ARCH 1104

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
2022/2023 Year I Semester I

LECTURE I A :
Introduction to History of Architecture

Credit Units :3
Contact Hours : 3
Paper Sculptures are made by Jeff Nishinaka
 Semester 1 Course Topics

1. Introduction to the History of Architecture

2. Prehistoric Architecture
3. West Asia(Near East) Architecture
4. Ancient Egypt Architecture
5. Ancient Aegean Architecture (Minoan and Mycenaean)
6. Classical Greek Architecture
7. Classical Roman Architecture
8. Pre-Columbian Architecture Of the Americas
9. The Indus Valley Architecture
10. Ancient Architecture of East Asia: China, Japan & Korea
Introduction to History of Architecture
History of architecture
 Is the study of the evolution of the built environment as it has evolved over
centuries and across many different landscapes and cultures.

 It comprises architecture and architectural styles ranging from pre-ancient

civilizations to contemporary architecture.

 A subject in its own right, the study of architectural history forms an

important component of an architect’s education, although it is a subject that
is also accessible to those outside mainstream architecture.

 Like any historical study, its initial stages involve collecting facts that must
be selected, ordered, evaluated, interpreted and placed in context, to make
sense and provide a clear image of what past civilizations were like.
 Techniques developed to evaluate that evidence differ in the nature of
the evidence available . It is similar to other histories in that it is
concerned with understanding and finding explanations for the
past.

 The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through

various traditions/cultures, regions, construction materials and
techniques, all-inclusive stylistic trends and dates.

 It is the perfect subject for anyone interested in a combination of art, cultural

affairs, and design and a fundamental part of any firm architectural studies
foundation.

 This historical legacy of edifices and dwellings left behind by previous

civilizations, are among the chief artifacts that assist us in piecing together
images of cultural lifestyle and identity resulting from socio-political, socio-
economic and environmental challenges faced by human civilizations that
 The study of architectural history includes religious architecture, landscape
architecture, civil architecture, naval architecture, domestic architecture
and military architecture; each offering insight into the role of history,
culture, and geography in shaping the world around us.

 An understanding of Architecture’s history can help those in the field execute

better; even when working with modern tools like architectural design software.

 History is about trying to understand the past in a critical way; its negative and
positive features. It is a dynamic process; the history unfolding before our
eyes(the present) is part of that process and informs our understanding of the past.

 History is not a jigsaw puzzle that can be completed and put away. It is continually
evolving , probing new questions, examining historical interpretations, leading to
reinterpretation and discovering new material about a known subject.

 There will never be a time when we can claim we know all there is to know about
any given architectural style eg. Egyptian architecture
 However, studying the past can help us understand how we have arrived where
we are today and give us insights into the production and use of built
environments.

 Historians use evidence in order to understand what happened and why it

happened. Historical architectural evidence may take the form of the edifices
themselves or their remains, and historical documents such as plans,
drawings, descriptions, diaries or bills.

 These are used to explain the structure (what) that was constructed and the
function (why)it served. The techniques, technology and materials become
critical pointers to the value attached to these structures constructed and the
advancement of the civilization.

 Our image of any period of history is derived from a multitude of sources, such
as the paintings, literature, deeds, buildings and other artefacts(pottery,
jewelry, mosaics, sculpture) that have survived.
 The problem of survival lies at the root of many of the historian’s problems,
for what has survived may not necessarily be more significant than what has
not survived.

 The Egyptian pyramids have survived thousands of years, but historical

significance is not just a question of durability but also the rich and diverse
culture the buildings were part of, much of which has been lost.

 The study of architectural history relates to the study of people and the
evolution of buildings.

 It is a study of the needs, the knowledge base and the goal of each
civilization during each period in civilization.
 Architecture reflects the conditions of the age from which it springs.

 Architecture is the product of all sorts of factors; social, political, economic,

environmental, scientific, technical and religious beliefs.
The history of architecture is defined as the study that traces the changes in
architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends,
and dates

The history of architecture is concerned with

1. Understanding the evolution of built environment.

2. What it meant to the people who created it.

3. How it responded to the ideas, desires, needs and challenges faced by the
people living at a particular time.

4. The function the buildings served and their hierarchy in the landscape
5. How the building represents he the community’s cultural norms, social
strata, terrain, climate.

 We explore both the material aspects of architecture (structure, design,

technology, etc.) and the immaterial aspects (theories) that bring it into being.
 Ancient Egyptian necropolis
The Valley of the Kings & Queens, Luxor, Egypt
Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
 Greek Agora –The Greek Market place
This was a central open spot in ancient Greek city-states. The literal meaning of the word is
"gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual and
political life of the city. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate
the social and political order of the polis.
 The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum in Rome is the oldest forum and was the center of political, economic,
cultural and religious life. It’s located in a valley between the three hills of the city of the
Capitoline, Palatine and Esquiline Hill and was originally the site of many public buildings
and monuments.
 Relationship Between Architecture, Identity and Culture
 Architectural history communicates that architecture is a product of a
community’s culture. It reflects their lifestyle, activities, aspirations, beliefs,
values and challenges. It gives us an insight on who they are. Their aspirations
to immortality is the IDENTITY of the people.

 The language of architecture is infused with a civilization’s :

1. Sense of what they should do (event;
2. Where to do it (place/location);
3. When it should be done (time);
4. How it was crafted ( materiality, techniques & technology used)
5. How important it is (hierarchy/values);
6. How these actions relate to the rest of the community, the material world
and the supernatural world (context).
 This can be observed in the hierarchy attached to the architecture
corresponding to the its function.
1. The scale
2. The Choice of building materials
3. The articulation and ornamentation
4. Location/site ie its position in relation to the rest of the buildings within the
community

 Architecture communicates to the community and observers, the meaning

of their actions and how their actions relate to the human (material, and
spiritual worlds). Meaning is attached through the use of space.

 Architectural design involves the shaping of space so that it is functionally

appropriate for its purpose, structurally adequate and an expression of
beauty and artistic achievement.
 The history of architecture is also a study of this expression through the use
of spaces created.

 Architectural history illustrates our attempts to achieve beautiful, functional

and meaningful solutions in spatial organization in order to satisfy the needs
of the time and local culture.

 According to Vitruvius, the famous Roman architect and engineer noted for
his work De Architectura produced during the 1st century BC, good
architecture should possess 3 principles : firmitas, utilitas, and venustas
("strength", "utility", and "beauty"). These were later widely adopted by
Roman architects.

 To assist in the design process, architects and designers share a vocabulary

that helps them reduce complex ideas into short phrases. A vocabulary that
has evolved over centuries and been influenced by multiple cultures.
Language of Architecture
 This vocabulary has unique terminology that allows enables visual and verbal
communication for better understanding among those involved in designing,
construction, managing a specific architectural project to produce successful
solutions.

 Moreover, terminology helps clients and building users to better understand

aesthetics as architectural language: the way in which an individual
architect or whole culture expresses values is in the way individual words
become forms, and in the way those tangible parts are put together are
sentence structure and grammar.

 While it is not an exhaustive list of design vocabulary, below you will find
brief descriptions of fundamental design elements.
Archetypical Building Elements
1. Vertical:
 Wall, Arch, Beam Lintel, Quoin, Column, Orders
 Base, Shaft, Capital, arches, domes
 Window, Door

2. Horizontal:
 Plinth, Floor, hearth, Roof

Style
 Style is a distinctive manner of expression or fashion at a specific time in
history. In architecture, historical styles are often designated by a specific
name such as Baroque, Victorian, or the International Style, to name a few.

Form
 Mass and shape define form. Mass refers to the volume defined by a
structure relative to its surroundings and to its solidity and weight. Shape is
the composition and complexity of the surface planes that frame a volume
to create a form.
Typology
 Typology in architecture is defined as creating an archive of the certain
architectural types influenced by architecture styles reduced to their elementary
geometrical nature or the effort of the combining possibilities of the architectural
elements to classify the building types which represent architectural forms.

Construction Materials
 Both exterior and interior building materials should be selected based upon their
appropriateness for the building type, durability, impact on the environment,
climatic conditions, and the prevailing architectural design and character of the
installation. that visual elements of

 Buildings are treated as components of language (based of varying cultures) Jencks

and Summerson contend that columns, beams, arches and other building
components are the words that make up the vocabulary of the language of
architecture.

 Phrases and sentences are made up by combining building elements, and the rules
and principles of construction and aesthetic arrangement constitute the “grammar”
of architecture.
 Relationship Between Architecture and Art
In simple terms, architecture is defined as “the art or practice of designing
and constructing buildings”. Ancient civilizations executed this seamlessly
with the practice of art (aesthetics) and natural science.

Architecture is also described as lived in art or applied art or three

dimensional art. To the ancient people art and architecture were inseparable,
architecture was an extension of applied art, and therefore closely entwined
with the history of art for reasons:

 Various public works (especially religious buildings) were designed with

aesthetics in mind, as well as functionality.

 They were built to inspire as well as serve a public function. As a result, they
involved the services of a wide range of 'artists' and decorative craftsmen as
well as labourers.
Zaha Hadid Architects - Riverside Museum in Glasgow
what is the architectural language ?
 Images of
art work
from
ancient
Egypt

what is the architectural language ?

3. Many of these buildings, the exteriors and interiors acted as
showcases for fine art painting (eg. Sistine Chapel), frieze and relief
sculpture (eg. The Parthenon, European Gothic cathedrals), stained
glass art (eg. Chartres Cathedral), and other artworks like mosaics and
metalwork.

4. Public building programs typically went hand in hand with the

development of visual art, and most major 'arts' movements (eg.
Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical) influenced both
architecture and the fine arts.

Early architecture had two main functions:

5. To consolidate security and power;
6. To please the gods. The richer the society, the more important these
functions became.
Significance of History of Architecture

1. To understand how our predecessors lived (lifestyle)

2. How they socialized- ; spaces for meeting, trading , worked campaigning ,

celebrating and worshipping through architecture, the values of the
community could/can be observed
3. How that lifestyle shaped architecture

4. The social strata that shaped architecture

5. How was culture an influence in architecture

6. What shaped the design and constructions of their buildings

7. How problems/ challenges encountered were solved

8. The Periods and styles that developed that evolved along the way
Sistine Chapel frescoes
Falling Water- Frank Lloyd Wright
The Basilica of La Sagrada Familia
(Holy Family) is Gaudi’s most
famous work.
It was started in 1882 and still is
under construction. The projected
completion date keeps changing, but
the recent projection is 2026.

It has been described as “neo-gothic-

but-not-really” was criticized as not
appropriate for a basilica, but today it
draws praise and the most number of
visitors among monuments
throughout Spain.

La Sagrada Familia and six other

works of Gaudi have been declared
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Greeks understood that the location of temples to the their deities was of
paramount importance. Several of their temples appear elevated looking over a
city. eg The temple of Athena looking over Acropolis of Athens.
 Stonehenge –Wiltshire, England

Stonehenge is perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was

built in several stages: the first monument was an early henge monument, built
about 5,000 years ago.
The unique stone circle
was erected in the late
Neolithic period about
2500 BC. In the early
Bronze Age many burial
mounds were built
nearby. The most famous
is in Wiltshire, England.
They all pretty much
have similar features
(language)
Kasubi Tombs, Uganda
Traditional
African hut

The Basotho dwelling

In history of architecture we study the PAST so we
can digest it in the PRESENT to produce solutions for
the PRESENT & FUTURE.

Culture is a tool historians use to understand how
spaces were used and their hierarchy within the
landscape.
 Concepts of Culture

Definitions of Culture
The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious,
or social group .

It is also the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions

or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time.
Understanding culture

 Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions,

and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts,
laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.
Culture often originates from or is attributed to a specific region or location.

 Culture permeates every facet of our lives and lifestyle. The way we do things
(our activities), the way we arrange our spaces to carryout these activities and
the reason we do them.

 We can be inspired by our culture or someone else's culture. Sometimes we

spend considerable amount time and thought learning how to adopted or
incorporate the concepts we admire in someone else’s culture into ours.
• Culture influences and forms part of the identity of a group of people ; it is what sets
them apart from another group.

• Architecture as an applied and visual art is part of the creator’s culture. It represents the
aspirations, expectations and needs of the community that created it.

• Sometimes one can observe the character of a group of people in their architecture and
art; music, drama and poetry; cuisine and dress, way of worship, norms and behaviour.

• Culture has been equated to civilization such that some countries are deemed more
“civilized” than others due to advanced culture

• One hears statements like “uncultured” in reference to an individual who lacks social
etiquette.

• Culture has also been closely linked to cultivation (which is the progressive refinement of
human behavior)

•
 There’s been a Changing Concept of Culture.

 According to the theory of evolution, anthropologists assumed that all

human beings are equally evolved. Therefore all humans have cultures as a
result of human evolution.

 They were also cautious of using biological evolution to explain differences

between specific cultures ( this would have legitimized forms of racism).

• The new perspective has also removed the evaluative element of the concept
of culture and instead proposes distinctions rather than rankings between
different cultures.

• Anthropologists believed biological evolution produced an inclusive notion

of culture. A concept that anthropologists could apply equally to non-
literate and literate societies, or to nomadic and to sedentary societies.
 Anthropologists argued that during the process of evolution, human beings
developed a universal human capacity to classify experiences, and encode
and communicate them symbolically.

 Since these symbolic systems were learned and taught, humans began to
develop independently of biological evolution.

 Therefore one human being can learn a belief, value, or way of doing
something from another(even if they are not biologically related).

 This view of culture argues that people living apart from one another
develop unique cultures.

 However, elements of different cultures can easily spread from one group of
people to another.
 Culture is dynamic and can be taught and learned, making it a potentially rapid form
of adaptation to changes in physical conditions.

 Anthropologists observed that culture is a product and supplement of biological

evolution; it can be seen as the main means of human adaptation to the natural
world.

 Culture as a symbolic system with adaptive functions, varying from place to place,
led anthropologists to conceive that cultures varied by distinct patterns (or
structures) of enduring, albeit random, conventional sets of meaning, which took
concrete form in a variety of artifacts such as myths and rituals, tools, the design of
housing, and the planning of villages.

 Anthropologists consequently distinguish between material culture and symbolic

culture
 each reflects different kinds of human activity
 each constitutes different kinds of data that require different methodologies to
study
 This view of culture, which came to dominate anthropology between World War
I and World War II, implied that each culture was restricted and had to be
understood as a whole, on its own terms.

 The result is a belief in cultural relativism, which suggests that there are no
"better" or "worse" cultures, just different cultures.

 Due to the level of abstraction, culture ranges from the concrete, cultural object
(e.g., the understanding of a work of art) to micro-level interpersonal
interactions (e.g., the socialization of a child by his/her parents) to a macro-level
influence on entire societies

 When understanding the concept of culture , it is important to keep in mind that

the concept can have multiple levels of meaning. Culture and society are
deemed unreal and therefore social constructs.
 Culture is a French word derived from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to
cultivate, or to honor). It is a generic term referring to patterns of human
activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance.

 Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical orientations for

understanding, or criteria for valuing, human activity.

 Anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal
human capacity to classify, codify, and communicate their experiences
symbolically.

 Culture is learned and humans acquire it through the learning processes of

enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures
across societies.
 The concept of Culture calls attention to the non-biological, nonracial, non-
instinctual basis of the greater part of what is called civilization: its values,
techniques, and ideas in all spheres.

 A cultural norm codifies acceptable conduct in society; it serves as a guideline

for behavior, dress, language, and demeanor in a situation, which serves as a
template for expectations in a social group.

 Accepting only a monoculture in a social group can bear risks, just as a single
species can wither in the face of environmental change, for lack of functional
responses to the change.

 Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the

range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human
societies. Cultural universals are found in all human societies.

 These include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and
technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing.
The Components of culture

“Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people,

encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.” Kim Ann
Zimmermann (2017)

Music Media Common sense

Cuisine Ideas
Art Religious practices
Architecture Fashion *all these are
Beliefs Rituals examples of human
Values Specialized culture
Stories knowledge
Components of Culture
Source: pinterest
World cultural civilizations

1. Western culture – Europe and colonies

2. Eastern culture- far East Asia (including China, Japan, Vietnam, North
Korea and South Korea) and the Indian subcontinent.

3. Latin culture- mainly Latin and Spanish-speaking nations are considered

part of the Latin culture.

4. Middle Eastern culture- the countries of the Middle East have some but
not all things in common.

5. African culture- based on the continent of Africa which is essential to all

cultures, and where human life originated and began to migrate to other
areas of the world around 60,000 years ago.

6. Religious culture: Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Judeo etc

Columns depicting Toltec warriors, Tula,
Mexico.Photos.com/Thinkstock
 Defining Culture
 Culture consists of multifaceted features owned by a social group, which may
be as small as a family unit or a tribe, or as large as a racial or ethnic group, a
nation, or in the age of globalization, by people all over the world.

 Culture has been called the lifestyle of an entire civilization. The elements of
culture are first adopted by members of the social group, found to be useful, and
then transmitted or propagated to others.

 In this way, culture is both defined by the social activities of the group as well
as the behavior of the members of the society. Culture is a dynamic process that
evolves as people respond to changing conditions and challenges.
 Culture is not fixed or static because the creators of culture are neither
static or fixed. Regardless of its dynamic nature, efforts should be made to
respected and preserved the past.

 Different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or

criteria for valuing, human activity.

 Edward Burnett Tylor (1871) wrote that "culture or civilization, taken in its
wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society."

 The United Nations agency UNESCO has defined culture as the "set of
distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of
society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and
literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and
beliefs."
Types of expressions of culture
 Culture is wide field of study. Social scientists, like anthropologists and
sociologists, study culture to understand patterns of human behavior.

 While there are unlimited ways that people can express their culture, social
scientists have developed two fundamental categories to define things
produced by a society.

 First is material culture that defines the tangible or physical things that are
created by a society. Second is the non-material culture which defines
intangible or non-physical things produced by society

 Physical objects or artifacts such as tools, weapons, utensils, machines,

ornaments, art, buildings, monuments, written records, religious images,
clothing, and any other ponderable objects produced or used by humans make
up material culture.

 Thoughts, ideas beliefs, values, norms that may help shape society make up
non-material culture .
• Examples of culture do not completely present a clear understanding of the
perception of culture. Culture is more than the object or behavior. Culture
includes norms , values and expressive symbols
Roughly
• norms are the way people behave in a given society, values are what they hold
dear, beliefs are how they think the universe operates and expressive symbols
are most often representations of social norms, values, and beliefs themselves. 1

To summarize
• Culture is comprised of material and non-material objects and symbols; and the
meaning attached to those objects and symbols and the norms, values, and
beliefs that permeate social life.

• Therefore CULTURE is that which differentiates one group or society from

another and is acquired or learned behavior. Yet culture is not rigid and totally
uniform but DYNAMIC.
Subcultures & Countercultures
 Humans do not experience culture in a separate or distinct way from society.
Culture and society are truly two-sides of a coin; a coin that makes up social
life.

 A subculture is a culture shared and actively participated in by a minority of

people within a broader culture.

 A culture often contains numerous subcultures.

 Subcultures incorporate large parts of the broader cultures of which they are
part, but in specifics they may differ radically.

 Some subcultures achieve such a status that they acquire a name of their
own.
 Class Activity
*Disclaimer: images used in this section are not by author . They are
being used solely to explain the terms of culture, subculture and counter
culture

These images illustrate the basic concept of culture. People are simply a
reflection of biology; human. Others are a reflection of their biology and
culture; human and member of a cultural group.
Q1: what do all these images have in common?
What do these images
tell us about music and
culture?
Q4: Identify the similarities and differences between these groups, in
terms of music genre, ethnicity, dress, era?
Explain these set of
artists?
Explain
these set
of artists?
 A counterculture is a subculture with the addition that some of its beliefs,
values, or norms challenge or even contradict those of the main culture
of which it is part.

 Subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by

societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity.

 Subcultures can be distinctive because of the age, ethnicity, class, location,

and/or gender of the members.

 The qualities that determine a subculture as distinct may be linguistic,

aesthetic, religious, political, sexual, geographical, or a combination of
factors.

 Members of a subculture often signal their membership through a distinctive

and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, mannerisms and jargon/
slang
 Ethnocentrism & Cultural Relativism
• Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the
perspective of one's own culture. Many claim that ethnocentrism occurs
in every society; ironically, ethnocentrism may be something that all
cultures have in common.

• Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that one's own race or ethnic
group is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of its culture
are superior to those of other groups.

• Within this ideology, individuals will judge other groups in relation to

their own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to
language, behaviour, customs, and religion.
• It also involves an incapacity to acknowledge that cultural
differentiation does not imply inferiority of those groups who are
ethnically distinct from one's own.

• Sociologists study ethnocentrism because of its role in various

elements of social life, ranging from politics to terrorism.

• Cultural relativism is the belief that the concepts and values of a

culture cannot be fully translated into, or fully understood in, other
languages; that a specific cultural artifact (e.g. a ritual) has to be
understood in terms of the larger symbolic system of which it is a
part. * calm down* *I tell you* *Bambi* Banange*

• There is not a clear English translation of some words, and in order

to fully comprehend them many possible uses a cultural relativist
would argue that it would be necessary to fully immerse oneself in
cultures where the word is used
 Ever person has primary culture they are born into and sub-culture they
acquire along the way. No one person ends up in the culture they were born
with, because culture is not static. Culture is dynamic. People are products of the
socio-cultural environments they are exposed to.

 In conclusion, culture enables the architect understand the clients lifestyle in

order to better design and plan spaces that will suit the client.

 It exposes the architect to a whole investigation on how space is intended to be

used, the activities to be held within that space and how that space can best reflect
the user or owner.

 It provides insight into the value attached to certain spaces and buildings within a
landscape, to decide hierarchy. Eg, Master bedroom, Guestroom, Living room,
toilets,etc,
 REFERENCES
The importance of studying History of Architecture
1. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture-history.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_architecture
3. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-st
ories/history
/
4. https://
www.alamy.com/stock-photo/the-holy-family-la-sagrada-familia.html

The importance of understanding culture

5. https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html
6. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Culture
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
8. https://
www.britannica.com/topic/social-science/Development-of-the-separate-disciplines#r
ef423691
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-material_culture
10. https://www.britannica.com/topic/material-culture