Roman architecture

Content of the presentation

Introduction: General characteristics Roman typology:
Here we see the time line Here we see the building Here we see samples in ancient Rome like
Systems of the ancient
of the Roman empire, what religious buildings , civil and engineering
Romanians, the materials
it was influenced by. they used and their town works
And the result of this planning
influences.

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 Ancient Rome timeline
The history of the Roman empire can be divided into three periods.

(625-510) (510-31) (31 BC-

BC BC 476 AD)

The period of kings: Republican Rome: Imperial Rome:

Lasted from Rome
founding until 510 BC.
During this brief time
Rome, led by six kings
advanced both military
and economically with
increase in physical
boundries.
No longer ruled by six Its last period, Beginning
kings, Rome established with the rise of Rome first
a new form of emperor in 31 BC and
government ruled by lasting until the fall of
the upper classmen Rome in AD 476

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 Introduction
Roman culture is the result of different influences:
• Primitive cultures of the area Rome was founded in (they were peasants
and warriors).
• Etrurian civilization: urban, offering cult to the ancestors
• Greek and Hellenistic: this was the model they aimed at imitating.
Results:
From the Italian origins:
• Practical sense (functionalism)
• Military expansion (imperialism)
From the Etrurian:
• Realistic sense
• Cult to ancestors
From Greece:
• Philosophy
• Literature
• Art
General characteristics of the roman art:
• It is practical and utilitarian.
• Interest in public works and engineering
• monumentality
• Great technical advances
• Colossal to show Roman power
• It is commemorative and propagandistic.
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General characteristics
Materials, building systems and techniques

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 General characteristics
• Special importance for the internal space
• Integral view of the art combining:
Beauty and sumptuosity with Utility and practical sense
• Buildings are integrated in the urban space
Building systems:
Lintelled:
• Copied from the Greeks
• Spaces are closed with straight lines
Vaulted
• Taken from the Etrurian
• Use of the arches
• barrel vaults
• Use of domes
• Strong walls so that they do not use
external supports.

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 General Characteristics
Materials:
• Limestone
• Concrete
• Mortar
Arches:
• They used half points or semi circular arches
• They could use lintels above these arches
• Pediments were combined with them

Walls were made in one of these ways:

Ashlar Masonry Brick 7

Material combinations in walls:
General Characteristics

• Greek shapes assimilation:

Architectural orders were used more in a decorative than a practical way
Order superposition
The uses of orders linked to the wall created a decorative element
They used the classical orders and two more:
• Composite
• tuscan

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Roman Town planning

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 Roman Town planning
• Cities were the centre of Roman life:
Need for infrastructures
• Water and sewer system
• Transport and defence
• Public spaces and markets
Psychological effect: power and control
• There were a need of linking them through paved roads.
• The plan of the city was based on the camp
• It had two main axis
Cardus E-W
Decumanus N-S
• Where the two converged was the forum
• The rest of the space was divided into squares in which insulae or blocks of flats were built.
• The most important part of the city was the forum, where political, economic, administrative,
social and religious activity were centred.
• Main building were in this forum
• In big cities there were theatres, circuses, stadiums, odeons

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 Roman Town planning
Paved roads:
• Paved roads were needed to reach to any point of the empire.
• They facilitated both communication and political control.
• The roads were made strong foundations
• Different materials were put into different layers
• To measure the distance the created the Milliarium or stones located in the sides.
• The roads were not completely flat
• They consisted od several parts
The central and highest was the most important, it was convex to conduct the water to the dutch that were built
in the sides

Section of a paved road

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 Roman Town planning
Bridges:
• Roman engineers were true masters building them, since construction were
essential elements for reaching places and cities often situated at the bank of rivers.
• This location was due to defensive and infrastructural reasons- supply and drainage
• They are characterised by:
Not having pointed arches.
 Construction of ashlar memory often with pad shape.
 Route of more than 5m wide.
 Route of horizontal or slightly combed surface ‘few curved’
 Rectangular pillar from their basis with lateral triangular or circular cutwaters that
end before the railings

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 Roman Town planning
Aqueducts:
• Aqueducts were built in order to avoid geographic
irregularities between fountains or rivers and towns.
• Not only valleys were crossed by superposed cannels,
but also mountains were excavated by long tunnels,
pits and levels of maintenance
• They were used to bring water to cities.

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 Roman Town planning
Ports and lighthouses:
• Roman ships and those for commercial trade should travel from port to port
with the speed and security adequate to the life of a great Empire.
• In these ports every necessity for the execution of the usual works in a port
ensemble should be found:
 Gateways with stores and bureaux
 Shipyards for stationing ships
 Roads for taking ships to earthly ground.
 Drinkable water fountains and machinery for loading and downloading
merchandises.
• Indeed, a system of indication was necessary in order to mark the right access
and exit to the port.

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 Roman Town planning
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.
• Temples for imperial worship, school, 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.

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 Roman
Architecture Typology
Samples of roman architecture

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 Architecture typology
• Roman architecture has a rich typology that includes:
• Religious buildings:
 temples
• Civil buildings:
 Public: basilicas, bath
 Spectacles : theatre, amphitheatre, circus
 Commemorative: triumph arch , column
 Domestic: house, village, palace
 funerary: tombs
• Engineering works:
 Bridges
 aqueducts

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 Religious : Temples
• It copied the Greek model
• It has only one portico and a main
façade
• It tends to be pseudoperipto
• The cella is totally closed
• It is built on a podium
• Instead of having stairs all around,
it only has them in the main facade.

Roman and Greek temples

plans differences:

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 Religious : Temples
• There were other kind of
temples:
• Circular : similar to the Greek
tholos

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 Religious : Temples
• Pantheon temple:
• Built by agrita in 27B.C and rebuilt by Adrian in
120-125 A.C planned and supervised by the
architect valorous. It has circular plan built with
brick, stones and concrete covered with huge
dome (diameter 43.2 from the inside and at
height of 43.2 from the highest point) the dome
consists of sides decorated in square shapes.
The temple has no window but an opening on
top of the dome with 9 meter diameter it
lighten the hall of the temple and gives it sense
of fear, dread and connection to the sky, the
entrance consists of corridor preceded by 8
Corinthian columns each is 12 meters high, the
length of the corridor is 33 meter and 18 meter
depth in the centre, the exterior walls made
from concrete and covered with bricks from the
outside and marble inside.

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 Religious : Temples
Important architectural ideas in the
pantheon temple:
Simplicity and strength in design:
This temple is known for its simplicity in
architectural ideas in the strong construction
in the architectural expressions, its not like the
other temples in having special components,
the architectural formation is just corridor for
the entrance and hall. But the combination
between the rectangular shape of the corridor
and the circular shape of the hall gave it
powerful contrast the large size of the dome
also helped.

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 Roman and Greek
Differences and similarities

Similarities and differences in temples from Greek and Roman architecture ranging from
materials, design…etc

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 Roman and Greek
Differences and similarities

Structure elements:
• The most obvious similarity between Greek and Roman
architecture is the use of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian
orders.
The romans used the three orders and made 2 new orders:
Tuscan and composite.
• Materials:
• The Greeks used plaster, wood, marble and metals in their
buildings while the roman introduced concrete to their
buildings which helped them innovate their buildings with
arches and vaulted ceilings

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 Roman and Greek
Differences and similarities
Differences in Temples:
While the roman temple is a mixture of Greek influence and
Etrurian influence
• Both have columns but the roman temple puts a lot of
detail on the front façade (meaning most of the
decoration will be on the front of the temple while the
back will not be decorated) unlike the Greek temple
• The roman temple only has stairs on the entrance while
the Greek temple has stairs going al around the temple.
Granting access from any position.
• The location of the roman temple would be found in
urban areas inside cities while the Greek temple would be
found on an elevated area of the city dominating the rest
of the city.
• Although the Roman temples were bigger than Greek
temples the inside rooms of the roman temple were
smaller than the rooms of a Greek temple because those
inner areas would not be accessible to the public.
• The Roman temple would be built above the ground while
the Greek temple are part of the area they are built upon.
Roman Temple
Greek Temple
Differences regarding decorations
The way the temple is built (roman
temple is on a pedestal unlike the 24
Greek temple)
 Civil buildings
Constantine basilica:
Basilica is huge building rectangular shape was
made for commerce judiciary and administrative
office. Consist of three corridors the wider in the
center forming the entrance. It worked as platform
elevated from the ground level for judges
The famous Constantine basilica in Rome(310-
310B.C) have three corridors the middle is divided
into three space covered in crossed vaults. And the
separation between the side corridors and the
middle one is done by huge support carrying arches
and vaults, the side corridors are covered with
circular vaults

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 Civil buildings
Civil building: 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

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 Spectacles: Amphitheatre
• Coliseum building:
It in low level land surrounded by high hills first three floors were built in
72A.C then the fourth one was completed in 80 A.C. considered one of
the largest building in Rome, its dimension 188*156 and height of 48
meter the wrestling rink is 76*64
The building is based on arches and vaults linked together with inner
corridors connected with the steps through openings leading to the
racing fields. The architect used the vaults as warehouses to store their
games and animals, the steps were divided to four parts with circular
passages
The elevation was divided into four parts separated with decorative part
throughout the building in the lower levels there was half circular arches
(80 arch) the Doric order was used in ground floor, ionic in the next one
and Corinthian in the last.
• Emergency entrances:
The building had 80 entrance two of them were for the emperor and his
entourage, the large number of entrances enabled the crowds to go in
and out in the matter of minutes
In modern architecture this is called safety considerations which is found
in large public building summarizing in creating enough number of
entrances an exits and distributing them sufficiently and proportionally
with density of the crowd and secure easy transfer fir them outside the
building in case of emergencies
• Designing of the angle of vision:
Though the building capacity was around 50 thousand viewer the seats
were designed in a way enables all the viewer to see the shows, even 27
though the Greek were first to use this theory the Roman benefited it.
 Commemorative monuments:
triumphal arches
• They were usually placed at the main
entrance of cities I order to remember
travellers and inhabitants the greatness and
strength of the Roman world.
• At the beginning they were wooden arches
were 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.

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 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.

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Roman domestic architecture

• Domus.
• Villa.
• Insula

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 Roma domestic architecture(domus)
Introduction:
Understanding the architecture of the roman house requires more then
simply appreciating the names of the various parts of the structure, as the
house itself was an important part of the dynamic of daily life and the
socio-economy of the roman world. The house type referred to as domus is
taken to mean a structure designed for either a nuclear or extended family
and located in a city or town.
The domus as a general architectural type is long lived in the roman world,
although some development of the architectural form does occur.
Layout:
While there is not a standard domus, it is possible to discuss the primary
features of a generic example, keeping I mind that variation is present I
every manifest example of this type of building, In particular the main
room of the domus that was known as the atrium (no 3 in the diagram next
to it)
In the classic layout of the roman domus, the atrium served as the focus of
the entire plan. As the main room in the public part of the house, the
atrium was the center of the house social house ad political life.

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 Roma domestic architecture(domus)
Layout:
The male head-of-household (paterfamilias) would receive his clients on business days in the atrium.
Those clients would enter the atrium from the fauces (no. 1 in the diagram above), a narrow entry passageway
that communicated with the street. The corner of the room might sport the household shrine (lararium) and the
funeral masks of the family’s dead ancestors might be kept in small cabinets in the atrium. Communicating with
the atrium might be bed chambers (cubicula—no. 8 in the diagram above), side rooms or wings (alae—no. 7 in
the diagram above), and the office of the paterfamilias, known as the tablinum (no. 5 in the diagram above).

Types of atria:
• The arrangement of the atrium could take a number of possible
configurations, as detailed by Vitruvius (De architectura 6.3).
Among these typologies were the Tuscan atrium (atrium
Tuscanicum), the tetrastyle atrium (atrium tetrastylum), and the
Corinthian atrium (atrium Corinthium). The Tuscan form had no
columns, which required that rafters carry the weight of the
ceiling. Both the Tetrastyle and the Corinthian types had columns
at the center; Corinthian atria generally had more columns that
were also taller.
• All three of these typologies sported a central aperture in the roof
(compluvium) and a corresponding pool (impluvium—no. 4 in the
diagram above) set in the floor. The compluvium allowed light,
fresh air, and rain to enter the atrium; the impluvium was
necessary to capture any rainwater and channel it to an
underground cistern. The water could then be used for household 32
purposes.
 Roma domestic architecture(domus)
Layout:
Beyond the atrium and tablinum lay the more private part (pars rustica) of the house that was often centered around an
open-air courtyard known as the peristyle (no. 11 in the diagram above). The pars rustica would generally be off limits to
business clients and served as the focus of the family life of the house.
The central portion of the peristyle would be open to the sky and could be the site of a decorative garden, fountains,
artwork, or a functional kitchen garden (or a combination of these elements). The size and arrangement of the peristyle
varies quite a bit depending on the size of the house itself.
Communicating with the peristyle would be functional rooms like the kitchen (culina—no. 9 in the diagram above),
bedrooms (cubicula—no. 8 in the diagram above), slave quarters, latrines and baths in some cases, and the all important
dining room (triclinium—no. 6 in the diagram above). The triclinium would be the room used for elaborate dinner parties
to which guests would be invited.

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 Roman domestic architecture (Villa)
• Houses far from the cities, were thought for realizing agricultural exploitations – villae rustica-, or
important persons
• Entertaining villa was endowed with every comfortable element In its age ae well as gardens and
splendid views.
• Country villae got stables, cellars, stores and orchards apart from the noble rooms.
Building typology:
it is difficult to identify a single, uniform typology for roman villas, just as it is difficult to do so for
the roman house (domus). In general terms the ideals villa is divided into two zones: the urban zone
for enjoying life (pars urbana) and the productive area (pars rustica). As with domus architecture,
villas often focus internally around courtyards and atrium spaces. Elite villas tend to be sprawling
affairs, with many rooms for entertainment and dining, also specialized facilities including heated
baths

Plan of the Villa of the Volusii Saturnini

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 Roman domestic architecture (insula)
• There are urban houses
• In order to take advantages from the
room in cities, buildings up to four floors
were constructed.
• The ground floor was for shops (tabernae)
and the other for apartments of differents
sizes.
• Every room was communicated through a
central communitarian patio decorated
with flowersbor gardens.

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 Quote

“No one is so brave that he is not disturbed

by something unexpected.”
Julius Caesar

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 The end
I hope you enjoyed the presentation.
Thank you.

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