HOA Presentation-9 (Roman)

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
LECTURE - IX
Roman Architecture
Historical Background
Location and period
Social characteristics and beliefs
Architecture of the Civilization

Early Influences- The Etruscans
Engineering Innovation and achievements
Roman Buildings
Roman Buildings
Other architectural elements
Roman city Planning and Design
Architectural Characteristics
Buildings and other architectural elements
Building materials, construction and technologies
Architectural Organizing principles
Outline
We should expect to learn the following about the

civilization
Structural revolution and invention of new
materials
Innovative use of structural solutions in
engineering and buildings structures
The invention of new building types for different
purposes
The invention of functional space in architecture
The use of the orders as decorative elements in
design
Outcomes
Location and period
Social characteristics and beliefs
Outline
Roman architecture refers to the

architecture of Rome and of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was one of the
largest early empires in history,
stretching from England in Northern
Europe to the Ancient Near East and
Africa
The pink area of the Map shows the
greatest extent of the Roman Empire
Rome, located on the Italian peninsula
was the capital of the empire
From the capital, an infrastructure of
roads and communication systems
was established to connect the whole
empire
Rome is today the capital of Italy
L
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The city of Rome was founded in 753 BC.
Roman civilization with Rome as capital
lasted for more than a thousand years.
The history of the civilization can be
divided into three periods;
753- 510 BC
Etruscan Period
510 44 BC
Republican Period
44 BC 476 A.D. Imperial Period
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Etruscan Period
Romans fix the date of the founding Rome at
753 B. C.
Prior to this date, the Etruscans established
an urban culture in the Italian peninsula,
which reached the height of its development
around 600 B.C.
They had conquered and established their
authority over a loose federation of cities
Rome at its foundation was a minor city and
became a colony of the Etruscans
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Etruscan Period
Rome was ruled by Etruscan Kings aided by
a popular assembly
Towards the end of the 6th century B.C.,
Etruscan power began to decline
In 509 B.C. Rome revolted against their king
and established an independent city state
Further decline in the power of the Etruscans
was accompanied by the rising influence and
increasing significance of Rome
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Republican Period
After the expulsion of its Etruscan Kings, Rome
gradually assumed leadership of a number of
settlements for mutual defense
This gradually led to the expanding influence
and dominance of Rome
By 273 B. C. Rome became the established
dominant force in the region
It conquered its rivals, defeating Cathage in
146 B.C., Macedonia in 168 B. C., Greece in
146 B.C., and Syria in 64 B. C.
With time Rome also developed a system of
Representative government
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Republican Period
Rome was government by a body of elected male
representatives of the population known as the
Senate
This is why the period is referred to as republican
or in other word democratic
Towards the end of the last millennium B.C.
Rome entered into a series of civil wars which
brought about the rise of some military dictators,
of which Julius Caesar was the most successful.
This brought about the end of the republican
period
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Imperial Period
Following a series of civil wars that ended in 27
B.C. Caius Ocatavius, who later took the name
Caesar Augustus assumed the title of emperor
This ushered in the Imperial period of Roman
history
Emperor Augustus undertook a significant
reorganization of the Roman Empire
The golden age of architectural development
was witnessed during this period
He revitalized national life and created new
building works
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Imperial Period
Augustus was credited with saying that he
met Rome a city of brick and left it a city of
marble
Later it was to transform to a city of concrete
The 3rd century A.D. was a period of political
confusion in the Roman Empire
The Barbarian people living in the north of
Europe started attacking the Empire
In 286 A.D. Roman Empire was split into
two; a western empire and an Eastern
empire
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Imperial Period
Emperor Constantine was able to reunite the
Empire again in 324 A.D. and established a new
capital for the empire at the city of Byzantium,
which he renamed Constantinople
After his death, the Empire was split again and
each had a different destiny
In 476 A.D. the western empire with its capital at
Rome fell after century of attacks by Vandals
and Visigoths ending the history of that part
The Eastern Empire with its capital at
Constantinople survived and became the focus
of a civilization that lasted until 1453 A.D. when
it was sacked by the Ottoman Turks
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Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Introduction
The Roman Empire consisted of Rome and all its
conquered provinces
Rome was the capital and focus of the Roman
Civilization
Roman society was made of the Latinized people
living on the Italian peninsula and other foreign
people belonging to the conquered provinces
The society was not homogenous as its puts together
people of different origins
Latin was the widely spoken language, particularly in
Rome and its environment
The Roman people were classified into citizens and
non citizens; citizenship can be conferred on non
citizens
Introduction
Citizenship confers the right to vote, make
contracts and have a legal marriage
Citizens are divided into two classes;
members of the Roman Senate belonging to
the highest social class and other citizens
The Roman people were essentially farmers
and traders
Many also aspired to became solders and
warriors; being a warrior provided one of the
best means of advancing in the society
Social Life
Roman society had an active social life
The forum was the center of social life; it is
very similar to the Greek Agora
The forum was the place for social, political,
recreational and religious activities
Romans participated in a lot of entertainment
activities
Social Life
These activities include spectator sports such
as drama, chariot racing, and gladiatorial
contest
They also had new unique social activities
such as recreational bathing
The practice saw Romans going to a public
bath at luxurious bathing through chambers of
different temperature
In the process they engaged in both
intellectual and physical interaction
Religious Beliefs
Roman people were not deeply religious, particularly
during the early part of their development
They did not have religious beliefs and mythologies
of their own, but borrowed from societies they come
into contact with.
Contact with other people always resulted in changes
to their culture, art and way of life
Most of their religious beliefs were borrowed from the
Greeks, and like the Greeks, they also believed in a
number of Gods
Religious Beliefs
The Romans believed that the faith of their
empire lies in the hands of their various Gods
The state spent money to built temples to the
various gods
Public assemblies, such as senate meetings,
war victories and most state functions were
always started with sacrifices to a particular
god in his temple
The religious well being of the individual
Roman was his own concern
System of Government
The System of government in ancient Rome was
democratic
During the Republican period, Government consisted
of two elected consuls, a senate and judiciary
The consuls acted as the executive arm of
government overseeing the activities of the senate,
army and other executive institutions such as tax
collectors and police
The senate was an assembly of selected land owners,
the upper class of Roman society, who approve
budgets and suggest laws
System of Government
Members of the senate are elected from a
series of lower assemblies who are
responsible for enacting the laws suggesting
by the senate and also implementing them;
The judicial branch consist of 6 judges who
were elected every two years, who decide
punishment for criminals
During the imperial period, the Consuls were
replaced by Emperors who wielded a lot of
power
Roman Architecture
The Environment around Rome was not as rich as
the Greek mainland in construction material
especially marble
Romans construction material consists of Stone,
principally local travertine and timber
Roman also invented a system of firing brick and
used brick widely in construction
Romans were also the first people to discover
concrete; Roman concrete is different from our
present day concrete
Romans made significant improvements to the arch
to address its shortcoming
Roman Architecture
They also developed new construction systems
based on the arch and dome
The combination of arch and vault construction with
brick as formwork and concrete as bonding material
enabled the Romans to construct great buildings with
very large interior spaces
Roman construction also developed the system of
wooden truss construction
The architecture of Rome has its origin in Hellenistic
Greek Architecture and the architecture of the
Etruscans
Most Roman architects were either of Greek origin or
Greek trained
Roman Architecture
The Romans adopted the external language of
classical Greek architecture
In Roman architecture, the orders survived simply as
ornaments applied to great concrete buildings.
But the Romans also made unique additions to the
orders that are very important.
New orders evolved and were added to the Greek
orders to form the classical language of architecture
Romans also made additions in the entablature of
temples, in the scale of buildings and the proportion of
the entire design.
While the Greeks are said to be the inventors of form,
Roman architecture concentrated on the creation of
space
Roman Architecture
The Greek and Roman architecture are referred to as
classical architecture
The first book on architecture was produced by
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio in 100 A.D.
The ten books of architecture written sets down rules
and procedures for creating architecture of value
The genius of Roman architecture was expressed not
in the design of a particular building, but in the
production of a vast number of various building types
Roman buildings include bathhouses for bathing,
circuses for racing, amphitheatres for gladiatorial
contest, temples for religion, domus for family life and
the forum as the center of public life and national
commerce
Other Achievements
Other contributions of the Romans include the Roman
alphabets which is widely used in Western and Central
European languages and the Roman numerals
The Roman also introduced the calendar which even
thought it has changed several times before assuming
its current form has endured to the present day
The influence of the Roman Empire's is visible in the
government, law, and monumental architecture, as well
as many other aspects of Western life
The various contributions of the Roman civilization to
modern life has resulted in its classification along with
the Greek civilization as Classical civilizations
Architecture of the Civilization

Engineering Innovation and
achievements
Roman Buildings
Theaters
Amphitheater- Coliseum
Outline
Roman Architecture
The Earliest civilization in the region around Rome were
the Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization existed in the northern part of
what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman
Republic.
During the 700s BC, the Etruscans developed into a
series of autonomous city-states: Rome was a part of
these city states
Knowledge about the Etruscans is fragmentary, and
usually filtered through Roman eyes;
The Etruscans created the first visible civilization in Italy.
They brought sophisticated Eastern and Greek culture to
the region.
Roman Architecture
Not much has survived of
Etruscan buildings to the
present however.
The temple shown in the
image is a reconstruction of
a typical Etruscan temple
The Etruscans introduced
another order of architecture
This order, known as the
Tuscan order became
popular with the Romans
Roman Architecture
The Tuscan order had a
simpler base and the shaft
was without flutes
The capital and entablature
were also without decoration
In proportion it is similar to
the Doric order with a column
that is seven diameters high
Compared with the other
orders, the Tuscan order
looks the most solid
Engineering Achievement
Introduction
Romans created what can be referred to as a structural
revolution
This revolution centers on their understanding and use of
the arch and vault
They also discovered the groin vault
Because of this structural revolution, they were able to
span large openings in buildings and other structures
with economy and strength
They were also able to design and construct buildings
with large interior spaces
The revolution also allowed the Romans to construct
large engineering structures such as bridges to connect
all parts of their empire, and aqueduct to supply water to
their cities
Structural Innovation- Arches
The arch was not a new
building form, as it had been
known by other civilizations
including the Egyptians and
the Greeks
But the Romans used it to its
fullest potential
The arch is an organic
structure with the elements of
the arch resting on each other
and transferring load to the
column
It was particularly useful over
doors and openings
Structural Innovation- Arches
With an arch, there are no
tensile stresses as all the
forces are in compression and
building stone has enormous
compressive strength
Up to a certain point also, the
more an arch is loaded the
stronger it becomes
Arches were used over doors
and openings and sometimes,
they are built over a lintel to
deflect the load to the
surrounding walls.
Vaults
Vaults are used to cover an area as a

roof
The simplest of the vaults is the Barrel
vault, which is just made up of an arch
extended over a certain distance
It can be adapted to suit different
types of plans by making simple
modifications to it
The disadvantage of the vault is that it
exerts a continuous load and therefore
needs some form of continuous
support
It is also difficult to light the space
under a vault except from the ends
The Romans invented unique ways of
overcoming these difficulties
Vaults
The cross vault was created
from the barrel vault to
overcome some of the
problems of the ordinary vault
This is formed by intersecting
two barrel-vaults at right angle
and is called a groin vault
The weight of the groin vault is
concentrated at the corners
eliminating the need for
continuous support
The opening of the space in 4
directions means that ample
light can be provided to the
area below it
Vaults
The image shows an example
of the use of arches, vaults and
groin vaults in a Roman building
The major limitation of the groin
vault is that it is limited to a
square plan
The dome was another
structure that was used in
roman architecture.
The Romans used the true
dome with its fully rounded
perfection
Concrete
The Romans were the first to develop concrete
The concrete developed by the Romans is
different from modern concrete and is made up of
lime, sand and water
Around the 2nd century BC, Pozzolana or
volcanic ash was also added
Concrete did away with the need for stone
quarries
It also did away with the need for the shaping and
transportation of stone and for high skilled labor
for stonemasonry
Concrete
Concrete has the advantage that it can be cast
in any shape and in far larger sizes than the
megalithic blocks of stone used in buildings
With concrete, it was possible to construct
monolithic vaults and arches
Concrete buildings were normally faced with
other materials to hide the ugly look of the
concrete.
Fired brick used as formwork was the most
popular covering material
Engineering Structures
Introduction
The structural revolution introduced by the
Romans enabled them to introduce a variety of
new civil structures and building programs
never seen before their time
The ability of the Romans to create large
structures enabled them to build significant civil
structures including aqueducts, bridges and
sewers
The Romans lived principally in cities and
generally cities need a steady supply of fresh
water
Rome itself was projected to have a population
of more than a million at the peak of its power
Introduction
Arcuated structures or Structures built with
arches played a major role in bringing this
water to the city
The technique of arcuated construction was
also applied to the construction of bridges
Rome also had a sanitary system to take away
waste water from the city and large warehouses
to service the needs of its port
Road and Bridges
The Trojans Bridge Alexandria is an

example of ancient Roman structural
achievement
It is also amongst the most
impressive of the surviving Roman
bridges
The bridge consist of tall piers and
wide spanning arches
The central arches are slightly above
27 meters in length
The roadway is carried 48 meters
above the River
A commemorative arch stands at the
center of the Bridge; the
commemorative arch bears the
name of the architect of the bridge
Aqueducts
Aqueducts were used to
supply water to Roman cities
The Pont Du Gard is probably
the most magnificent of the
Roman aqueducts
It was constructed around 50
A.D. to supply water to the
city of Nimes
The Aqueduct in some places
is almost 50 meters above
the deep valley of the River
Gard
Aqueducts
It was constructed of 3
tiers of arches
Aqueducts
The Aqua Claudia is
also another example of
Roman aqueduct
The Aqua Claudia was
one of the eleven
aqueducts that supplied
Rome with water
The aqueduct supplies
water to Rome over a
distance of 66
kilometers

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HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

Architecture of the Civilization

We should expect to learn the following about the

Roman architecture refers to the

Architecture of the Civilization

Vaults are used to cover an area as a

The Trojans Bridge Alexandria is an

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