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Roman |
The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external language
of classical Greek architecture for their own purposes, which
were so different from Greek buildings as to create
a new
architectural style. The two styles are often
considered one body of
classical architecture. Sometimes that approach
is productive, and sometimes it hinders
understanding by causing us to judge Roman buildings
by Greek standards, particularly when we take a
point of view limited to external appearance alone.
Certainly, the Romans absorbed Greek influence in
many aspects closely related to architecture, for
example in the introduction and use of the
Triclinium in Roman villas as a place and manner of
dining. But at this point so too should we note
Roman indebtedness to their Etruscan neighbours and
forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of
knowledge essential for their future architectural
solutions, for example in terms of hydraulics and in
the construction of arches.
Adopting this broader view of architecture we can
see that social elements such as wealth and high
population densities in cities forced the ancient
Romans to discover new (architectural) solutions of
their own. For example, the use of vaults and arches
together with a sound knowledge of building
materials enabled them to achieve unprecedented
successes in the construction of imposing structures
for public use. Examples include the aqueducts, the
Pantheon (largest single span dome for well over a
millennium), the basilicas and perhaps most famously
of all, the Colosseum.
Political propaganda demanded that these
buildings should be made to impress as well as
perform a public function. The Romans didn't feel
restricted by Greek aesthetic axioms alone in order
to achieve these objectives. The Pantheon is a
supreme example of this, particularly in the version
rebuilt by Hadrian and which still stands in its
celestial glory as a prototype of several other
great buildings of Western architecture.
The Roman use of arches together with their
improvements in the use of concrete and construction
of vaulted ceilings also enabled huge (covered)
public spaces such as the public baths and
basilicas. The Romans also based much of their
architecture on the dome, such as Hadrian's
Parthenon in the city of Rome.
Art historians such as Gottfried Richter in the
20's identified the Roman architectural innovation
as being the Triumphal Arch and it is poignant to
see how this symbol of power on earth was
transformed and utilised within the Christian
basilicas when the Roman Empire of the West was on
its last legs: The arch was set before the altar to
symbolize the triumph of Christ and the after life.
On a less visible level for the modern observer,
ancient Roman developments in housing and public
hygiene are far more impressive, especially given
their day and age. Clear examples are baths and
latrines which could be either public or private,
not to mention developments in under-floor heating,
double glazing (examples in Ostia) and piped water
(examples in Pompeii).
Possibly most impressive from an urban planning
point of view were the multi-story apartment blocks
called insulae built to cater for a wide range of
situations. These buildings solely intended as large
scale accommodation could reach several floors in
height. Although they were often dangerous,
unhealthy and prone to fires there are examples in
cities such as the Roman port town of Ostia which
date back to the reign of Trajan and point to
solutions which catered for a variety of needs and
markets.
As an example of this we have the housing on Via
della Foce: large scale real estate development made
to cater for up-and-coming middle class
entrepreneurs. Rather like modern semi-detached
housing these had repeated floor plans intended to
be easily and economically built in a repetitive
fashion. Internal spaces were designed to be
relatively low-cost yet functional and with
decorative elements reminiscent of the detached
houses and villas to which the buyers might aspire
in their later years. Each apartment had its own
terrace and private entrance. External walls were in
Opus Reticulatum whilst interiors in Opus Incertum
which would then be plastered and possibly painted.
Some existing examples show alternate red and yellow
painted panels to have been a relatively popular
choice of interior decor.
Innovation started in the
first century BC, with the invention of
concrete, a strong and readily available
substitute for
stone. Tile-covered concrete quickly supplanted
marble as the primary building material and more
daring buildings soon followed, with great pillars
supporting broad arches and domes rather than dense
lines of
columns suspending flat
architraves.The freedom of concrete also
inspired the
colonnade screen, a row of purely decorative
columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In
smaller-scale architecture, concrete's strength
freed the
floor plan from
rectangular cells to a more free-flowing
environment.
Although concrete had been used on a minor scale
in
Mesopotamia, Roman architects perfected it and
used it in buildings where it could stand on its own
and support a great deal of weight. The first use of
concrete by the Romans was in the town of Cosa
sometime after 273 BC. Ancient Roman concrete (opus
cementicium) was a mixture of lime mortar, sand,
water, and stones. The ancient builders placed these
ingredients in wooden frames where it hardened and
bonded to a facing of stones or (more frequently)
bricks. When the framework was removed, the new wall
was very strong with a rough surface of bricks or
stones. This surface could be smoothed and faced
with an attractive stucco or thin panels of marble
or other coloured stones called revetment. Concrete
construction proved to be more flexible and less
costly than building solid stone buildings. The
materials were readily available and not difficult
to transport. The wooden frames could be used more
than once, allowing builders to work quickly and
efficiently.
On return from campaigns in Greece, the general
Sulla returned with what is probably the most
well-known element of the early
imperial period: the
mosaic, a decoration of colourful chips of stone
inset into cement. This tiling method took the
empire by storm in the late first century and the
second century and in the Roman home joined the
well known
mural in decorating floors, walls, and
grottoes in
geometric and
pictorial designs.
Even most would consider concrete the Roman
contribution most relevant to the modern world, the
Empire's style of architecture, though no longer
used with any great frequency, can still be seen
throughout
Europe and
North America in the arches and domes of many
governmental and
religious buildings.
Buildings, features
and types of buildings
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