A brief understanding about Roman Republic and the architectural marvels created by them. Basics of Vitruvius concepts and D'Architectura

1. A.R 2.6 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE - 1
1.Ancient Civilisations (Egypt, Mesopotamia & Indus) - pre summer break
2.Classical Greeks - pre summer break
3.The Roman Empire - 17 & 24 June 2016
4.The Rise of European World - 14 July 2016
5. Activity - 21 July 2016
6.Clash of Ideologies - 21 July 2016
7.Pre Industrial Revolution - 28 July 2016
8. Activity - 5 August 2016
LECTURE DATES

2. A.R 2.6 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE - 1
1.Roman Architecture - grand scale of architecture, new materials &
building technology, Public Infrastructure
2.Byzantine (300 AD - 1453 AD)
3.Early Christian (300 AD - 800 AD)
4.Romanesque (ranging from 6th to 10th century—1200 AD)
5.Gothic (1200AD - 1600 AD)
6.Renaissance (post crusades- 1800 AD)
7. Other Styles: Mannerist, Baroque, Jacobean,Victorian, Rococo etc.
COURSE CONTENT: POST SUMMER BREAK

3. Date: 17 June 2016
Abhinand GopalTHE MAJESTIC ROMANS
BUILDINGS OF THE ROMAN CIVILISATION

4. Paleolithic Age 2.6 million years ago 10,000 BC a period of repeated glaciations, use of most primitive
tools covering 95% of humans (homo sapiens) history

5. World Map at 10000 years ago, after the melting of glaciers
(start of Mesolithic age to 7000 BC)
characterised by: movement of people from caves to plains, river valleys & coastal regions.

9. present day international boundaries showing countries in Europe

10. Italy: a country in the E. Mediterranean Sea made of small islands and having a long indented coastline

11. Neolithic Age (6800 BC - 2500BC): New Stone Age
characterised with 1. introduction to agriculture practices 2. living in bands 3. domestication of animals

12. Bronze Age (2500 - 1250 BC)
characterised with 1. metallurgy for art & warfare 2. establishment of social hierarchy 3. permanent houses

13. Iron Age (1250 - 1 AD)
characterised by 1. gender & social bias 2. building marvels & technology 3. economic divide, military
regimes & colonisation

14. Necessity to build new & grand structures?

15. physical map of Italy

17. Main political sub-divisions in
Italy, a country of area 3 Lakh
sq. kms with a population of
60 million people
slightly lesser than the largest state of India,
with a population of 78 million people

18. What is the first thing that comes to mind about Italy & Roman Empire other than gladiators & Italian food?

20. Organised crime in Italy
Sicily

22. Florence

26. Venice

27. PLACES
ITALY
1.Sicily
2.Rome
3.Florence
4.Pisa
5.Milan
6.Venice

28. NATURAL FACTORS
GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE
▸ Mediterranean climate.
▸ Unique geography with
multiple variations
▸ Apennines running all
along the peninsula
▸ Hot-Dry summers & Rainy-
cool winters
▸ Mainly consists of the
peninsula & the seas
▸ best climate in the world

29. ETRUSCAN SOCIETY
PREDECESSORS OF ROMANS
▸ practised farming, fishing
& trade
▸ lived in northern & central
Italy
▸ believed in polytheism
▸ independent kingdoms
▸ built using wood, brick &
terracotta
▸ nature worshippers

30. CERVETERI TOMBS, NEAR PRESENT DAY ROME BUILT BY ETRUSCANS IN 6TH CENTURY

31. Interior of the tomb, resembling the Egyptian practices, rituals & worship of the dead

32. Sarcophagus of the spouses, 6th century BC

33. ETRUSCAN PEOPLE
EVOLVED FROM GREEK STYLE
▸ worship of multiple gods
▸ completely destroyed,
studied by Vitruvius in 1st
century BC with the help of
foundations remaining
▸ plan similar to Greek style,
ritual spaces created in
groves.

34. ETRUSCAN TEMPLE PLAN
VARIATIONS FROM THE GREEKS
▸ polychrome terracotta instead of
marble columns of Greek temple
▸ rectangular in plan with wide spreading
of the roof
▸ supported by columns only on the front
side and not all around
▸ stylobate raised with only front steps
▸ marble was not used, built with timber,
wood & travertine + tufa (limestone &
sandstone found in Apennines)
▸ decorative elements on the roof
▸ planar columns without flutings

35. Greek Peristyle Temple Plan
Etruscan Temple Plan

36. Porch
PodiumEntrance
columns
cella
Plan & Elevations
Draw the Section!

38. TEMPLE OF MINERVA
APULU OF VEII
▸ most famous Etruscan sculpture
made out of terracotta
▸ lack of written records limits our
understanding of aesthetics

39. But where did Rome come from?

41. BATTLE OF TROY - 1250 BC

42. Aeneas escapes from the fires of Troy along with a few survivors - his wife travels towards Britain, where his
son Ascanius settles. Brute of Britain, the first king of Britain is born in their lineage.

43. CAPITOLINE WOLD FEEDING TWO YOUNG BABIES, WHO ESTABLISH THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Aeneas arrives on the shores of Latium and establishes his family lineage. His descendant Nictor is killed by his
brother and his male heirs were killed, while his grandchildren Romulus and Remus were thrown in river Tiber

46. development of Roman Republic- Imperial Empire between 500 BC to 300 AD

47. FACTORS INFLUENCING HUMAN SOCIETY & ARCHITECTURE
▸ natural factors - geography, geology, climate
▸ civilisation factors - history of the group, social
structure,religion, building typologies & construction
techniques

49. Roman Hierarchy

50. Jupiter: God of Sky; Juno: wide of Jupiter, councillor of Rome; Neptune: god of the Sea & horses;
Minerva: daughter of Zeus & Hera; Apollon: Sun God; Diana: goddess of Hunting; Mars: God of War, Venus:
Goddess of Love
ROMANS WORSHIPPED A PANTHEON OF 12 GODS

51. Roman Gods derived from Greek Myths

53. The Macedonian Wars (214-148 BC) were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman
Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major
Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over the eastern
Mediterranean basin, in addition to their hegemony in the western Mediterranean after the
Punic wars (264 - 146 BC)

54. CIVILISATION FACTORS
REPUBLIC & MILITARY
▸ believed in polytheism
▸ primary worship of triad Gods
▸ managed the affairs of the Republic
through represented officials
▸ change from military primitive army
strategies which were successful on
plains to the formation of legions, to
fight in hilly regions.
▸ every citizen were given basic rights
to raise up hierarchy if showed talent

55. acquired major territories from Macedonian Wars (against Greek states) & Punic Wars
(against Carthage)
Roman Republic (500 BC - 27 BC): establishment of Rome to rule of Augustus Caesar (known as
Octavius Caesar), nephew of Julius Caesar
Roman Empire (27 BC - 311AD): ruled in the name of Emperor till the split of Roman Empire into
west & east empires. East headed by ‘Constantinople’
TIMELINE OF ROMAN CIVILIZATION

57. what did they possess to rule the vast territories?

58. MINERALS, COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

59. THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE - I
▸ Vitruvius Concepts
▸ Concepts of Arches- construction techniques
▸ Pantheon - plan, elevation, section, importance
▸ Column Orders: Composite & Tuscan
▸ Public Infrastructure: Roads, Aqueducts, Baths
▸ Communications & Defences
▸ Theatres & Entertainment
Part 2: Lecture next week: 24 June

60. MINOR TIME ASSIGNMENT
PLAN, ELEVATION & SECTION
Visualise an ancient era and design a nobleman’s house in any of the
following areas:
1. Greece 2. Egypt 3. Indus Valley
Draw the following which would justify the climate, geography & culture of
the place:
A. Plan: to understand the various spaces & their FUNCTION
B. Elevation: To understand the various BUILDING MATERIALS used in that
period
C. Section: to give a rough idea about the interiors, the tools used & extant
of BEAUTY

61. Vitruvius explaining to Emperor Augustus about building public infrastructure using his own concepts

62. EARLIEST ARCHITECTURE THEORY IN PRACTICE
MARCUS VITRUVIUS POLLIO
born c. 80–70 BC, died after c. 15 BC
commonly known as Vitruvius, was a Roman
author, architect, civil engineer and military
engineer during the 1st century BC, known for
his multi-volume work entitled De architectura.

63. Archamedian Screw Principle

64. D’ ARCHITECTURA
BEAUTY - STRUCTURE- FUNCTION
‣ first discusses the classical orders
of the Greek civilisation
‣ the need for system of proportions
‣ "triad" of characteristics
associated with architecture:
utilitas, firmitas and venustas
(commodity, firmness and delight)
‣ beauty (section): to understand
aesthetics of the time
‣ structure (elevation): building
materials used & construction
technique
‣ function (plan): to understand the
spaces better

65. in relation, where do you find these?

66. PROPORTIONS
The lower section of text gives these proportions:
• the length of the outspread arms is equal to
the height of a man
• from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is
one-tenth of the height of a man
• from below the chin to the top of the head is
one-eighth of the height of a man
• from above the chest to the top of the head is
one-sixth of the height of a man
• from above the chest to the hairline is one-
seventh of the height of a man.
• the maximum width of the shoulders is a
quarter of the height of a man.
• from the breasts to the top of the head is a
quarter of the height of a man.
• the distance from the elbow to the tip of the
hand is a quarter of the height of a man.
• the distance from the elbow to the armpit is
one-eighth of the height of a man.
• the length of the hand is one-tenth of the
height of a man.
• the root of the penis is at half the height of a
man.
• the foot is one-seventh of the height of a man.
• from below the foot to below the knee is a
quarter of the height of a man.
• from below the knee to the root of the penis is
a quarter of the height of a man.
• the distances from below the chin to the nose
and the eyebrows and the hairline are equal
to the ears and to one-third of the face.

67. ‣ As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been
regarded since the Renaissance as the first book on architectural theory, as
well as a major source on the canon of Classical Architecture

68. NEW BUILDING
MATERIALS
“AUGUSTUS CHANGED
ROME FROM A CITY OF
STONE TO MARBLE”
‣ The first use of concrete in Rome is
credited to the discovery of
Pozzolona sand near Naples
‣ It acts a cement for it’s binding
properties

72. CONCEPT OF ARCHES

73. TEXT

75. CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE

76. TEXT

77. PANTHEON: A GROUP OF 12 GODS
Built by Agrippa in 0 BC, later destroyed due to fires in the city of Rome.
Constructed by Emperor Hadrian in 126 AD

78. FIRE BAKED BRICKS, MORTAR, TERRACOTTA TILED ROOF & STRONG FOUNDATION
"Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the
third time."

81. OCULUS OF PANTHEON: LET THERE BE LIGHT

82. CAPITAL, SHAFT & BASE
ELEMENTS IN A COLUMN

85. ROMAN COLUMNS
DERIVED ELEMENTS FROM GREEKS

87. A TYPICAL DIAGRAM SHOWING A COLUMN
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
OF CLASSICAL GREEK
ARCHITECTURE
▸ Stylobate
▸ Column + Entablature
▸ Column: Base, Shaft, Capital
▸ Entablature:
▸ Pediment
1. Architrave
2. Frieze: Triglyph + Metope
3. Cornice

88. Draw the column details?

89. Sketches Required:
Buildings of Roman Civilisation:
1. Map of Italy & major important cities/regions
2. Etruscan Temple: plan, elevation & section
3. Pantheon
4. Tuscan Order with details and compare analysis with Greek Column
5. Find out about Composite Order and draw the column with necessary details
6. Study briefly about the ten books of Architecture written by Vitruvius
Mode of Submission: A3 sketch books
Movies recommended for better visual understanding of Roman Civilisation: Gladiator, Rome (tv series),
Spartacus, Ben Hur etc.

90. Date: 24 June 2016
Abhinand Gopal
THE MAJESTIC ROMANS - II

91. TEXT

92. THE GREAT FIRE OF ROME 64 AD
DISASTERS THAT STRUCK ROME

93. ERUPTION OF MOUNT VESUVIUS: POZOLLONA SOURCE

95. ROADS IN POMPEII

99. ROMAN ROAD IN SYRIA

100. ANCIENT ROMAN ROAD IN AFRICA

101. THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE - II
▸ Vitruvius Concepts
▸ Concepts of Arches & Vaults - construction techniques
▸ Pantheon - plan, elevation, section, importance
▸ Column Orders: Composite & Tuscan
▸ Public Infrastructure: Roads, Aqueducts, Baths
▸ Communications & Defences
▸ Theatres & Entertainment
Part 2: Lecture next week: 15 July