The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

218 BCE

350 CE

The Roman Empire

trabeated construction

•limited span due to stones poor tensile strength

•requires a considerable amount of vertical structure

The Aqueducts at Nimes, France

1:3000

arch is the basic module for Roman arcuated construction

arch works by exploiting the stone’s compressive strength

…an arch thrown down a straight axis

groin vault: a perpendicular intersection of 2 barrel vaults

a dome is an arch spun on

a central vertical axis

Pantheon

Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CE

Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CE—“Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this”

third iteration—originally built as a temple to all the Gods

Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100-125

CE

Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CEheight to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle

are the same, 43.3 meters (142 ft)

do you remember what these are called?

coffered ceilingcoffers were poured in molds,

probably on the temporary scaffolding

oculus admits only light

marble comes from Egypt, Numidia, Asia minor, & Gaul—shows span of Roman Empire

350 CE

•cobbled roadway •constructed more than 2200 years ago •primary route from Rome to Greece—transport of goods

Appian Way

Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CE

Pantheon, aedicule, Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CE

Pilaster Column

IBM Tower

Philip Johnson

1987

PilasterColumn

Baths of Caracalla

Rome, Hadrian, 100-125 CE

could hold an

estimated 1,600

bathers

A-Calidarium B-Nymphaeum C-Great Hall D-Frigidarium (Swimming Pool) E-Courts

G-Palaestra H-Lecture Halls I-Vestibules L-Dressing Rooms N-Steam Baths

Q-Lounges S-Gymnasia T-Study Rooms V-Nymphaea

Gymnasium

Massage

Calidarium (Hot)

Tepidarium (Warm)

Frigidarium (Cold)

Natatio (Pool)

Sequence of Spaces

Dressing Rooms

section cut of Baths of Caracalla

•more a leisure centre than just a series of baths•second to have a public library within the complex

Interior of Baths of

Caracalla

Basilica Ulpia

Rome, Trajan, 100-125 CE

reconstruction drawing of the Forum of Trajan shows: (1)the triumphal arch at the entrance(2)statue of the emperor on horseback (3)hemicycles(4)Basilica Ulpia (a law court)

(5) two libraries(6) Trajan's Column(7) his temple

Basilica Ulpia

large roofed hall erected for

transacting business and disposing of legal

matters—

largest and most lavish in Rome and would have been

regarded as a model of its type

"The Basilica Ulpia may not have been a building of any profound architectural originality. But there are few monuments of antiquity

that enjoyed a greater and more enduring prestige, or that did more to shape the subsequent course of architectural history."

Ward-Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture

•usually contained interior colonnades that divided space•giving aisles or arcaded spaces at one or both sides •with an apse at one end (or less often at each end) where the magistrates sat, often on a slightly raised dais

Interior

central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, so light could penetrate through the clerestory

windows

Domus Aurea

Nero’s Golden House,

Tivoli, 64-80 CE

The main dining room was a rotunda, which revolved slowly, day and night, like the vault of heaven itself.

There were baths with a lavish supply of both sea-water and sulphur water.

Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, 64-80 CE

When the palace was completed on this sumptuous scale, Nero’s approval as he dedicated it was confined to the remark ‘At last I can begin to live like a human being’

(Suetonius, Nero 31)

Jack Arch

Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, Severus and Celer, 64-80 CE

Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, Severus and Celer, 64-80 CE

Hadrian’s VillaTivoli, 118-133 CE•complex of over 30 buildings •included palaces, several thermae, theatre, temples, libraries, state rooms and quarters for courtiers, praetorians and slaves

Canopus & Serapeum Maritime Villa

Site Plan of Hadrian’s Villaretreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd

century

canopus (pool)

Serapeum (grotto)

Hadrian’s Villa, Canopus, Tivoli, 118-133 CE

evidence of the expanse of the Roman Empire

Greek Caryatid

Egyptian Alligator

cryptoporticus

covered corridor or passageway–

extensive network of

underground tunnels

Mosaic: Landscape with lion, boars, deer c. 124

Mosaic: Nile scene c. 124

Island Villa

Hadrian’s Villa, Island Villa, Tivoli, 118-133 CEprobably used by emperor as a retreat from the busy life at the court

Hadrian’s Villa, Island Villa, Tivoli, 118-133 CE

curved barrel vault

evidence of previous

destruction

79 CE

Vesuvius erupts!

Pompeian Forum and surroundin

g area

Pompeii discovered in 1738

Pompeian Store Fronts often mask the residential environment

symbols = type of store

goat = dairy

grapes = wine

House (Domus)

Pompeii, before 79 AD

House (Domus) Plan, Pompeii, before 79 AD

vestibulum or fauces (throat)

polylithic construction

entry mosaic in the House of the Vetii

atrium

•large airy room

•lighted by an opening in the roof

•the formal room where guests were received and clients assembled to wait for their customary morning visits to their patron

•also a room for family occasions

colored panels, graceful patterns,

mythological motifs

cupids playing hide and seek

tablinum•open on two sides

• family records were stored

• elite families would display the imagines—busts of famous ancestors

• master of the house, the paterfamilias, would greet his many clients on their morning visits

folding doorslattice style wooden door

chest of family

finances

tabernae or shops

Lekthos w/ fulcra, Cubiculum,100-300 CE

•on the upper story

•in the interior of the house

•often functioned as bedrooms

•small rooms off the atrium used for private meetings, libraries, etc.

Cubiculum

Etruscan Sarcophagus, 650-80 BCE

culina

braziers

House (Domus) Plan w/ Peristyle Garden,

Pompeii, before 79 CE

House of the Vetii

view into the Peristyle Garden

House (Domus) - Peristyle Garden, Pompeii, before 79 AD

Larariumaltar for the

Household gods (lares)

aedicule

House of the Faun

frescoes, Pompeii, before 79 CE

painting of a fresco from

Pompeii

illusions of depth

fanciful architecture & attenuated

columns

painting of a fresco from

Pompeii

illusions of nature

fish pond

triadic color scheme: red, yellow, blue

frieze

body

dado

Roman Domestic Furniture

100-300 AD

cathedra, 100-300 CE

Stone Tables, 100-300 CE

trestle leg

monopdia

lamps, 100-300 CE

curule, 100-300 CE

floor patterns: denote wealth

tesserae: individual mosaic tiles

border

illusion patterns, House of the Faun

geometry