Model of Rome

ORIGINS OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

As with sculpture, the
Romans
borrowed heavily from two
cultures that they
conquered –
the Etruscans and the
Greeks.

 The Romans were MODEL OF AN ETRUSCAN

with a wealth
indebted of knowledge
to their TEMPLE
essential
Etruscan for future and
neighbors
architectural
forefathers whosolutions,
suppliedsuch
as hydraulics and in the
them
construction of arches.

 Later they absorbed Greek

and Phoenician influence,
apparent in many aspects
closely related to A ROMAN TEMPLE, FORTUNA
 ORIGINS OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
 Elements of Roman architecture show • Roman culture is the result of
different influences:
very significant Greek influence.
– From the Italian origins:
 However, Roman functional needs • Practical sense
sometimes differed, resulting in (functionalism)
interesting innovations. • Military expansion
(imperialism)
 The Romans were less attached to – From the Etrurian
“ideal” forms and extended Greek • Realistic sense
• Cult to the ancestors
ideas to make them more functional
– From Greece
• Philosophy
 ROMAN PHILOSOPHY • Literature
"We believe that lightning is caused • Art
by clouds colliding, whereas they
believe that clouds collide in order to
create lightning. Since they attribute
everything to gods, they are led to
believe not that events have a
meaning because they have
Greek technology

POST &
LINTEL
CONSTRUCTI
ON
LINTEL
P P
O O

S S
POST &
LINTEL
LINTEL
DRAWBACK
P P

O O

S S
thick narrow thick
T T
 Something new under the sun …

Roman ARCHitecture

Arches –
strength
through
 ORIGINS OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
 Romans needed
interior space for
worship, whereas
the Greeks
worshipped outside.

 Their solution was to

extend the walls
outward, creating
engaged columns,
while maintaining
the same basic
shape.
 ORIGINS OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

• Building systems:
– Lintelled:
• Copied from the Greeks
• Spaces are closed by straight lines
– Vaulted
• Taken from the Etrurian
• Use of arches
• Barrel vaults
– Use of domes
– Strong walls so that they do not use external
supports
 ROMAN INNOVATIONS
1. COLUMNS

To the original Greek

orders, the Romans
added two.
TUSCAN
SIMPLIFIED DORIC HAVING UNFLUTED
COLUMN AND A PLAIN BASE, CAPITAL
AND SHAFT HAVING NO DECORATION
OTHER THAN MOLDINGS

COMPOSITE
IT COMBINED ELEMENTS OF BOTH THE
IONIC AND CORINTHIAN
ORDERS. CORINTHIAN ORDER
IS MODIFIED BY
SUPERIMPOSING FOUR DIAGONALLY SET
IONIC VOULTS ON A BELL OF CORINTHIAN
ACANTHUS LEAVES.
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 (historical) examples of this architectural type
survive today.
Composite Order - The Composite form is a combination of Ionic and Corinthian
orders. This form was the most complex due to the fact that it used the arch. 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. One of the most famous domed buildings to come from the ancient
Romans was the Pantheon built in the last century BC by Marcus Agrippa and later
refurbished by Hadrian. This building was originally built as a temple to all the Roman
gods but was later converted into a Christian temple. This building has the honor of being
the oldest ,and largest, free standing dome in history.
 2. CONCRETE
The discovery of slow-drying
concrete, made with pozzolana sand
created a revolution in architectural
design.
This allowed not only bases, but also
walls to be constructed of mainly
concrete or concrete and rubble.
Facings could be made of more
expensive stone or inexpensive brick.
The result was strong structures
that could be formed in any desirable
shape
USE OF BRICK ON
OUTER FACING AND
FILLING OF
CONCRETE RUBBLE DOME OF
THE
PANTHEON
 3. ARCH & VAULT
 The Romans first adopted the arch from the
Greeks, and implemented it in their own
building.

An arch is a very strong shape as no single

spot holds all the
weight and is still used in architecture today.

The Romans used arches to support the

things they built.

They built victory arches, buildings and

aqueducts.
 Barrel or
“Tunnel” Vault

A vault having semicircular

cross-section
Windows can be placed at any
point.
These vaults require
buttressing to counter-act
the downward thrust of
weight.
 Groin vault
Also called a cross vault.
A compound vault formed by by
the perpendicular intersection
of two vaults forming arched
diagonal arrises called groins.
Needs less buttressing.

BASILICA
 Multi Groin Vaults
A series of groin vaults can have
open lateral arches that form
Clerestories.

Windows that allow light into

the interior of churches.

These concrete windows

were fireproof
 4. dome
A dome is a vaulted
structure having a
circular plan and
usually the form of
a portion of a
sphere, so
constructed as to
exert an equal thrust
in all directions
Romans used
domes to span
and cover very
large open spaces.
They used it in
5. Construction materials & Techniques
Types of wall construction
•Opus quadratum: Ashlar; cut stone blocks.
•Opus caementicium: Unfaced concrete, often with
grooves and lines from shuttering.
•Opus testaceum: Brick-faced concrete.
•Opus incertum: Concrete with irregular stone
facing.
•Opus reticulatum: Pyramidal shaped stones of tufa
or basalt with diamond shaped faces forming a
diagonal grid
•Opus mixtum: Concrete wall with both brick and
reticulate facing.
•Opus vittatum: Concrete with facing of rows of
rectangular tufa blocks. This facing can also contain
5. Construction materials & Techniques
Types of wall construction

Opus incertum (left)  opus testaceum

5. Construction materials & Techniques
Types of wall construction

Opus testaceum facing above brick arch resting on

travertine corbels with infill of basalt opus
reticulatum.
5. Construction materials & Techniques
Types of wall construction

Opus mixtum: opus reticulatum in tufa above and

below a band of opus testaceum.
5. Construction materials & Techniques
Types of wall construction

Opus vittatum mixtum

5. Construction materials & Techniques

Opus incertum Opus testaceum Opus reticulatum

Opus spicatum Mortar in the Barrel Vault

foundations
5. Construction materials & Techniques
Tufa:
The Romans utilized a volcanic stone native
to Italy called tufa to construct their
buildings.
Bricks:
The Romans made use of fired bricks;
Mortar:
The Romans developed a very effective
kind of mortar by mixing pozzolana, a
volcanic ash of the region around Naples,
with lime; they obtained a cement which
was resistant to water.
Marble and Travertine

Roman concrete (opus caementicium),

The use of mortar as a bonding agent in ashlar masonry
wasn’t new in the ancient world; mortar was a
combination of sand, lime and water in proper
proportions.
Roman buildings
Massive Building – THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNA
PRIMIGENIA

 The Temple of
Fortuna
Primigenia was
a massive
structure, made
possible by
concrete
construction.
 Roman buildings
Massive Building – BATHS OF
CARACALLA

 Roman baths
were the
recreation
centers of
Roman cities,
incorporating
pools, exercise
facilities and
even libraries.
 They could
 Roman buildings
Public entertainment – THE ROMAN
COLOSSEUM

Brings together the violence

and the achievements of
Roman society

Home of gladiatorial
contests…man vs. man,
man vs. animal, animal
vs. animal

Seating designed for

comfort with an
expandable covering over
the top

Plumbing which could wash

 The Colosseum- A blend of Greek and
Roman architecture

 The arches are

supported by
central columns.
 The columns on
the first floor
are Doric.
 The columns on
the second floor
are Ionic.
 The columns on
the third floor
 plan

Section
A special fact about the Coliseum
is that it was originally built with a
huge removable canopy to
protect the spectators from the
elements.
Gladiatorial Entertainments, “Zliten Mosaic”, Dar Buc
Ammera Villa, Zliten, Libya, c. before 80 CE
 Musicians and Costumed Performers

Gladiatorial Entertainments, “Zliten Mosaic”, Dar Buc

Ammera Villa, Zliten, Libya, c. before 80 CE
 Gladiator vs. Gladiator

Gladiatorial Entertainments, “Zliten Mosaic”, Dar Buc

Ammera Villa, Zliten, Libya, c. before 80 CE
 Gladiator vs. Beast

Gladiatorial Entertainments, “Zliten Mosaic”, Dar Buc

Ammera Villa, Zliten, Libya, c. before 80 CE
 Beast vs. Beast

Gladiatorial Entertainments, “Zliten Mosaic”, Dar Buc

Ammera Villa, Zliten, Libya, c. before 80 CE
 ★Engaged columns only give the impression of
support. The arcades could support themselves.

Corinthia
n

Engaged columns

Ionic

Doric

Flavian Amphitheater (Coliseum), Rome,

72-80 BCE.
 Roman buildings
Public entertainment – AMPHITHEATRE AT
NIMES

SEATS ABOUT
20,000

Theatres and arenas were built

to hold multiple thousands of
people and were engineered so
as to allow quick and effective
entry and exit.
 Roman buildings
WORSHIP – THE
PANTHEON

The temple to
the Roman gods
built in 126 AD
was called The
Pantheon.
 ★ Temple dedicated to all the gods (pan=all and
theion=gods)
dome

pediment

cylindrical
drum

The Pantheon, Rome, c. 118-125 CE.

 Temple, perhaps dedicated to Portunus. In the
Cattle Market, Rome. Late second century
BCE.

The Pantheon, Rome, c. 118-125 CE.

 142 ft. Occulus

Portico

142 ft.

COLUMNS: 39 FT. TALL, 5 FT.

THICK
PLAN SECTION
SECTIONAL VIEW
 ★ 20 feet

Oculus

Coffer

★60 feet

★ 143 feet

The Pantheon, Rome, c. 118-125 CE.

The magnificent interior space of the
Pantheon was achieved by:
Employing a dome over a drum.
Coffering the dome to reduce
weight.
Placing an occulus to allow light to
 ★Niches once held the statues of gods, but
were replaced by saints in 609 by Pope
Boniface IV.

The Pantheon, Interior, Rome, c. 118-

125 CE.
 Missing
pedimental
sculpture
later used (would have been
as like Parthenon)
church

Tuscan order of
columns (with
corinthian capitals)
 Forums
• Forums were cultural centres in cities.
• They were often placed at the crossroads of important urban ways: cardo maximus and
decumanus.
• A great porticated square was the centre of a group of buildings around it.
• They were communicated through it.
• Temples for Imperial worship, schools, basilicae, markets or even termae had a direct access
through forum.
• In many cases even buildings for spectacles -circus, theatres and amphitheatres- were
communicated so.
• Forums were a way in for important persons to tribunals.
 Architectonic Typology
• Roman Architecture has a rich typology
that includes:
• Religious building: temple
• Civil buildings:
– Public: basilicas, baths
– Spectacles: theatre, amphitheatre, circus
– Commemorative: Triumph arch, column
– Domestic: house, village, palace
– Funerary: tombs
• Engineering works:
– Bridges
– Aqueducts
 Religious: Temple

• It copied the Greek model

• It has only one portico
and a main façade
• It tends to be
pseudoperipter
o
• The cella is
totally closed
• It is built on a
podium
• Instead of having stairs all
around, it only has them
in the main façade
Religious: Temple

• There were other kind

of temples:
• Circular: similar to the
Greek tholos

• Pantheon: combined
squared and circular
structures and was in
honour of all gods.
 Civil Buildings: Basilica

• It was the residence of

the tribunal
• It is rectangular and
has different naves
• The central nave is higher
and receives light from
the sides
• The building ends in
an apse
• It is covered with
vaults
– Barrel over the central
nave
– Edged over the lateral
Civil Buildings: Baths

• There were spaces

for public life
• They consisted of different
rooms:
• Changing rooms
– Different temperature
rooms:
• Frigidarium (cold)
• Tepidarium (warm)
• Caldarium (hot)
– Swimming pool
– Gymnasium
– Library
Caracalla´s Bath House
 Spectacles: Theatre

• It is similar to the Greek but

it is not located in a
mountain but it is completely
built
• It has a semicircular scenery
• The doors to facilitate peoples’
movement are called
vomitoria
• It does not have the
orchestra because in Roman
plays was not a chorus
• The rest of the parts are
similar to those of the
Greek theatre
Merida’s Roman Theatre
Spectacles: Amphitheatre

• It comes from the

fusion of two
theatres
• It was the place for
spectacles with animals
and fights (gladiators)
• There could be
filled with water for
naval battles.
 Spectacles: Circus

• It was a building for horse races and cuadriga

competitions.
• It has the cavea, the area and a central element
to turn around, the spina.
Commemorative monuments:
Triumphal Arches
• They were usually placed at the main
entrance of cities in order to remember
travellers and inhabitants the Greatness
and strength of Roman world.
• At the beginning they were wooden
arches where trophies and richness
from wars were shown.
• This habitude changed: Romans
built
commemorative arches with
inscriptions.
• They were a Roman
creation and they
succeeded: many of them have been
constructed until the present days.
• Arches were used not only for
commemorating Roman victories or
military generals: they also marked
limits between provincial borders.
Commemorative monuments:
Columns

• They were columns decorated

with relieves
• In them some important
facts were related
• They were built in the
honour of a person.
• The best instance of these
works is the famous Traian
Column at Rome. It is
decorated with a spiral of
relieves dealing with scenes
of his campaigns in Danube
and with inscriptions.
 Houses: Insulae
• There are urban houses
• In order to take advantage
from the room in cities,
buildings up to four floors
were constructed.
• The ground floor was for
shops
-tabernae- and the others
for apartments of
different sizes.
•Every room was
communicated through a
central communitarian
patio decorated with
flowers or gardens.
Houses: Domus
• It was the usual housing for important people
in each city.
• It was endowed with a structure based on
distribution through porticated patios:
– the entry -fauces- gives access to
– a small corridor -vestibulum-.
– It leads to a porticated patio
-atrium-.
– Its center, the impluvium, is
a bank for the water falling from the
compluvium.
– At both sides -alae- there are many
chambers used as rooms for
service slaves, kitchens and
latrines.
– At the bottom, the tablinum
or living- room can be found, and
close to it, the triclinium or dining-
room.
– This atrium gave also light enough to
next rooms.
– At both sides of the tablinum, little
corridors led to the noble part of the
domus.
– Second porticated patio peristylium, was
bigger and endowed with a central
garden.
– It was surrounded by rooms -cubiculum-
and marked by an exedra used as a
chamber for banquets or social meetings.
 Houses: Villa

• Houses far from cities, were

thought for realizing
agricultural exploitations -villae
rustica-, or else as places for
the rest of important persons
-villae urbana-.
• Entertaining villa was endowed
with every comfortable
element in its age as well as
gardens and splendid views.
• Country villae got stables,
cellars, stores and orchards
apart from the noble rooms.
Palaces

• There were the

residence of the
emperor
• They consisted of
a numerous series
of rooms
• Their plan tended to
be regular
 Roman buildings
Public water supply – THE
AQUEDUCTS
 There wasn‟t enough water
in the city of Rome.

 The Romans brought water

in from the surrounding
countryside.

The water was brought in

 Cities themselves were
by
plumbed, providing PONT DU GARD,
tubes called aqueducts.
private water for the rich FRANCE
and for baths and
communal supplies for
poorer neighbourhoods. PIPES
AND
PLUMBIN
 Where did the water go?
 The water was transported in
concrete tunnels.

 The water flowed in a tube on the

top of the aqueduct called a water
channel.

The arches supported the water

channel.
 The water flowed
through a rectangular
channel.

 The channel was lined

with concrete.

 The Romans invented

 Baths
With the water system that the Aqueduct allowed, the Roman public baths got more
sophisticated and grew in size as time went on. By the second century AD, public baths had
grown in size and variety. In these new facilities, the pampered could do everything from
eat to exercise and even read.
Magnificent baths were constructed that could house thousands of people at a single time.
These later baths were constructed in different sections. Upon entrance into the bath
house, the patron would first enter a changing room in which they would undress
themselves before continuing into the exercise room. After a period of exercise, the patron
would then go to the warm baths,in the tepidarium, then to the cold baths, in the
frigidarium. After their bath, the patron could have a massage if he/she wished so.
 What makes the Roman bath houses such an architectural and engineering wonder,
other than their great size, is the system that the Romans had for maintaining them. In
the cold and hot areas of the bath, the water temperature was actually regulated by the
use of underground fire furnaces. Also, the dirty water in the baths was actually drained
and replaced regularly. The bath house also had a hookup to the complex Roman water
system and so always had an ample source of water, for both bathing in and for drinking.
The great sanitary conditions of the bath house were major factors that helped to make
the Roman empire the cleanest society up until the 19th century.
Some of the most famous Roman Bath's that still exist are in Bath, England (pictured)
and Baden-Baden, Germany.
 Roman buildings
PUBLIC BUILDINGS – THE BASILICA
Basilica were first built to
house audience facilities
for government officials.

 When Christianity became

the state religion, this kind
of building was adapted to
Christian worship.

 A large nave is flanked by

side aisles behind a row of
supporting piers.

 An Apse draws attention in the

direction of the altar.
Roman innovation
Transport system – THE ROADS

 The need to
move legions
and trade
goods in all
weather led to
the
development of
the best roads
in the world (to
the 19th
century).
SECTION OF
THE ROAD

VIA
APPIA

All roads lead to

CONCLUSION
 The Romans were
brilliant engineers.
 Their innovations
form the basis of
much of our civil
engineering today.