ROMAN CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE

ROMAN CLASSICAL
ARCHITECTURE
⚫ Roman architecture is a style of architecture that developed in ancient Rome and was used throughout the Roman
Empire. Roman architecture was a marvelous mixture of civic and religious buildings. Engineering and
architecture allowed for the creation of aqueducts, venues for entertainment, and also exquisite temples. It
reflected the practical character, restless energy and organizational mindset of its creators.

⚫ The Romans were clearly adventurous and highly skilled engineers. More than anything else, this is seen in
their roads, which ran for hundreds of miles across all sorts of terrain, and played an important part in
knitting the empire together so effectively. Laying out these roads involved advanced surveying techniques,
using instruments which were adapted from those used byastronomers to measure angles.

⚫ As with many other areas, the Romans took an idea and pushed it to its maximum possibility, and the huge
imperial bath complexes, arches springing directly from column capitals, and domes which spanned
seemingly impossible distances. Roman architecture is also characterized by the use of massive concrete
structures, such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon, as well as by the use of the arch and the dome.
 1) INTRODUCTION

• Roman architecture was a combination of Greek and Roman culture

• The Greek temples with columns all around was fused with the Roman front-facing
temple built on a high podium
• Ancient Rome emphasized the use of columns in their architecture
• The columns were utilized as a support and decoration. The Romans came up with five
different types of columns, which are the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite.
Most of these, however, were adopted from Greek columns.
• The architectural technique of the arch and column is a trademark of Ancient Rome.
• The Romans applied the arch to many of their buildings
• Two of the first structures to carry arches are bridges and aqueducts. Triumphal arches
were later constructed to honor their leaders, and vaults came into practice, which are
arched roofs.
• Distinctive Roman manner of building, sculpting and painting emerged in 2nd century BC.
 1) INTRODUCTION
• They became more exposed to other artistic cultures, notably that of Greece as they began
to expand throughout Italy and the Mediterranean.
• Patrons are not just the emperors, senators, and the aristocrats, but of all the peoples of
Rome’s vast empire including middle-class businessmen, freedmen, slaves and soldiers.
• Roman Architecture was eclectic because of the extraordinary geographic extent of
patrons.
• Cohesive factor through all the differences was the Roman character i.e. the ability to
organize in large and complex terms, politically, architecturally, or otherwise.
• Modern knowledge of Roman architecture derives primarily from studies of architectural
remains scattered throughout the empire.
• Another source of information is a vast store of records, including dedicatory and other
inscription on public works.
• The end of Roman arts and the beginning of Medieval architecture is usually said to occur
with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine the Great to Christianity on AD330.
• Roman styles continued however in Christian guise onto later civilization.
 FOUNDING OF ROME

⚫ According to legend , Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus. After killing his brother,
Romulus became the first king of Rome.Aline of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations)
kings followed in a non- hereditary succession.

⚫ The Roman Republic governed Rome as it changed from single city-state to enormous empire. As its
power expanded, the republic’s leaders met new challenges by adapting old institutions to meet
unforeseen challenges.

⚫ Rome went from kingdom status to Republican to full blown empire in 49BC when Julius Caesar crossed
the river from Gaul to Rome, become consul of Rome to its decline in 476 AD when the last Roman
emperor in the West was deposed of.
 2) ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCES

Geographical

• Much of the country is mountainous but not broken up into isolated city-states as in
Greece.
• Rome has a central and commanding position in the Mediterranean Sea.
• While the Greeks were seafaring people, Romans extended their influences by conquest
or annexation
• Roman Empire was not confined geographically to Italy but included all those parts of
north-western Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. (Spain, Britain, Germany, Syria,
Romania and North Africa).
 Geological
• Romans had iron , copper, and tin, terracotta and brick in addition to stone and
marble of the Greeks.
• they had various building stones such as tufa (with varying degree of hardness);
peperino; travertine (hard limestone from Tivoli); besides excellent sand and gravel.
• the building material which led to great structural innovations was concrete formed
of stone or brick rubble and a mortar of which the most important ingredient was
pozzolana (a volcanic earth).
• white and colored marbles imported from all parts of the empire were also used
extensively.
• Despite abundance of varying building materials in regions under its control,
concrete, in conjunction with its brick or stone facings was the favorite material,
which helped give uniformity of style throughout the empire.
 Climate
• Due to the wide expanse of the empire, there were varieties of climatic conditions.

• North Italy has the climate of the temperate region of Europe; central Italy is genial and
sunny, while the south is almost tropical.

• This variety of climatic conditions account for diversity of architectural features and
treatment, and produced local modifications in details, yet the Roman architectural
character was so pronounced and assertive as to leave little choice in general design.
 Religion
• They had a polytheist religion which was a fusion of several gods.
• roman gods acquired similar attributes to those of the Greeks but retained their Latin
names and rites.
• The religion of ancient Rome under the priest class acting as apparatus of the state,
soon became part of the constitution of the state.
• The emperor ultimately received divine honours and was described as the head of all
varieties of deities under the widespread Roman rule.
• Dissatisfaction with state religion showed itself from time to time.
• Every family had an altar to the family gods (Lares) and ancestor worship was a
recognized art of religious rites.
• Despite periodic persecution, Christianity increased in its appeal, and it became
sufficiently widespread to be recognized by the Emperor (Pontifex Maximus)
Constantine in 313AD as equal with other religions.
 3) ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Building materials

• Concrete: Rome’s Significant Architectural Breakthrough

1. The Roman invention of concrete will forever impact how we design and construct large
architectural structures today.
2. Although the formulas for mixing concrete have been altered and changed, the same
techniques used during the Roman period are used today.
3. The Romans loved to imitate Greek architecture but were not able to get marble easily.
4. They began to mix materials available, such as lime, mortar, gravel, and rubble.
5. Strong walls were constructed out of this and then covered with decorative brick or marble.
6. They eventually added volcanic ash, which created concrete that could set under water.
• Volcanic stones eg. tufa, peperino, albani and travertine. Used for the exterior walls and
interior decorations on public buildings. e.g. Colosseum in Rome.
• Marble: used mainly for decorative purposes. It was set in cement and applied in slabs to bricks
and concrete walls. Also used for pavements either by cutting it into slabs and arranged in
patterns or as mosaic. e.g. Flavian Palace in Rome and Hadrian‟s Villa at Tivoli.
• Unburnt bricks (faced with stucco): used especially for private houses (very few remains).
• Kiln-baked bricks and tiles: used as the most common facing for concrete as a protective skin.
• Stucco: used as a facing over unbaked bricks, coarse stone and concrete. Served as a protection
against weather and also as a finish. Takes a high polish or fine moulding; hence it became the
vogue for decoration especially in the interior of houses.
• Bronze: used in a decorative manner on doors, grilles, panels of ceilings, and other details.
• Pozzolana: a fine, chocolate-red volcanic earth, which when mixed with hydrated lime forms
excellent cement that will set even under water. When mixed with aggregates, it forms concrete
which lightens the weight of structures. Concrete was used in all great imperial buildings (e.g.
baths of Caracalla and Basilica of Maxentius in Rome). It enabled the development of new
architectural forms by the Romans.
 Building Construction

• Masonry or concrete walls (faced or unfaced): early stonewalling were without

courses (continuous horizontal layers). Concrete walls, except below ground, were
always faced.

• Columns and piers: usually of stone and monolithic.

• Arches: used in gates, bridges, and aqueducts, as well as in colonnades and doors.

• Vaults: Roman vaults were simple geometric forms. They are usually composed of
stone, concrete, or brick and are heavy structures that exert downward and outward
pressure onto their supports.
 Types of Vaults
• Barrel vault: it is semicircular in shape and the simplest form of vault. It is a
continuous series of arches deep enough to cover a three-dimensional space. It the
same kind of thrust as the circular arch and must be buttressed along its entire length
by heavy walls with limited openings.

• Groin (intersecting) vault: it is formed when two barrel vaults intersect at right
angles, which when repeated on series, could span rectangular areas of unlimited
length.

• Rib vaults: it is a groin vault that had ribs added along the groins.
ARCHES AND VAULTS
 I) USE OF COLUMNS
• Columns were used both as functional and decorative architectural elements. Columns
regularly featured in Roman temples and basilicas. In Roman temples, unlike the Greek
ones, columns did not go around the temple’s main chamber; they were embedded in
the walls along the sides and back of the chamber.

• The Romans used the Greek orders, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, as well as the wholly-
Roman Tuscan and Composite orders.
 DORIC COLUMNS

• Doric Style – Columns built in this

style usually had no base and
consisted of a massive shaft with 20
flutes.
• Doric architecture predates the 5th
century BC. It was infrequently used,
but examples are seen in the
Parthenon and Coliseum in Rome.
Later Roman columns differ from the
Greek version in their addition of a
base and changes in the capital profile.
Parthenon, Athens.
 IONIC COLUMNS

• Ionic Style – More visibly complex

than that of the Doric style, being of
slender proportion, and their height
being generally about nine times
the column’s lower diameter; the
order is always used with a base
and the column shaft usually has 24
flutings. The example is from the
Temple of Portunus.
Temple of Portunus, Rome
 CORINTHIAN COLUMNS

• Corinthian Style – This is the most ornate of the

classical styles and is generally much more
slender than the Ionic style.
• The Romans used the Corinthian order in
numerous monumental works of imperial
architecture.
• They gave it a special base, made carved
additions to the cornice, and created numerous
capital variations, utilizing florid leafage and
sometimes human and animal figures.
• The prevailing form of Roman Corinthian is seen
in the Maison Carrée in Nimes, France. This style
originated after the 5th century BC.
Maison Carrée in Nimes, France
 TUSCAN COLUMN

• Tuscan Column – The Tuscan column

was the next form to be introduced
and it was introduced by the
Etruscans.
• The Tuscan Column is a very simple,
plain column with a base and non-
fluted shaft. No major examples of this
architectural type survive today.
 COMPOSITE

• Composite Order – The final architectural

type to come from the classical world is
the Composite order and it was first seen
in 82 AD on the arch of Titus.
• The Composite form is a combination of
Ionic and Corinthian orders. This form
was the most complex.
• Due to the advances of the Composite
style of architecture and the skill that the
Romans had with concrete, the Romans
were able to develop such architectural
marvels like the arch, the vault and the
dome.
 II) USE OF ARCHES, VAULTS AND DOMES

• The Romans wanted vast indoor spaces in which large numbers of people could
comfortably congregate in, and so, to create these large unobstructed spaces, they
replaced the old post and lintel system with the arch system.

• Using arches, vaults and domes, they were able to roof large public buildings like public
baths, basilicas and temples.
 ROMANARCHES.

Arch of Constantine, Rome .

It was erected in 315AD by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I’s
victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312AD.
 III) USE OF ELABORATE INTERIOR
DECORATION
• This was particularly veered in late Roman architecture. The decoration was
usually non-structural and veered towards the ornate.

IV) USE OF MOSAICS

• Mosaics were made of color stone chips set in cements and were used to decorate a wide
range of private and public buildings.

• The Romans created intricate geometric designs, portraits, scenes and so on in mosaic.
 4) ARCHITECTURAL BUILDINGS

• Unlike the Greeks, who seemed mainly interested in temple, theater and stadium
architecture of comparatively small scale, the Romans had a penchant for imposing
buildings and structures that would reflect the prestige, might and wealth of the Roman
Empire.
• Such buildings and structures, erected in every corner of the Empire, were also meant
to serve as unifying symbols for Roman citizens.
• Roman aqueducts were needed to supply water to the cities.
• Roman cities served as administrative hubs throughout the Empire. The cities usually
had a forum and a basilica at the center and a protective city wall.
• Public places like the basilica, baths, libraries, temples and amphitheaters were
created, respectively, to serve as administrative and public meeting places.
• To decorate public places and residences, the Romans created a variety of mosaics and
murals.
• Triumphal arches were erected to commemorate Roman military victories.
 ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
Roman architecture is primarilydefined by their temples, architectural orders and civic
structures.
1. Arch
12. Sewers
2. Triumphal Arch
13. Dams
3. Victory
Columns 14. Harbours
4. Domes 15. Orders
5. Temples 16. Basilica
6. Ampi-theatres 17. Themae (Public baths)
7. Stadium &Arenas 18. Residential blocks
8. Roman Circuses 19. Private Residential
9. Aqueducts homes
10. Bridges 20. Granary building
11. Roads & 21. Light houses
Highways 22. City design
 BUILDING TYPES

• i) Roman Temples

• The Romans built both rectangular and circular temples

• Rectangular Temples: Temple of Mars, Venus, Saturn, at Rome; Temple of Jupiter,

Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, Temple of Diana at Nimes, Maison-Carree at Nimes, etc.

• Circular Temples: Temples of Vista, the Pantheon at Rome, etc.

• In rectangular type the temples are usually twice as long as its width with a proto- type
portico in front.
• In the rectangular temples a high podium, or basement, was substituted for the Greek
stepped stylobate, and the prostyle plan was more common than the peripteral.
• The cella was relatively short and wide, the front porch inordinately deep, and
frequently divided by longitudinal rows of columns into three aisles.
• In most cases the exterior of the cella in prostyle temples was decorated by engaged
columns. A barrel vault gave the interior an aspect of spaciousness impossible with the
Greek system of a wooden ceiling supported on double ranges of columns.
• In the place of these, free or engaged columns along the sidewalls received the ribs of
the vaulting. Between these ribs the ceiling was richly panelled, or coffered and
sumptuously gilded.
 MAISON-CARREE, NIMES, FRANCE (C. 4AD)

• Rectangular in plan; 25 m long by 12 m

wide.
• Gable roofed, deep entrance porch and a
frontal staircase giving access to its high
platform or plinth.
• Built with 6 Corinthian columns: a strong
influence of Greek temple style.
 PANTHEON, ROME.

• Most preserved buildings of ancient Rome and one of the most significant buildings in
architectural history.
• Begun as a rectangular temple measuring 44m wide and 22m deep with a gabled roof
supported by a colonnade on all sides.
• It has a great concrete dome rising from the walls.
• Has a front porch of eight (8) Corinthian columns supporting a gabled roof with triangular
pediment.
• Entrance porch is characterized by huge bronze double doors, 7m high (the earliest largest
example of its kind).
 PANTHEON, ROME.

• The dome was the largest built until the advent of modern architecture, measuring about 43m
in diameter and rising to a height of 22m above its base and 43m from the ground.
• No external evidence of brick arch support inside the dome; exact method of construction not
known.
• 2 major factors contributed to its success:
i.excellent quality of mortar used in the concrete
ii.careful selection and grading of the aggregates.
• The temple’s immense circular space was lit solely by the 8m ‘eye’ or oculus; a revolutionary
concept.
• Exterior is plain while the interior is lined with coloured marbles.
• The Pantheon was dedicated in 609AD as the church of the Santa Maria Rotunda.
 II) ROMAN TOMB

• Consisted of an earth mound (tumulus), surrounded by a ring of masonry rising usually

to a considerable height.
• Most notable examples are the Tomb of Caecilia Metella on the Via Appia and Hadrian’s
Tomb.
 III) BASILICA

• A basilica in its earliest usage was a large covered public hall in ancient Rome and pre-
Christian Italy used as a meeting hall, courthouse, banking, and for other commercial
purposes.
• Usually flanked by side aisles set off by colonnades and with a raised platform at one or
both ends.
• Used for judicial purposes in the 1st century, hence the raised platform became
enclosed by an apse to accommodate the magistrate.
• Early Christians adopted it for their churches.
 III) BASILICA

• The columns separating the nave from

the aisles in early Christian Basilica
carried either arches or entablature
which in turn, carries a blank wall
supporting the timber roof of the nave.
• The nave rose higher than the side
aisles, hence the wall that supports the
nave roof stood above the level of the
side aisle roof and could thus be
pierced at the top with windows to light
the center of the church.
• The high nave wall is called the
clerestory wall and the windows
pierced in them are called clerestory
windows.
ST. PETER’S BASILICA, ROME.
 III) ST. PETER’S
BASILICA, ROME.
 IV) PUBLIC BATHS

• With the water system that the Aqueduct allowed, the Roman public baths got more
sophisticated and grew in size as time went on.
• The great roman baths – 950 baths have been found in all.
• The bath of diocletion (298 – 306 ce) is built on 50 acres of land having a capacity of 3,000
people at any given time. It has various baths:

• The caladurium (tepid water bath)

• The tepidarium (warm water bath)

• Frididarium (cold water bath)

• Natatio (open air swimming pool)

IV) PUBLIC BATHS
 IV) PUBLIC BATHS

• Best preserved are the Baths of Caracalla and those of Diocletian (c.298-306AD), with
accommodation for 3200 bathers.
• There were three main bath chambers: the frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (tepid
room) and the caldarium (hot room).
• There were also large open-air swimming pools.
• Marble was used lavishly, and sculpture, mosaics, frescoes and other decorations
ornamented the interior.
 V)
ROMAN
THEATRE
 V) ROMAN THEATRE

• Concepts behind the evolution of the Roman free standing theatre;

• Etruscan’s dancers and musicians in 364BC brought temporary wooden stands

for the spectators, and the stands later developed into the Roman auditorium,
built up entirely from the level ground.

• They also brought to perfection the principles of barrel and cross vaulting,

• As every seat had to have a view of the stage, the area occupied by the seating
(cavea) was limited to a semicircle.

• During the Roman Empire, civic pride demanded that all-important cities have
theatres, amphitheatres, and a small, permanently roofed theatre as well.
 VI) AMPHITHEATERS

• Free-standing building of round or oval shape with a central area (the arena), and seats
concentrically placed around it.
• Amphitheatre is a Greek word meaning ‘theatre with seats on all sides’.
• Suitable for the entertainment that these people cherished – gladiatorial games and
venationes.
• The spectators seats run around the arena, and its separated from it by high wall
topped by a metal screen.
• The largest and the most important amphitheatre of Rome was the Colosseum.
 Colosseum, Rome

• Used for training warriors and also to hold contests between men and
animals to serve the popular amusement.
• It was considered a great architectural and engineering feat for the
following reasons:
a) Free-standing, multi-level structure of stone and concrete.
b) Grandeur in scale and decoration
c) Its layout facilitated both the production of extravagant spectacles
d) Crowd control of the large numbers of people attending the events
 Colosseum, Rome

• External measurement is 190m by 155m and the outer façade is roughly 48.5
m high.
• It has three tiers of arches of superimposed columns—Tuscan capitals on the
first level, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian on the third—and an upper
level of Corinthian pilasters and small square windows.
• Seating capacity for 50 000 spectators
• 80 entrances so arranged that the building could be cleared quickly.
• Built of concrete and stone, the exterior faced with travertine and the interior
with precious marbles.
• Tiered seating offered a better view of the games for a greater number of
people.
 Colosseum, Rome

• Scene of thousands of gladiatorial contests, contests between men and

animals, and mock naval battles.
• Also used for staged battles between wild beasts (lions) and Christians
among other spectacles.
• Stage of the arena was made of wood which was covered with sand to
absorb the blood of wounded gladiators and wild beasts.
• The Colosseum was damaged by lightning and earthquakes in medieval
times and, even more severely, by vandalism; all the marble seats and
decorative materials have disappeared.
• A restoration project was undertaken in the 1990s.
Colosseum
, Rome
Colosseum
, Rome
 The Colosseum- Rome, Italy-70–80 AD
AkaFlavian Amphitheatre , it is located next to the Regio IVTemplum Pacis ("Temple of
Peace")commenced during Emperor Vespasian and was completed during Emperor Titus.
 VII) TRIUMPHAL ARCHES

• The triumphal arch was usually decorated with columns and bas-reliefs of
the chief events it commemorated and was frequently surmounted by
sculpture.
• Its basic form consisted of two piers connected by an arch and crowned by
a superstructure, or attica, that served as a base for statues and bore
commemorative inscriptions.
• The function of the arch, therefore, seems to have been that of an honorary
monument of unusual importance.
VII) TRIUMPHAL ARCHES
 VIII) MONUMENTAL CITY GATE
• Just like triumphal
arches, they sometimes
serve a commemorative
purpose.
• However, they differ
from triumphal arches
because they serve as
part of the defenses of
the city.
• The most famous are the
Porta Nigra at Trier in
Germany and the gate
from Miletus in Turkey.
 IX) BRIDGES

• The bridges of the Romans ranked

among their greatest monuments.
• The Romans began organized
bridge building to help their military
campaigns.
• The discovery of pozzolana, a
natural cement aided the Romans in
building piers in rivers.
• Roman bridges are characterized by
the use of the circular arch form.
• Most surviving Roman bridges were
built on rock, but the Sant’Angelo
Bridge in Rome stands on cofferdam
foundations built in the Tiber River
about 1800 years ago.
 X) AQUEDUCTS
• Aqueducts (Latin aqua, ‘water’, and ducere, ‘to lead’) are man-made
conduit for carrying water.
• They are artificial structures built to transport water across a hollow or valley.
• In modern engineering, ‘aqueducts’ refers to a system of pipes, ditches,
canals, tunnels, and supporting structures used to convey water from its
source to its main distribution point.
• The elaborate aqueducts system that served the capital of the Roman
Empire however remains a major engineering achievement.
• The surviving aqueduct monument is the Pont du Gard aqueduct near
Nimes in southern France, completed in 14 AD.
 X) AQUEDUCTS

• The aqueduct known today as

the Pont du Gard was built in
the 1st century BC.
• Water, tapped from a local
spring to supply the Roman
city of Nîmes, flowed along
the topmost tier of arches.
• It is considered to be the
greatest of all aqueducts.
X) AQUEDUCTS
 XI) THE CIRCUS

• The circus was the Roman version of the Greek hippodrome and consisted of
a long circuit for chariot races.
• It was essentially a racecourse lined with tiers of seats along all sides of the
arena except at one end where the stalls for the horses were located.
• The circus was also used for spectacles other than racing such as, traditionally,
the burning of Christians by Emperor Nero.
• The largest and doubtless the finest ever built was the Circus Maximus in Rome.
CIRCUS:Roman Circus, Circus Maximus, Hippodrome, seated 200,000
Artistic impression of the races in the Circus Maximus Stadium
 Artistic impression of Gladiator fighting a lion in
the arena of the Colosseum
Artistic impression of a winning gladiator asking the VIP guest to
make a decision to kill or pardon
• Roman architecture had a lasting impact on the world of
architecture, and its influence can be seen in many
buildings and structures throughout the world today.
 PRIVATE ARCHITECTURE

⚫ The early Roman town house was little more than a single room known as the atrium.

⚫ The roof sloped inwards and downwards from all sides to a rectangular opening, beneath
which was a basin, the impluvium, set into the floor to catch the rainwater.

⚫ As time went on, small extra rooms were built inside the atrium
against its walls, or separated off by partitions.

⚫ Town houses did not usually consist of more than one storey, though upstairs dining-
rooms are sometimes referred to.
• In ancient Rome, the domus was the type of
house occupied by the upper classes and some
wealthy freedmen during the Republican and
Imperial eras.

• It comes from theAncient Greek word domi

meaning structure since it was the standard type
of housing inAncient Greece.

• It could be found in almost all the major cities

throughout the Roman territories.

• The modern English word domestic comes

from Latin domesticus, which is derived
from the word domus.
Rotunda uva from the south east
Composite Order columns of GrandTheater. Dijon, France.
Justice Hall, NewYork City, NewYork
 REFERENCES

1. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/ancient-rome
2. https://www.timemaps.com/civilizations/ancient-rome/
3. https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Architecture/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Roman_architecture
#Materials
5. https://www.thehistoryofscagliola.com/home/index/2-the-
importance-of-marble/ancient-rome/
 PRESENTATION 5
Find examples of modern Roman Architectural style in this 21st Century and prepare a
presentation with the use of PICTURES, DIAGRAMS and SKETCHES. Highlighting the
 Location
 The architectural characteristics
 Construction system
 Relief/Murals Art

Presentation Guidelines
 Maximum 10 Slides per person
 Each person will have 7 mins to present
 You are to write a summary of your presentation (I page), to be submitted as print out
in the class.