Lecture 12

Roman Architecture-Building
Typology

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Outline of Lecture

o Lecture 11.3
oRoman Buildings
o Circuses
o Bath
o Temples
o Basilica
o Residential Buildings
oOther Elements
o Triumphal Arches

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 Roman Buildings
Circuses

o The Romans developed

circuses or stadium for
horse and chariot racing
o Every city usually had
one located close to the
forum
o The circuses had stalls
at one end where the
chariots emerge at the
beginning of the race
and a track which they
race around

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 Roman Buildings
Circuses

o The structure of the circus is very similar to that of theaters and amphitheaters
o Circus Maxima is an example of a Roman Circus
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 Roman Buildings
Circuse Maximus

o The structure of the circus is very similar to that of theaters and amphitheaters
o Circus Maxima is an example of a Roman Circus
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Roman Buildings
Circuses Maximus

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Circuse Maximus

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 Circuses
Circuse Maximus
o It is located in Rome and is
one of the oldest
o It went through a series of
transformation over the
period of its existence
o The image shown is its final
form around 400 A.D.
o Its is 600 meters in length by
200 meters in width
o The circus had 3 tiers of
seat, and there are stalls for
12 race horses or chariots
o Each race was of 7 laps
covering a distance of about
3.6 kilometers

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 Roman Buildings
Circuses Maxentius

o Part of a complex of buildings erected by emperor Maxentius on the Via

Appia between AD 306 and 312.
o It is situated between the second and third miles of the Via Appia between the
basilica and catacombs of San Sebastiano and the imposing late republican tomb
of Caecilian Metella 9
Roman Buildings
Circuse Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Circuse Maxentius

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Circuses
Circuse Maxentius

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Circuses
Circuse Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Bath

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 Roman Buildings
Bath

oThe Romans had a

unique need for
exercise, bathing and
relaxation
oThey devised a
unique architectural
element
othe Bath to address
that need
oThe roman bath was
more that just merely
swimming or
washing
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Roman Buildings
Bath

o This practice became

so popular that at
some point,
o they took it more
serious than their
gods
o It was a daily practice
of almost all Romans
to go to a Bath
o once a day to relieve
stress

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Roman Buildings
Bath
o The bathing procedure involves a
pattern of exposing the body to
various levels of heater air and
water
o The core program:
o a disrobing room- the apodyterium
o a series of at least two heated
rooms, the tepidarium,
o a hot room or cauldarium
o Besides the heated rooms, the
bath may also have a swimming
pool, or natatio for cold plunges
o on hot summer days or a cool
unheated room called the
frigidarium

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Roman Buildings
Bath
o Bathing also dries the
skin
o so baths also
provided rooms with
special attendants to
oil and towel bathers
dry
o Wealthy people and
Emperors had private
both
o greatest baths the
public ones built for
Romans
o Baths of Diocletian,
Rome, 298-306 AD,
o Santa Maria dei
Angelli 18
Roman Buildings
Bath

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla
o The Bath of Caracalla is
a good example of a
Roman bath
o the best preserved
o The bath is set free
standing within a square
precinct enclosed by
walls
o The precinct has a water
reservoir to the south
o supplied by an aqueduct
to service its water need

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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 Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

The Baths of Caracalla as they looked in

the Imperial Roman era (from the model at
the Museo della Civiltá Romana in EUR)

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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 Bath of Caracalla
Roman Bath

o The reservoir is located beneath a stadium used for athletic contest

o The east and west walls have a curved exedra that defines space for cultural
activities such as library, music performance, philosophical lectures, etc
o The front wall has a series of shops with the entrance at the center
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 Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

o The main bath building is rectangular, 225 meters by 115 meters and
is situated within the walled precinct
o It has a perfect bilateral symmetry along its north-south axis
o The bath has a large dressing hall, apodyterium at the center of the
building 27
 Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla
o A swimming pool or
Notato is located to the
north of it
o while a tepidarium and a
domed circular
cauldarium is located to
the south of it
o A series of
supplementary rooms,
including:
o Gymnasium and
bathroom suits
o Arranged symmetrically
on two sides of the
building
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 Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla
o The structure of the
bath of Caracalla is
made of:
. Vaults
. Arches
. groin vaults
. domes
o The interior also
shows how the
Romans have been
able to adapt:
. the Greek orders
. and treatment to
arch and vault
construction

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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Roman Bath
Bath of Caracalla

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Roman Bath
Bath of Diocletian

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 Roman Buildings
Temples
o Temples were a significant part
of Roman architecture
o Scores of temple were built
during every period
o Most of the roman temples
were combination of Etruscan
and Greek prototypes
o The typical temple had an axial
plan, an entrance porch with
widely space columns in front
o The temple also had a cella or
sanctuary
o The whole temple is raised on a
high podium with frontal steps
providing access
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 Roman Temples
Maison Caree, Nimes
o An early form of the
temple is seen in
Maison Carree in
Nimes

o Maison Carree is
located in Nimes
France by the Emperor
Agrippa

o The temple shows

Greek influence on
early roman temples

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Roman Temples
Maison Caree, Nimes

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Roman Temples
Maison Caree, Nimes
o The temple is 26.5 x
15.5 meters
o raised on a podium 3.3
meters high
o 6 Corinthian columns
in front, 10 diameters
high
o It has an entrance
porch that is 3
columns deep
o The temple has a cella
that is one and half
times long as its wide

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Roman Temples
Maison Caree, Nimes

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Roman Temples
Maison Caree, Nimes

Its podium is three and half times the height of the entablature with 15 access steps in front
The walls of the cella have attached half Corinthian columns on its visible three sides 38
 Roman Temples
Pantheon
o The Pantheon is the best
surviving of all classical
buildings
o It is also represents the
highest achievement of
Roman architecture
o Built AD 118 -128 by
Emperor Hadrian on the site
of an earlier temple by
Agrippa
o It was built as a temple
dedicated to all the Roman
Gods, hence the name
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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 Roman Temples
Pantheon
o The Pantheon
essentially consist of
two parts:
1. the an entrance portico
2. a circular part or
rotunda
o The portico is 8
columns wide and 3
columns deep and
leads to the entrance of
the temple
o The columns are of
unfluted Corinthian
order

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

o The wall of the

rotunda is 3
storeys high on
the outside;
o they are made up
of brick faced
concrete and
support the
dome roof of the
temple

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

o The interior has eight

large niches
o one serving as the
entrance
o Seven used dedicated to
the seven major Roman
Gods
o The Dome roof forms a
perfect sphere with a
diameter of 142 feet in the
interior

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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 Roman Temples
Pantheon
o At the head of the dome is a
30ft wide oculus

o opens up the great dome to

the outside and illuminates
the space with light

o The Pantheon combines:

1. Scale
2. Boldness
3. mastery of every
architectural art.

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Roman Temples
Pantheon

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 Roman Temples
Pantheon

o The interior was built of Egyptian granites, African colored marbles

and pure white marbles from the Aegean 52
Lecture 12.2
Roman Architecture

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Roman Buildings
Basilica
o Basilicas are among the most important categories
of roman architecture
o There were no basilicas before the Roman era

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Roman Buildings
Basilica
o The basilica are rectangular
o usually contained interior
colonnades
o divided the space into aisles
at one or both sides, with an
apse at one end
o The central aisle tended to
be wide and was higher
than the flanking aisles
o so that light could penetrate
through the clerestory
windows
o The function of the basilica
is close to that of the Greek
stoa

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 Roman Buildings
Basilica
o It is also the
place where
magistrates
to hold court
to dispose of
legal matters
o The oldest
known
basilica, the
Basilica
Porcia, was
built in Rome
in 184 BC

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Roman Buildings
Basilica
o The most splendid
Roman basilica is the
one constructed for
traditional purposes
o During the reign of the
pagan emperor
Maxentius and finished
by Constantine after 313
o In the early Imperial
period, a basilica for
large audiences also
became a feature of the
palaces
o Will examine the
Basilica Ulpia and the
Basilica Maxentius
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Roman Buildings
Basilica

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 Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia
o Built by Emperor Trajan
in the period A.D 98-117
for his imperial forum
o Basilica Ulpia stretches
for 120 meters in length
over the width of the
Trajan forum
o The Basilica consists of
a central hall, 25 meters
wide surrounded on all
sides by double
colonnades
o Two semi-circular apses
at it’s two ends

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

Forum of Trajan and Basilica Ulpia

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

Remains of Basilica Ulpia 62

Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

Plan of Basilica Ulpia

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 Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia
o The walls of the Basilica
were finished with
multi-colored marble;
o also referred to as
polychromatic marble
o Whole structure was
covered with a truss roof
o Basilica Ulpia represent
the generic form of the
Roman Basilica,
o It is this form that will
later be adopted by the
Christians for their
church
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Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

Interior Space of Basilica Ulpia 65

Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

Interior Space of Basilica Ulpia 66

Roman Buildings
Basilica Ulpia

▪ Façade of Basilica Ulpia

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 Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius
o The Basilica Maxentius was
started by the Emperor
Maxentius in A.D. 308
o But was completed by the
Emperor Constantine in A.D.
312
o It is also sometimes referred to
as Basilica of Constantine
o It is one of the impressive
buildings of the Forum
Romanum
o The Basilica Maxentius is
different from other tradition
basilicas
o because its design was derived
from the central halls of
imperial Roman Baths
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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius
1- Circus Maximus
6- Aqueduct of Claudius
C- Palatine Hill- Imperial
Palaces
a- Temple of Claudius
2- Colosseum
b- Arch of Constantine
8- Venus and Rome
temple
9- Basilica of Maxentius
d- Roman Senate (roman
Forum)
7-Trajan's forum
4- Capitol Hill with the
temple
dedicated to
Jupiter Otimus Maximus
e- Marcellus Theatre
( near the Tiber river )
Model of Ancient Rome
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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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 Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius
o It is however larger in scale than
any of the baths that was built
o The ground plan covers 100
meters by 65 meters
o The building is divided into a
central nave and side isles
o The central nave was 80 by 25
meters
o Covered by 3 groin vaults with a
maximum height of 35 meters
o The side isles were 16 meters
wide, divided into three sections
o There is very little that is left of
the Basilica now
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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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Roman Buildings
Basilica Maxentius

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 Roman Buildings
Residential Buildings

o Roman cities had a range

of various types of
private dwellings
o The private dwellings
reflected the rank and
wealth of the inhabitants
o At the lowest level are
the multi-story
tenements
o where a large proportion
of the population stayed

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 Roman Buildings
Residential Buildings

o They consisted of
shops on the ground
floor

o and apartments on
the upper floors

o The apartments were

built around a
courtyard for light
and air

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 Roman Buildings
Residential Buildings

Model of a Roman apartment building, called an insula (insulae in the plural), which means 'island'. 79
 Roman Buildings
Residential Buildings
o The common roman house
was the domus
o These were reserved for
the wealthier members of
the Roman society
o The domus was essentially:
1. a courtyard house,
2. with a peristyle
colonnaded courtyard
3. It had few or no windows
to the outside

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Roman Buildings
Residential Buildings

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 Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana
o At the high end are
elaborate palaces and
villas for the very rich
o The Domus Augustana,
also called Flavian’s
palace,
o is an example of the
high-end residential
palaces
o Domus Augustana was
both a house for the
emperor
o as well as his palace for
official functions

82
 Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana
o It was laid out
around two peristyle
atriums

o The atrium to the

left is for state
function

o Entry is from an
inconspicuous door
from the top

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 Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana
o The residential part of
the palace is arranged
around the courtyard
located to the right

o To the right of the

residential part is a
sunken garden in the
form of a stadium

o This is the private

garden of the emperor,
where he can interact
with nature

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87
88
Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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Residential Buildings
Domus Augustana

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 Residential Buildings
Hadrians Villa
o Romans also built country villas
or houses
o where they could go to be
close to nature
o A very good example of the
country villas
o Handrian’s villa built for the
Emperor Handrian
o The Handrian villa displays an
example of the level of wealth
displayed in buildings
o This was a large country estate
spread on a vast terrain
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Residential Buildings Hadrian’s Villa

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Residential Buildings Hadrian’s Villa

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100
Residential Buildings
Hadrians Villa

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Residential Buildings
Handrians Villa

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 Residential Buildings
Hadrians Villa
o The structure was made
of a loose arrangement
of:
1. peristyle halls
2. Fountains
3. dining halls
4. Dormitories
5. Baths
6. libraries and other
facilities

o The most characteristics

feature of the villa is the
play of curves and
curved form

103
 Residential Buildings
Hadrians Villa
o This is most evident in
the Canopus

o This is an elongated
pool surrounded by a
colonnade

o The colonnade is
topped by alternating
straight entablature

o and segmental arch

sections framing
statuary

104
 Other Architectural Elements
Triumphal Arches

o Other Than buildings, ancient

Romans also contributed to the
development of several
architectural elements
o The most prominent of the
elements is the triumphal arch
o A triumphal arch is a structure
in the shape of a monumental
gate, usually built to celebrate a
victory in war
o They are almost always built in
the Form, framing the paths
that people follow
o Romans started it as a way to
celebrate their victories in
battles
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 Other Architectural Elements
Triumphal Arches

o Some triumphal arches are made of stone and intended to be

permanent.
o A number of arches from the city's imperial era can still be seen
in modern Rome.
o Temporary triumphal arches were also constructed for use for
celebratory parades or ceremony and later dismantled
o A Roman Triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite held
to publicly honour the military commander of a notably
successful foreign war
o Only men of senatorial or consular rank could perform a
triumph celebration and be a triumphator as the victorious
generals are known

106
 Other Architectural
Elements
o The ceremony consisted of a
Triumphal Arches
spectacular parade, opened by the
chiefs of conquered peoples who are
afterward executed
o The triumphator rode on a biga, a
chariot pulled by two white horses
o The parade followed a precise route
in the streets of Rome
o It traveled along the Forum until it
reached the Temple of Jupiter
Optimus Maximus, where the laurels
of victory were offered to the god. Detail from the Arch of Titus showing his
o Monuments may then be erected to triumph held in 71 for his successful Sack
celebrate the triumph of Jerusalem.

o Two examples of such monuments in

the republican forum are the Arch of
Titus and the Arch of Constantine
107
 Triumphal Arches
Arch of Titus
o The arch was built in
A.D. 81 and dedicated
to the emperor Titus
o It was built to
commemorate the
military victory over
Jerusalem in A.D. 70
o The arch has a height of
15.4 meters, a width of
13.5 meters and was
constructed of stone
o The marvel of its stone
construction is evident
in the keystone, which
ensures the stability of
the arch

108
Triumphal Arches
Arch of Titus

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Triumphal Arches
Arch of Titus
o It has a single opening
flanked on each side by
attached columns of the
Composite order
o The composite order has
a capital that joins the
acanthus leaves of the
Corinthian order with the
volutes of the ionic order
o The face of the arch is
decorated with sculptural
relief depicting the
destruction of the temple
in Jerusalem

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 Triumphal Arches
Arch of Constantine

o The arch of Constantine

was built much later
that than of Titus
o It was built to
commemorate the
victory of Emperor
Constantine over
Maxentius in A.D. 312
o Its form shows an
attempt to create an
arch more majestic than
that of Titus
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Triumphal Arches
Arch of Constantine

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 Triumphal Arches
Arch of Constantine
o It has three arched
openings, a larger one in
the center flanked by two
smaller ones
o There are four free
standing columns in front
framing the arched
openings
o It is also abundantly
decorated, depicting the
victory in relief sculpture

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Triumphal Arches
Arch of Constantine

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Lecture 12.3
Roman Architecture

115
Outline of Lecture

o Lecture 11.4
o Roman City Planning and Design
o Architectural Characteristics
o Buildings and other architectural elements
o Building materials, construction and technologies
o Architectural Organizing principles

116
 Roman City Planning & Design
Principles
o Roman cities fall into two
broad categories
o Majority grew in an
unplanned manner over
the centuries forming
complex organic entities,
to which sometimes order
was introduced
o Rome is a good example

117
 Roman City Planning & Design
Principles
o The other category consist of
Castrum type cities, a type of
military camp developed with
an inflexible regularity of
shape-
o A well preserved example is
the city of Timgad in North
Africa
o This was a city laid out by
Trajan in A.D. 100 as a colony
for military veterans
o The town was laid in a grid of
12 blocks within a square
1,200 feet wide
118
Roman City Planning & Design
Timgad

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Roman City Planning & Design
Principles

120
Roman City Planning & Design
Timgad

121
Roman City Planning & Design
Timgad

122
Roman City Planning & Design
Timgad

123
Roman City Planning & Design
Leptis Magna

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Roman City Planning & Design
Leptis Magna

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 Roman City Planning & Design
Leptis Magna

oThe Arch of Septimius Severus

at Leptis Magna

126
Roman City Planning & Design
Leptis Magna

Amphitheatre of Leptis Magna/Libya

127
Roman City Planning & Design
Leptis Magna

Market Place of Leptis Magna/Libya

128
 Roman City Planning &
Design
o
Principles
The planning of most cities fall in between the two extremes
of organic growth and rigid grid planning
o All cities had a forum, theater, bath, market etc.
o Many of the cities contained buildings that were copies or
local versions of key monuments in Rome
o Focus in city design is on integrating civic buildings with
public spaces and residential neighborhoods
o Each public building had interior spaces that responded to
functional requirement with the spaces also linked and
connected with the public spaces of the city
o The Forum was the center of the Roman city

129
Roman City Planning & Design
Forum
o The forum was the descendant of the Greek agora for the
Romans
o It began as a market place
o It rapidly became the commercial, political and ceremonial
center of the civilization
o In the process it developed into an elaborate architectural
space that became a part of all roman cities
o Unlike the Greek agora which is informal in plan, and whose
buildings are subordinate to the space, in the roman forum,
the organization is more formal
o The buildings surrounding it are normally large and
dominate the space
o Buildings commonly found in the forum include temples,
basilicas, and bath

130
Roman City Planning & Design
Forum
o Each individual major building in the forum was given a
central inside space
o Governmental function were usually arranged on the West
End; religious ceremonies were celebrated at the east end
o The inside space of buildings was connected to one or more
exterior space of the city
o Columns, statues and triumphal arches were erected as a
memorial to the conquering rulers and to the glories of the
empire
o No two roman forums are really alike, as there are always
differences between the forums in different cities
o In Rome with its two forums, we find a good example of the
Roman forums

131
Roman City Planning & Design
Republican Forum
o The Republican Forum
is also called the Forum
Romanum
o It was the oldest and
most important forum
in the city
o Soon it became an
important market place
o By the 5th Century B.C.
the various functions
associated with the
forum began to assume
their architectural shape
132
Roman City Planning & Design
Republican Forum

133
Roman City Planning & Design
Republican Forum

134
Roman City Planning & Design
Republican Forum
o Additions, modification and
growth by successive republicans
and emperors led to its
development
o By 400 A.D. the forum had
accumulated not less than 10
temples, 4 basilicas, 4 triumphal
arches and many other
monuments and shrines
o All of these were arranged with
no preordained order
o The buildings therefore loosely
define the space of the forum

135
 Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum
o During the reign of Julius
Ceasar, he attempted to
reorganize the
Republican forum but
realized that it had
become too congested
for rational order
o He therefore decided to
build a new forum
adjacent to but outside
the republican forum
o This idea was picked by
successive emperors, who
added to it to create the
imperial forum
136
 Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum
o The imperial forum is not
one forum, but five forums
with each supporting the
other
o There was variety in their
form, but they displayed
rational order in their
organization
o Each of the forum
consisted of colonnaded
atrium with a temple at its
head
o Of the five temples that of
Trojan was most majestic,
with the basilica Ulpia
sitting across it and two
libraries on either side of
the central court 137
Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum

1. Temple of Trajan
2. Column of Trajan
3. Basilica Ulpia
4. Forum of Trajan
5. Markets of Trajan
6. Temple of Venus
7. Forum of Caesar
8. Forum of Augustus
9. Temple of Mars
10. Forum of Nerva
11. Temple of Nerva
12. Forum of Peace
13. Temple of Peace 138
Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum

139
Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum

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Roman City Planning & Design
Imperial Forum

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 Roman City Planning & Design
Forum of Vespasian

o The Forum of
Vespasian formed a
square. There, an altar
to the Peace had been
erected, therefore this
forum was also often
called the Forum of the
Peace. The temple
housed the treasures
taken in Jerusalem
after the Emperor’s
victory upon the
Hebrews in 71.

142
 Roman City Planning & Design
Forum of Nerva

o The Forum of Nerva, in the centre of the picture, looks like a long
corridor. It was crossed by the Argiletum, a way that lead from
the Roman Forum to the district of Suburra. This forum was
therefore called the Forum Transitorium.
143
 Roman City Planning & Design
Forum of Augustus

o The Forum of Augustus is assigned to justice. The temple is dedicated

to Mars Ultor, to fulfill the revenge of Octavian on his adoptive father’s
and great-uncle’s murder, Julius Cæsar. Behind the temple there was a
huge wall to protect the forum against the numerous fires in the
densely populated district of Suburra. On each side of the temple stood
a basilica. 144
 Roman City Planning & Design
Forum of Cæsar

o Cæsar ordered the construction of this forum, the Forum of

Cæsar, in 51 AD. It was a rectangular plaza with a temple
dedicated to Venus Genitrix. Cæsar let erect a golden statue of
Cleopatra, as well as paintings. Around the forum, you could find
shops. 145
 Roman City Planning & Design
Forum of Trajan

o The Forum of Trajan is the

greatest of all Imperial
Forums. There were a
public place, the Basilica
Ulpia, the Trajan’s Column,
two libraries and the
temple of deified Trajan. To
achieve the construction, it
was even necessary to dig
out a part of the Quirinal
Hill that pointed onto the
planned site.

146
 Roman City Planning & Design
Architecture and Urban Design in
o Rome
In Rome we find the best
example of both Roman
architecture and city
design
o The image shows a
reconstruction module of
a part of Rome at the
height of its development
o From the image, the
organic growth of the city
is evident and is reflected
in the fabric of the city
o Buildings are densely
packed together,
separated by a network of
narrow pathways
147
 Roman City Planning & Design
Architecture and Urban Design in
o Rome
Within the fabric, all the
Roman building types can
be identified
o These include The circus
Maxentius, The Domus
Augustana, Roman
Theater, An Aqueduct, A
Roman Temple, The
Basilica Maxentius, and
The Republican and
Imperial Forums
o From the image, the
clustering of important
buildings close to the
forum is highly evident
148
Architectural Characteristics

149
Buildings & Other Arch
Elements

150
Buildings & Other Arch. Elements
Building Types
o The genius of the roman architect was not in the design of a particular
building
o Rather, it is in the way they were able to meet the needs of a complex
society for different building types for a thousand years
o They produced a wide range of buildings that had never been built
before
o Roman buildings included bathhouses for bathing, circuses for races,
amphitheaters for gladiatorial contest, temples for religion, domus for
family life and the forum as the center of public life
o Roman architects design the buildings with interior spaces configured
for specialized activities
o The Greek order was reduced to a decorative element rather than as a
form generator in Greek Architecture

151
Buildings & Other Arch.
Elements
Engineering Structures
o Romans also contributed several engineering and architectural
objects to human civilization
o The most prominent engineering contributions are in road and
bridge structures and in the construction of aqueducts
o Road and bridge construction allowed the Romans to connect
the various parts of their empire
o Aqueducts allowed them to supply their cities with water

152
Buildings & Other Arch.
Elements
The Orders
o Romans also contributed to the development of the orders
o They made the Tuscan order developed by the Etruscan very
popular in use
o They developed the composite order, which combines Corinthian
and Ionic capitals
o They developed the giant order which spans up to two storey and
the miniature order used to decorate windows
o The Romans also contributed in the development of the
Triumphal arches
o Triumphal arches were constructed in Roman cities to celebrate
victories in battles

153
Materials, Const. & Tech.

154
Materials, Construction &
Tech.
Materials
o The choice of building materials contributed to the success of
Roman architecture.
o Roman building materials were very diverse and rich
o Materials that were not available locally could usually be
imported from other Roman colonies
o Roman building materials included stone, marble, brick, and
timber
o The art of producing fired brick was a Roman invention
o Romans also invented concrete
o The combination of concrete and brick formwork enabled Roman
architects to design and vast buildings for different uses

155
Materials, Construction & Tech.
Construction

o The Roman Civilization had the most innovative construction

system of the civilizations so far studied
o Roman architects understood the underlying principles of arch
and vault construction and were able to innovate to address their
shortcomings
o The combination of arch and vault construction with concrete
and fire brick formwork provided the Romans with the
technology to achieve their architectural dreams
o No previous civilization had an architecture that involved the
manipulation of space like that of the Romans

156
Materials, Construction & Tech.
Construction

o In fact, roman architecture was essentially space shaped by

vaults, and walls for the purpose of ordered activities
o In terms of building technology, the contribution of the Romans
includes the development of the arch and barrel vault on
freestanding piers.
o Romans also introduced the use of timber trusses in roofing
o In the Pantheon, we find Roman construction technology at the
height of its application

157
Materials, Construction & Tech.
Technology
o The greatest contribution of the Romans in Building services and
technology is in the aspect of water
o The development of the aqueduct enabled ancient Romans to
supply water to their cities
o Rome at the height of its development had to supply water to
meet the needs of its one million inhabitants
o Along with water supply, the Romans developed a system of
waste water collection and disposal
o Sanitary sewers were used to collect waste water that is
channeled outside the city for disposal

158
Principles of Arch.
Organization

159
Principles of Arch.
Organization
Principles

o Three forces appear to shape the direction and form of Roman

architecture
o Function
o Construction Technology
o Adaptation to new ideas and knowledge

160
Principles of Arch. Organization
Function
o The principal organizing principle of Roman buildings is function
o Function is evident in the emphasis on spaces
o Almost all Roman buildings provided spaces for functional use
o Roman architecture also de-emphasized the rigidness in the use
of the Greek orders
o They transformed the orders from a determinant of building
form to decoration on gigantic buildings

161
Principles of Arch. Organization
Construction Technology

o Understanding Roman buildings also requires understanding

their construction technology
o Development in construction technology freed the Romans from
any creative limitations
o They were therefore able to experiment, in the process creating
new building types and form and also pushing the limits of
structural possibilities
o Construction technology also allowed Roman architects to
produce buildings with vast interior spaces
o Construction technology enabled Romans to transform the
orders from structural elements to mere decorative ones

162
Principles of Arch. Organization
Adaptation to New Ideas and Knowledge

o Roman architecture can also only be understood by

understanding the Roman attitude to innovation
o Romans were constantly in contact with different people and
places
o As they come into contact the different people and places, they
are also exposed to different ideas and ways of doing things
o Roman people were always willing to lean new ideas and
knowledge and adapt these for their use

163
Principles of Arch. Organization
Adaptation to New Ideas and Knowledge

o Such adaptation allowed them to assimilate ideas from different

places, including the Greeks, the Egyptians and the
Carthaginians
o But when Roman people learn new ideas and knowledge, they
were also able to adapt them and create ideas that were uniquely
Roman
o It is this will to learn and adapt that led to their innovative social
life and to the evolution of Roman architecture

164