History of Architecture

From Greece to the 21 st Century

American architect Ludwig Rohe rightly said “Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space.”

Ancient Greece

 The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.

Greek Orders

Roman Architecture

 Rounded Arches replaced the post and Lintel system.

  Use of concrete Use of Barrel Arches

Examples of Important Roman Architecture

    Rounded Arch Barrel Vault Pilasters Coffers

Key Terms

Early Christian and Byzantine Art

    Earliest art forms found in the

catacombs, underground passageways.

Basilicas were built throughout the Roman Empire to accommodate the large numbers of Christian worshipers.

Technical advances from Roman architecture made making larger structures possible.

Christian churches were seen as retreats from the real world as a spiritual experience seen in these churches.

Plain Exterior but Ornate Interior

 The Basilica was design with a large central aisle called a nave. At the end, there was a semi-circular area called the apse.

Sant’ Apollinare in Classe. Ravenna, Italy AD 533-49

Mosaics

 http://www.sacred destinations.com/italy/ravenna-sant apollinare-classe-photos/index.htm

Byzantine Architecture

   Hagia Sophia built sixth century AD by the emperor Justinian.

Considered the greatest centrally planned churches.

Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between A.D. 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years.

Hagia Sophia’s dome rests on four hug

piers, massive vertical pillars, that support arches made of cut stone.

Islamic Architecture

Romanesque Architecture

  11 th -12 th Century Combining features of contemporary Western Roman and Byzantine buildings,

Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading.

Each building has clearly defined forms and they are frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan so that the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials.

Groin Vaults

 A

groin vault

or

groined vault

as a

double barrel vault

or (also sometimes known

cross vault

) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults . The word groin refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults; cf. ribbed vault . Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round. In comparison with a barrel vault , a groin vault provides good economies of material and labour. The thrust is concentrated along the groins or arrises (the four diagonal edges formed along the points where the barrel vaults intersect), so the vault need only be abutted at its four corners.

Examples of Romanesque Architecture

Gothic Art

  13 th and 14 th Century Gothic is a term used to identify a period that began around the middle of the 12 th century and lasted to the end of the 15 th century and in some places, the 16 th century.

 Romanesque style paved the way to the Gothic style

Gothic Art

 Pointed arches rather than rounded arches  Use of flying buttresses 

A buttress is a support or brace that counteracts the outward thrust of an arch or vault

Flying Buttreess



“Flying Buttress” is a support structure that reach the side aisles of the church that created a thrust counterthrust system that supports the ceiling.

Stain Glass

 Many stories of bible, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, etc. Colored Illuminations  Size- huge areas in cathedrals were dedicated to these windows.  Color-artisans added minerals to the glass while it was molten to color the glass  Design-small pieces of stained glass were joined with lead-strips and reinforced with iron bars.