Architecture

Through the Ages

What is Architecture?
it is the practice of building design and its resulting products
culturally, it is to building and its equivalent in printing world is
literature
architecture ruins document the history of some Persian, Greek and
Roman culture
e.g. Roman Forum and Coliseum, they testify to and are solid
evidences of the advanced technology and culture employed by the
early civilizations, and are considered as big masses of artifacts for
archaelogists
Concepts
according to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three
principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas
firmitas or the durability of a building
utilitas or utility concerning the usefulness
and venustas or beauty, which concerns the aesthetics
the concepts change over time but it revolves around these 3
Prehistoric Architecture
Stonehenge 3000BC - 1100BC,
England
its use is not determined, animal
bones found in the area suggests
it was used for ritual purposes
deemed a world heritage site by
UNESCO on 1986
this megalith have solar
alignment, usually now relating
to sunrise at the summer
solstice.
Egyptian Mastabas and the Pyramid
3000-2500 BC
Mastabas and Pyramid
Mastabas are tombs made from
mud-bricks
they are rectangular flat-roofed
buildings, made of mud brick
that cover the burial chamber
the Saqqara Pyramid (2620 BC)
is a mastaba of stone which has
five succesively smaller
mastabas on top
it was made for the pharoah
Zoser
Pyramids are tombs of pharaos
made of stones
stones that are cut in massive
blocks
the angle of the steps is filled in
to give the true shape of a
pyramid
the Great Pyramid in Egypt
(2550 BC) was made for a
Pharaoh named Khufu
Construction
Spanning - the process in
construction of connecting wall to
another thus provide roof
Post-Lintel Construction - uses of
lintel or supporting beams;
additional beams put on top or
connected to another beam
forms a deck that can become
walls or floor for the upper floor
widely used in Greek
Construction
Greek architecture: 6th - 5th century BC
temple of Hera in Paestum, Italy
one of three temples made in
the area
used the doric style
a gradual swelling of a column
from top and bottom to its
central point to avoid its
seeming wasp-waisted
(technically called entasis)
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
The 3 are styles or orders
and are highly structured system
of proportions
relates individual architectural
components to the whole
building
Greek Theater Epidiarus
built around 340 BC in
Epivadros, Greece
ancient style greek theater
provides the pattern of almost
all subsequent theaters
the rising tier of seats separated
by aisles
Construction
Arches - curved structure that
forms the upper edge of an open
space such as a window, doorway,
or the space between a bridge's
support
greater capabilities than the
lintel
can combine many smaller units
(stone or bricks) instead of a
lintel
if rotated, can form a
hemispherical dome
Vault is an arch-shaped structure
usually of masonry,
used as the ceiling of a room or
other enclosed space, as the roof
or a support for a cieling or roof
an open ended tunnel, with a
deep arch
this is an example of a groined
type of vault, the other types
being the barrel and annular
vault
 Dome - hemispherical roof
placed in a cathedral or churches
a collection of arches all sharing
the same centre
arch, vault and dome are of the
same concept
Roman Architecture and
technology flourished in the
development of these 3
Roman Architecture
Pont du Gard (Bridge of the
Guard) - an ancient Roman
aqueduct in Gard, France
the highest of all elevated
Roman aqueducts
part of the Nimes aqueduct, a
50km system built in 1st Century
AD
The Pantheon: AD c.120
temple of the gods
built by Hadrian in about AD
120, Rome, Italy
has been in continuous use as a
place of worship for nearly 2000
years
it was dedicated to all Roman
pagan gods
it has been a Christian church,
dedicated in 609 as Santa Maria
Rotunda
Horyuji Temple five storey pagoda

oldest five-storied pagoda in Japan

dating from 607
10km south west from the center
of Nara, Japan
32.5m-tall
Cappadocia and Lalibela: 4th - 14th century AD
Church of Saint George, Lilabela,
Ethiopia
a rock-hewn monolithic Church
most roofs are ground level
a trench is excavated down into
the rock, nabling the carvers to
work sideways from it until they
have excavated a functioning
building
Hagia Sophia: 537 AD
built in 537 AD
designed by the Greek
geometers Isidore of Miletus and
Anthemius of Tralles
Famous in particular for its
massive dome, it is considered
the epitome of Byzantine
architecture
Medieval castles: 9th - 13th century
Krak des Chevaliers
is a Crusader castle in Syria
largely built by the Knights of St
John and occupied by them from
1142
the castle is built influenced by
the Byzantine castle
Gothic: 12th - 15th century
Chartres Basilica, France

completed by 1222
is a Gothic Catholic cathedral of the Latin Church
the high point of French Gothic art, as per UNESCO, and
a masterpiece
Chartres cathedral survives today as an outstanding
example of three different aspects of Gothic -
architecture, sculpture and Stained glass
Skyscrapers
The Burj Khalifa (Arabic: ,
Arabic for "Khalifa Tower"; ,
known as the Burj Dubai (2009)
It has a roof height of 828 m
(2,717 ft)
the tallest building and the
tallest structure in the world
designed by Adrian Smith, then
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
(SOM)