the pharaoh, on a lion's body was seen as a symbol of
divinity among the Greeks 1,500 years later.

The Great Sphinx is carved out of huge blocks of sandstone and stands about 65 feet tall.
Post and Lintel Construction

The Egyptians developed post-and-lintel construction—the type exclusively used in their monumental
buildings—even though the use of the arch was developed during the dynasty of Snefru (2780–2689 B.C.).

Walls were immensely thick. Columns were confined to the halls and inner courts. Roofs, invariably flat,
suited to the lack of rain, were of huge stone blocks supported by the external walls and the closely spaced
columns.
Egyptian Columns

During the reign of the great kings of Egypt, roughly between 3,050 BC and 900 BC, at least thirty distinct
column styles evolved. The earliest builders carved columns from enormous blocks of limestone,
sandstone, and red granite. Later, columns were constructed from stacks of stone disks.

Some Egyptian columns have polygon-shaped shafts with as many as 16 sides. Other Egyptian columns are
circular. The ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, who lived in 27th century B.C, is credited with carving
stone columns to resemble bundled reeds and other plant forms. The columns were placed close together
so they could carry the the weight of the heavy stone roof beams.

Common Features on Egyptian Columns:

Stone shafts carved to resemble tree trunks or bundled reeds or plant stems

Lily, lotus, palm or papyrus plant motifs on the capitals (tops)

hBud-shaped or campaniform (bell-shaped) capitals

uBrightly painted carved relief decorations

a - Lotus Column (Bell) b - Lotus Column (Bud) c - Papyrus Column (Bud) d - Papyrus
Column (Bell) e- Hathor Columns

Architectural Features

General temple layout:

Many of the best preserved examples of Egyptian temples date to the New Kingdom (1550-
1069 BCE), a period of national wealth and renewed interest in monumental building.
Although each temple’s layout is unique, these buildings shows remarkable unity of plan, demonstrating
that Egyptian architects envisioned the temple as composed of a series of core parts. Temples built in
subsequent periods were greatly influenced by this design, and they generally retain the basic plan
developed in the late 18th Dynasty.1 The basic layout of these temples consisted of the following features:

• Entrance gateway or pylon

• Open court

• Columned/hypostyle hall

• Rear sanctuary with side rooms

• Naos (central shrine)

Each temple combined these elements in distinct ways, differing due to location, the god to whom it was
dedicated and royal patronage. Some temples, like Karnak, became important show places for the king,
expressed in continued building efforts. As a result, temples expanded significantly as multiple features,
such as courts and halls, were appended onto the original structures.
The Temples of Karnak:

Big, bold, and hugely ambitious, Luxor's mammoth Temple of Karnak complex is one of Ancient Egypt's
grandest building projects. Every pharaoh worth their salt added and amended the buildings here during
their reign, stamping their seal on the kingdom's most revered religious sanctuary. For Karnak was the
house of the gods, and its glories were to be feted by all.

Although sacked by the Assyrian and Persian armies and looted and pilfered by early explorers and
travelers who carted off statues and masonry, there are few other temple complexes in the world that are
still so commanding and majestic today. The Pharaonic kingdoms may be long gone, but their power lives
on in this triumphant testament of stone.
Egyptian Architectural Terms:

Pylon

Pylons are large stone or brick entranceways to Egyptian temples or sacred arenas formed by two
trapezoidal towers split by a gateway, originally outfitted with a large wooden door. The towers are
battered, rimmed with a torus molding, and topped with a cavetto cornice. Egyptian texts suggest that the
pylons sym bolically represented two mountains on the horizon, a symbol well known from the
hieroglyphic script, between which the sun rose to start life anew each day.

Flagstaff

Pylons at Egyptian temples were often adorned with large wooden flagstaffs topped by colorful cloth
banners. The tall poles stood on stone bases, and were arranged within square notches left in the pylon’s
exterior masonry. Clamps se cured to the pylon itself further stabilized their upper portions, holes for
which are still visible today.

Court

A court is a space that is open to the sky, enclosed by surrounding structures. In Egyptian temples, the
court usually followed the entrance pylon or gateway, and fronted a columned hall. The court was the site
of the few events accessible by the public that took place within the temple walls, as access to the inner
sections of Egyptian temples was limited to the priests servicing the deities.
Colonnade

Colonnades are formed by aligned columns, often supporting a roof.13 Colon nades front several building
entrances in Thebes, including the porches of the temples of Khonsu and “Amun-Ra-who-hears-prayers” at
Karnak and the area between the second pylon and hypostyle hall in Luxor temple. In addition, colonnades
were used to create a partial roofed area along the walls of open courts, such as along the north and south
sides of the first court at Karnak.

Bark shrine

A bark shrine is a room or structure, usually including a stone platform or ledge, meant for the placement
of the god’s portable bark (the sacred boat). These could be located within the core, central section of the
temple (sometimes more specifically called the bark chamber), or along processional routes, sometimes
outside the temple proper (sometimes more specifically called the bark station).

Hypostyle hall

A hypostyle hall is a flat-roofed room supported by a series of columns or pillars. In Egyptian temples,
these columned halls usually stand perpendicular to the central axis line. The great hypostyle hall at Karnak
is the largest in Egypt, and one of the largest examples in the world.
Architectural Characteristics and Materials

In general, Egyptian architectural designs were monumental but not architecturally

complex: they used posts and lintels, not arches, although Egyptian stone masons had a
strong influence on later Greek sculpture and architecture. The lack of wood was balanced
by an abundance of sun-baked mud bricks, and stone (mostly limestone, but also granite
and sandstone), although most major structures had to be built near the Nile, as building
materials were transported by river.

Stone was first introduced during the era of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181), initially only for
tombs and temples, and architectural sculpture. Bricks were used for everything else,
including royal palaces, fortified buildings, temple walls and outbuildings, as well as
municipal and other civic complexes. Most famous Egyptian architecture was completed
during two periods: the Old Kingdom (2686-2181) (mostly pyramids) and the New Kingdom
(1550-1069) (mostly temples).
Columns

As early as 2600 BC the architect Imhotep made use of stone columns whose surface was
carved to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds, like papyrus, lotus and palm; in later
Egyptian architecture faceted cylinders were also common. Their form is thought to derive
from archaic reed-built shrines. Carved from stone, the columns were highly decorated with
carved and painted hieroglyphs, texts, ritual imagery and natural motifs. Egyptian columns
are famously present in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak (circa 1224 BC), where 134
columns are lined up in 16 rows, with some columns reaching heights of 24 metres.

One of the most important type are the papyriform columns. The origin of these columns
goes back to the 5th Dynasty. They are composed of lotus (papyrus) stems which are drawn
together into a bundle decorated with bands: the capital, instead of opening out into the
shape of a bellflower, swells out and then narrows again like a flower in bud. The base,
which tapers to take the shape of a half-sphere like the stem of the lotus, has a
continuously recurring decoration of stipules. At the Luxor Temple, the columns are
reminiscent of papyrus bundles, perhaps symbolic of the marsh from which the ancient
Egyptians believed the creation of the world to have unfolded.
Architecture main points:
• Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were
sun-baked mud brick and limestone.

• Ancient Egyptian houses were made of mud collected from the Nile River. The mud was placed in
molds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden.

• Our understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based mainly on religious monuments. These
massive structures are characterized by thick, sloping walls with few openings, a method of
construction used to obtain stability.

• Ancient Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events like solstices and
equinoxes, requiring precise measurements at the moment of the particular event.

• The pyramids of Giza, which were built in the Fourth Dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic
religion and state.
Main Motifs used in Ancient Egypt

Papyrus:

The ancient Egyptian papyrus stem hieroglyph is one of the oldest language hieroglyphs
from Ancient Egypt. Along with the hieroglyph for the Papyrus clump, a symbol of the Nile
god Hapy, it is one of the foundation hieroglyphs at the core of the history of Ancient Egypt.
The papyrus stalk, (or stem) was incorporated into designs of columns on buildings, also
facades, and is also in the iconographic art portrayed in Ancient Egyptian decorated scenes.

Feather of Maat:

Represents truth, justice, morality and balance. It was pharaoh's job to uphold Maat. When
a pharaoh died, Maat was lost and the world was flung into chaos, only the coronation of a
new pharaoh could restore Maat.
Sesen:

A Lotus Flower. This is a symbol of the sun, of creation and rebirth. Because at night the
flower closes and sinks underwater, at dawn it rises and opens again. According to one
creation myth it was a giant lotus which first rose out of the watery chaos at the beginning
of time. From this giant lotus the sun itself rose on the first day. A symbol of Upper Egypt

Ankh:

Symbol of eternal life. The gods are often seen holding an ankh to someone's lips this is
considered to be an offering of "The Breath of Life". The breath you will need in the
afterlife. `
Scarab:

Called the dung beetle because of its practice of rolling a ball of dung across the ground.
The Egyptians observed this behavior and equated it with the ball of the sun being rolled
across the sky. They confused this balled food source with the egg sack that the female
dung beetle laid and buried in the sand. When the eggs hatched the dung beetles would
seem to appear from nowhere, making it a symbol of spontaneous creation. Khepri was the
scarab headed god.

Uraeus:

The cobra is an emblem of Lower Egypt. It is associated with the king, and kingdom of
Lower Egypt. It is also associated with the sun and with many deities. The cobra
represented the "fiery eye of Re", in which two uraei can be seen on either side of a winged
solar disk. Starting in Middle Kingdom The uraeus appears as a symbol worn on the crown
or headdress of royalty. It is used as a protective symbol, the Egyptians believed that the
cobra would spit fire at any approaching enemies.