History of human settlements

History of Architecture - IV
Introduction
In olden days humans were actually nomads,
who wandered randomly anywhere without
any fixed place to live. Later they developed
their own settling places in order to get
protection.

Primitive shelter – stone caves, huts with tree

trunks and tents of animal skin in prehistoric
times.

Most of the settlement was reflecting the

culture and religion. Hence typology of
building were created :-
1. Building for dead------------ burials and
tombs
2. Building for religious------- -
temples
3. Residential units--------------houses based
on social order

Layout of cities was mainly based on ritual

and cosmological symbols.

Settlement was also based on social structure

e.g.- pyramid structure in Egypt, where the
settlements material, size, location was based
on caste.
 Prehistoric settlements

1. Jericho
2. Catal huyuk
Pre – historic settlement

1. Jericho, Ariha (7000 BC)

was near river Jordhan.
2. Catal Huyuk in central
Anatolia (6500 BC). Both
seems to be flourished by
agriculture.

JERICHO
-Abundant water supply
-Good climate
-A central location
By 9400 BCE the town had grown to more than 70
modest dwelling.

The site is a 40,000 sq.mt settlement surrounded

by massive stone wall over 3.6 mts high and 1.8
mts wide at the base.

Inside the wall stood a stone tower over 8.5 mts

high, containing an internal staircase.

The wall was meant for defense against flood and

enemies.
Cultivation of wheat, barley, pulses and hunted
animals.

No street planning. Early houses were Small circular

dwellings built of clay and straw bricks
Mud bricks were loaf shaped with deep thumb with entrance porch and curved walls.
prints to facilitate bonding.
Burial of the dead under the floor of
Later, Several rectangular rooms arranged around buildings
central courtyard. Houses and shrines were
communicated by means of courtyard.
CATAL HUYUK , Turkey

Evidence indicates that this settlement

existed from c.7500 BCE to 5700 BCE .

Located in the Middle-East, in the country

of Turkey.

It is believed that as many as 6,000 people

lived in Catal Huyuk.

Located on a high mound by the banks of

the river.

Sediment from the river made land fertile.

Grew wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas,

berries, and nuts.

Raised domestic animals.

The houses were made by mud brick.

Houses were made touching each

other.

No door for houses, they entered

through roofs. It is unusual as it is not
surrounded by walls.

Roofs acts as streets.

2.
2 1

3 4
Ancient River Valley Civilization

Mesopotamia

UR
2100 BCE
 Cities began to emerge in Mesopotamia.
Ur, the capital of ancient Sumeria, was
world’s first city.

UR

The cities were closed by wall and

surrounded by suburban villages and
hamlets.

2 monumental centers were ziggurat

complex with its own defensive wall,
overseen by palace of king.

Lesser temples were merged with urban

fabric of residential and commercial units.

Suburban areas are lower density areas that separate residential and commercial areas from one another. They are either part of a city or urban area, or
exist as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city.

A hamlet is a small settlement that has no central place of worship and no meeting point, for example, a village hall.
ARCHITECTURE OF URUK PERIOD (CA. 3600-3300 BCE) SCHEMATIC LAYOUT
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

Deir el-medina

The village of workers was built in the

monastery of the city, which was located
on the west bank of the Nile.
First constructed under Thutmose I of the
nineteenth dynasty, whose purpose was to
shelter the workers who had built tombs in the
valley of the kings.
The main street and is surrounded by a
wall made of mud bricks.

Mostly single storey

After many expansions of the city, the

number of houses reached 120, and it has
600 inhabitants

The community was laid out in a

rectangular grid pattern surrounded by a
protective wall.

Adobe walls over stone low

walls/foundations, and roofs of palm log
beams topped with reed and clay; the
higher central roof structure is supported
by a single carved column made from a
palm log.

Walls were plastered white to reflect the

heat from the intense sunlight.
Palmanova ended as a city where hardly anybody wanted to live. A crystal-shaped place,
beautiful to see on the drawing-board, but ultimately, in terms of lived experience, it remained a
utopia.
Industrial-(1900 AD)

• Rapid urbanization due to factory system. The great

mass of workforce was separated from the land,
nature, and social life.

• Under provision of community, education and open

spaces.

• Urban design was based on minimal standard of

roads, housing, gardens, building heights, e.t.c

• Compact planning of row houses with minimal road

size and no front window. No backyard. Shared
toilets.
• Lot of illness during industrial revolution led to
development of better standards of living.
• Urban design originated in the late 19th century.
• Comprehensive planning existence became more
relevant in the 1960s to fill the gap between town
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former
industrial centre. In the first half of 19th century
settlement was transformed into craftsman town .
New City district was created in symmetrical,
classicist style with geometrical rectangle grid.
craftsmen house with a workshop together with
the agricultural purposes .
City plan of new structures was created for the
current needs of the developing city, without any
connection with an existing old town and its spatial
arrangement, which led to a number of both
spatial and social problems over the next years.
Ancient Urban Design:

The urban design of ancient civilizations such as Rome, Greece

(Athens) , and Babylon (Mesopotamia) , was centered around the
principles of order, symmetry, and hierarchy.

These cities were designed to convey a sense of power and grandeur,

with monumental architecture and public spaces that served as
gathering places for the people.

The urban design of ancient cities influenced modern urban design in

many ways, including the use of axial planning, which is a layout that
involves organizing streets and buildings around a central axis.

Rome, Italy: known for its grand architecture and monumental public
spaces, including the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Forum.
Athens, Greece: famous for its classical architecture and the
Acropolis, a hilltop citadel featuring the Parthenon temple.
Babylon, Iraq: an ancient city known for its innovative urban
planning, including the famous Hanging Gardens.
 Design features
• Prehistorical (6000 BC): the
concept of the centre, the
cardinal orientation, scale, the
axis, and the wall
• Classical (3500 BC): scale,
proportion, lines of movement,
focal points, and visual linkage.
• Islamic (400 AD): clusters, cul-de-
sacs, building heights, visual
linkage, privacy, labyrinth street
form (including the cul-de-sac),
and focal points (nodes)
• Medieval (900 AD): Hierarchy of
buildings, visual link, perimeter
wall design
• Renaissance Civilization (1500
AD) self-expression of art.
renaissance urban design was
mainly on aesthetics.
– regular geometric spaces
– the primary streets
– the public places with sculptures
and fountains.
– Public spaces and street shows
sequence.