• 2.6millions Years to 2000 BC

Prehistoric Architecture

Neo- Classical Architecture

ClassicalByzantineMedievalGothicRenaissanceBaroqueNeo- Classical

Ancient Architecture

Our World

The Paleolithic Age was a period of development of most primitive stone tools of human history (2.6million years to 10000 BC).

At this era, human gathered in bands and relied on food gatherers, fishing, hunting and scavenging wild animals.

Paleolithic Ages

The people left no literature, but they did

leave many burial chambers,

monuments and artifacts.

Even the earlier cave

men left records in the form of their artwork

which tells us many stories of their life

and existence.

Paleolithic Ages

The Mesolithic Age was a period of development of most primitive stone tools of human history (10000 BC

to 5000 BC).Human survival relied on intensive hunting and some initial stages

of domestication. Villages of huts and cities were found around this era too. In some area, ceramic making has been found.

Mesolithic Ages

Red Deer Stag skulls with holes

Wooden Sculpture (Shigir Idol), Russia

Stone circles, standing stones, stone tables tombs and tools have been found all over the Neolithic sites in Europe and the British Isles.

The Neolithic or "New" Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age (10200 BC to 2000 BC).

Neolithic Ages

After man moved out from caves.

More permanent lifestyle due to

crop farming & cultivation

Characteristics of early huts

• Easily available material – tree branches, leaves, animal skin / fur & bones, stones.

• Were easy to construct

• Had a fireplace / hearth

• Were not permanent

SEMI-NOMADIC EXISTENCE

A somewhat similar ‘design’ evolved – usually

circular or oval, or triangular.

This was due to

ease of construction and the practical position

of the hearth in the centre.

SEMI-NOMADIC EXISTENCE

• Shift in human subsistence and lifestyle

– reliance upon a more nomadic hunter-gatherer technique was increasingly replaced by a reliance upon agriculture.

– encouraged the growth of settlements.

– continue into the Bronze Age, eventually giving rise to towns, and later cities and states

SHIFT IN LIFESTYLE

UNDERGROUND

Some of the early habitats were

dug into the ground as protection against animals and cold weather.

Connection to the sun & other astronomical forces

with the surrounding landscape

Structures seem to become

part of this connection, or ritual.

The White Horse at UffingtonStonehenge at Salisbury Plains

ANCIENT BELIEFS & RITUALS

Dolmen: This is a free standing chamber consisting of standing stones covered by a capstone as a lid. They were used for burial and were covered by mounds.

Menhir: This is single standing stone.

Stone circle

Stone row

Taula: This is a straight standing stone, topped with another forming a 'T' shape.

Trilithon: Two parallel upright stones with a horizontal stone (called a lintel) placed on top, e.g. Stonehenge

Different Megalithic Structures

Free-standing singular stones believe to be used for

determining important astronomical events such as the solstice and equinox.

MENHIR Alignments, Brittany

free standing chamber consisting

of standing stones covered by a capstone

consisting of large stones set in formation

(stone table) and originally covered

with earth or smaller stones

some have a more complex layout and

include an entrance passage giving them

a T-shape

for burial purpose

Neolithic DOLMEN Burial

Large, elaborate structures using stones

arranged to form a passage

leading to a burial enclosure

Calls for careful consideration

and deep knowledge of the site and the

path of the sun

Passage Tomb

aligned in such a way that the sun shines into the passage at a significant point in the year, for example at sunrise on the winter solstice or at sunset on the equinox.

illuminates the passage and decorated end alcove

ritually linked

NEWGRANGE Passage Tomb

Stone Circle

a circular space, delimited by purposely erected stones and often containing burials

was connected with prehistoric peoples' beliefs and that their construction can shed light on ancient engineering,

social organisation, religion and science.

for purely monumental purposes or to serve a particular mystical purpose

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plains

• A series of concentric rings of standing stones around an altar stone at the center.

• The first ring has a horseshoe plan of originally five trilithons, each of two upright stones supporting a single colossal lintel.

• Beyond these was first a circle of smaller uprights, sacred "blue" stones, and then an outer, enclosing circle of sandstone monoliths, which support what was once a continuous lintel.

• Beyond this a circle of small, movable

"marker stones" were set in pits and farther out, a landscaped trench separated the site from the surrounding land.

• A long avenue marked by uprights sets up an axis, identified by the Heel Stone, a large stone with a pointed top.

An enclosure, isolated from the world by successive rings of stone, yet open to it through the stone screens.

At the center, the participant in the rites experienced a most profound connection with nature, for the monument seems to have been dominated by a powerful cult of sun worship.

From its center, with the awesome trilithons on three sides, one could observe on

the fourth side, at the summer solstice, the rising sun coming up exactly over the apex of the Heel Stone."

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plains

One of the best surviving examples of a late Neolithic settlement

Skara Brae – Village of Stone

Lies on the shore of the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Orkney's Mainland in Scotland.

Stunningly preserved structures containing stone furniture (dressers, beds, cupboards) dating back to 3200BC

The earliest houses in the village were circular with one main room containing the central hearth The houses were not sunk into the ground but were built into mounds of pre-existing rubbish known as ‘midden’.

This midden provided the houses with a small degree of stability and acts as insulation layer - Orkney's harsh winter climate.

Appeared as a low, round mound, broken only by the surface of each house's roof.

Skara Brae – Village of Stone

Consists of nine houses, each with a similar layout, linked together by

a series of low alleyways.

There is a main thoroughfare opening onto a paved area, with a

workshop beyond.

Skara Brae – Village of Stone

The passages that wound their way throughout the village were constructed to force visitor and inhabitant to travel through the village in a specific way.

One had to pass a number of dwellings branching from the main passage.

The identical layout of each house meant that on passing each door the visitor was immediately aware of the central hearth, with the fire burning, and the stone dresserilluminated by firelight.

Skara Brae – Village of Stone

Entry to each house is through a low doorway which would have been ‘closed‘ by a stone slab. Inside the house is a central, rectangular hearth and, on the wall opposite the door, a stone 'dresser'.

Skara Brae – Village of Stone

End of slides

HOMEWORK

You are required to do a research on each topic covered weekly and compile the information in your logbook for weekly comment:

You must answer the following for your research: Q1. What actually happen? Q2. Name a building or interior space that you feel is an epitome of the period. (Sketch the building/ space, and name the principles) - you may consider SKARA BRAE Q3. Explain who is/are the designer/s and what were his main interest, influences and ideas/philosophies concerning the period. (Political/ social/ cultural/ artistic/ influences on post architectural periods) Q4. Identify and elaborate the significant qualities of selected building or interior space that tie it to this architectural period? “General to Specific”. (Functions, spatial planning & their relationships, external & internal qualities, structural qualities & materiality, building conventions & techniques, scale & proportion, decorative features & its significances, etc.) Q5. How does it relates to nowadays design?

HOMEWORK – Next Class

Next week we are going to explore the 4 early Civilisations of the world, namely Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indus and Chinese Civilisation.

To help you to remember their significance, you are required to be split into 4 groups, with each group representing a civilisation, and do the following:

a)You are to study on the costume / fashion / clothing of the said civilisation and appoint 1 group member as the role model to wear the clothing and have a catwalk in class. b)Rules:

1) Must follow original correct form and proper referencing be made2) No “HARAM” or unsightly wearing though it may be the real clothing of

the said civilisation, to respect sensitivity of all races and religions3) Decoration can be in the form of newspapers, clothes or anything

recyclec)Then do a slight presentation in 10 slides ONLY in powerpoints of the said civilisation by mentioning the items below, within 10 min:

1) Location of civilisation and time frame2) 1 epitome of the civilisation (eg Egyptian can use Abu Simbel Temple

or Pyramid, Chinese can be Great Wall of China or Forbidden City…)3) Lifestyle of the people4) Building / Interior Space related of the said civilisation

HOMEWORK – Next Class