Transcript The Romans as Engineers

The Romans as Engineers
How does technological change transform
architectural structures?
How do technological advances allow the
Roman Empire to expand?
How does concrete allow the Roman Empire to
replicate its values throughout a far-flung
empire?
The Romans built upon the engineering developments
of the Greeks and Etruscans (central Italy, 750-200 BCE).
Etruscans
The Etruscans gave the Romans:
•the arch
•the vault
•advances in land-drainage, irrigation, and sewer design
•the atrium house
•the rectangular temple plan
Greeks
The Greeks gave the Romans:
•the gridiron town plan
•the peristyle form (columns all around)
But the Romans invented concrete.
Why do the keystone and voussoir matter?
Why are these two terms so significant?
Why is wood necessary?
What are the limitations?
How does practical reality of
thrust affect architectural design?
thrust– a force orthogonal to the
main load
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/kitchensci
ence/wierd/exp/the-potato-arch/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdNYTjXJPKE
Big Bad Concrete
A Roman Innovation
Big Ideas
• Recipe= small gravel, coarse sand, hot lime, and
water (and sometimes foreign objects such as
blood, fats, milk, ash, horse hair, etc.)
• Concrete was extremely portable (unlike stone
blocks)—concrete has a relatively light weight and
is made of raw materials that are commonly found
• Building with concrete did not require highly-skilled
masons like stone construction (blocks cut from
quarries and recut to shape)
• The materials required were relatively inexpensive,
compared to the cost of the arduous process of
quarrying marble and other metamorphic rocks
Concrete allowed the Romans to cover spaces of a size unequaled
until the advent of cast iron in the 19th century.
Concrete was especially invaluable for vaulting: the stone semicircular barrel vault and cross-vault which the Romans developed
were heavy, cumbersome and difficult to build; concrete, poured
into shape, suited the curves and awkward junctions which arise in
vaulting.
Roman concrete vaults at
the Baths of Caracalla, Rome
When two barrel-vaulted spaces
intersect each other at the same
level, the result is a groin vault or
cross vault.
If the vault is “pointed” and has a
“rib” on the top, then the it is
referred to as a rib vault.
rib vault
The Pantheon Rome 125-128 CE
This enormous dome has been made possible by concrete!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8IcwFwNLr8
Concrete revolutionized construction methods in that it
allowed the constructor to create rather than extract.
Craftsmen were able to create forms by molding the
concrete, rather than excavate the form by carving away
the excess stone.
Casting Concrete
Structures made of concrete
and brick could be faced with
veneers of marble rather than
built entirely from solid marble
or another type of stone, like
granite.
Roman Architecture could be spread across its
vast empire because of concrete’s portability
Roman Architecture in Tunisia, Northern
Africa.
An example of a building
made with concrete and
“cut” stone construction.
Concrete in Everyday Life
•
•
Concrete was used to create aqueducts
and roads(5,300 miles of roads) that
spanned across the Roman Empire.
Roman techniques are still
implemented today when constructing
roads and aqueducts.
Roads and Aqueducts
• Since the Romans had such a massive empire, a vast
and sophisticated network of roads, bridges, and
aqueducts were built.
• Roads helped to efficiently move the armies, promote
commerce, and increase the speed of transport and
communications.
• Aqueducts helped to deliver and channel water from a
distant, safe and plentiful water source to urban centers.
• Roman roads and aqueducts were highly durable and
practical because of the use of concrete construction.
Connect to the Inca Empire which also had thousands of miles of
roads. Messages could be carried between Cuzco and the edges of
the empire in about a week.
Pont du Gard
Late 1st Century
Nimes, France
Since Roman concrete construction allowed for roads and bridges to be extremely
durable, many of them continue to last to today. With only a few repairs, Roman
aqueducts built about two thousand years ago can function again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBiOoolZvmk
The aqueduct at Pont du Gard is a powerful reminder of Rome’s rapid spread and
enduring impact. Entirely functional, the aqueduct conveys the balance, proportion,
and rhythmic harmony of a great work of art and fits naturally into the landscape, a
reflection of the Romans’ attitude toward the land.
The Colosseum
Construction began under Vespasian in 72 CE and
was completed under Titus in 80 CE.
Column of Trajan
Rome
113-16 or after 117 CE
Overall height with base 125’
Column alone 97’ 8”
The column is a continuous pictorial
narrative of the Dacian campaign. 2,500
individual figures are carved into the
column. In 1587 CE, the gilded bronze
statue of Trajan was replaced with a
statue of Saint Peter, as ordered by
Pope Sixtus V. The natural and
architectural elements in the scene are
kept small to emphasize the important
figures—later we will refer to this as
medieval scale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFt3tHNe
vJg
Column of Trajan
Column of Trajan
Arch of Titus
Rome
c.82 C.E.
Arch of Constantine
Rome
c.130-138 C.E.
Temple of Portunus
Late 2nd century BCE
Forum Boarium, Rome
Maison Carree
c. 20 BCE
Nimes, France
The Pantheon
125-128 CE
•the word Pantheon means “all the gods” so
the Pantheon is a temple dedicated to all
the gods
•from the street one sees a rather plain
temple front which disguises the giant
rotunda behind it
•originally the entrance to the Pantheon
was approached by stairs from a
colonnaded square
•the Pantheon was completed between 125128 CE on the site of an earlier temple that
had been erected in BCE to commemorate
the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra (this
original temple burned in 110CE)
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
•the walls rise nearly seventy-five feet; they are twenty feet thick
•the walls support a bowl-shaped dome that is 143 feet in diameter and 143 feet from the floor to
the summit: the effect that is created is one of a perfect circle
the oculus
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
•light is provided through a 29 foot
oculus (an opening at the top of the dome in the center)
•the perfect geometry creates a sense
of dislocation in the viewer; because
the space is a perfect sphere, the eye
has no logical place to rest but is
restlessly driven across the curve of
the dome; a visitor to the Pantheon
feels almost dizzy or overwhelmed in
the space
•the two tiers of architectural detail and
marble veneer disguises the extensive
buttressing and brickwork that
supports the structure
•the coffers that line the interior of the
dome are used to lighten its overall
weight
the oculus
the dome
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
architectural drawings of the
Pantheon
the floor
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
Basilicas
• A basilica is a large rectangular building, with a
rounded extension called an apse at each end.
• They were used as general-purpose
administrative structures, but their use could be
adapted to a range of purposes: imperial audience
chambers, army drill halls, schools.
• Their design provided a large interior space with
easy access in and out.
• Much like a cathedral, they possessed a
clerestory, nave, and separated side aisles.
• Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic
cities in the 2nd century B.C.E.
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
Finished 312 C.E.
The Basilica Maxentius was the largest building in the Roman
Forum.
Construction began under Emperor Maxentius in 308 CE and was
completed by Constantine after Maxentius’ defeat in 312 CE.
Floorplan for the Basilica Maxentius and Constantine
completed 312 CE
Note the nave, clerestory, and side aisles. This building was
built using arches instead of columns to support the ceiling.
Portas
Portas in a sense are over-sized arches which
were used as entryways and exits to cities by the
Greeks.
Many cities had their cities surrounded by walls and
portas were sometimes the only way in and out of
those cities.
Porta Augusta
Perugia, Italy
Forums and Marketplaces
Forums
• According to Stockstad, forums are recreational facilities
(a Roman town center; the site of temples and
administrative buildings--basilicas) and were used as a
market or gathering area for the citizens.
• The forum was the center of civic life in Roman towns
and cities, as the agora was in Greek life. Business was
conducted in its basilicas and pavilions, religious duties
performed in its temples, and speeches presented in its
open square.
• A forum is also used as a place for assembly or public
discussion.
Marketplaces
• The Trajan’s market was a complex of shops were the
Romans would gather to purchase products and conduct
business with other merchants.
• Built between 107 and 110 C.E., Trajan’s Market is the
most famous marketplace that existed. The market was
designed by the emperor Trajan’s favorite architect,
Apollodorus of Damascus.
Apollodorus of Damascus
Trajan Market
Rome, Italy 107-110 A.D.
Apollodorus of Damascus
Trajan’s Market
Rome, Italy 107-110 A.D.
Apollodorus was integral in designing the famous Trajan’s Forum
which bears the emperor’s name and borders the market.
What is sculpture used for?
portraiture
funerary portraits or memorials
idealized examples of the human form
tangible visualizations of gods or goddesses
(or rulers who want people to think they are gods!)
Augustus of Primaporta
early 1st century
• idealization of a ruler
• imperial portraiture used for
political propaganda
Ara Pacis, Rome 13-9 BCE
marble
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1
2
4
5
6
Imperial Procession, detail of a relief on the south side of the Ara Pacis
above: Imperial Procession, detail of a relief on
the south side of the Ara Pacis
Allegory of Peace, relief on the east side of the Ara Pacis
peristyle garden, House of the Vetti, Pompeii
Mid-1st century CE
House of the Silver Wedding, Pompeii: view of the atrium from the tablinum
House of M. Frontus, Pompeii atrium
House of Publius Fannius--reconstructed
House of Publius Fannius--reconstructed
Pantheon
Rome
125-128 CE
Phidias, Kallikrates and Iktinos
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens
447-428 BCE
Polykleitos
Spear Bearer (Doryphoros)
c. 450-440 BCE
Augustus of Primaporta
early 1st century
Coin with head of Alexander
ca. 305-281BCE
Augustus of Primaporta
early 1st century