ROMAN

ARCHIECTURE
300 B.C- A.D. 365
 Roman Architecture:
Prehistory: The Etruscans
Etruscan civilization( 170-100 BC)
– Preceded the Roman Empire in Italy
– Most of their architecture was destroyed by the
Romans
• Only hidden structures, such as tombs, were spared
– Much of their architecture was greatly influenced
by the Greeks
– The legacy of Etruscan architecture lives on
through its influence in Roman architecture
 Roman Architecture:
Roman Characteristics
• April 21, 753 B.C.
– Pinpointed by the Romans as the day Rome was
founded
• Early Romans were militant and very
disciplined
– Lacking in artistic culture
• Romans absorbed the Greek culture
– Literature, philosophy, science, and painting
– New appreciation of the arts
Roman Architecture: Roman Characteristics

• Roman architecture emerged from Hellenistic

and Etruscan influences
• It held many original aspects, however
– Materials and building techniques
– Fulfilled practical purposes
• Served commerce, industry and shipping
– Ports
– Roads
– Aqueducts
– small Bridges
 Roman Architecture:
Building Materials
 Building materials were very important to the
success of Roman architecture
 Access to a wide variety of building stone including:
○ Volcanic tufa
○ Limestone
○ Travertine
Travertine is a natural stone such as Marble, Granite, Onyx, Limestone, Slate etc. The key
difference between Travertine and other natural stones lies in the formation of the rock,
the hardness of the stone and the appearance. Travertine is formed in hot springs and/or
limestone caves
 Nearly unlimited quantities of white marble
○ Quarry opened by Augustus north of Pisa
○ Other varieties were imported from the Far East
 Roman Architecture: Building Materials

• Brick
– Romans perfected the art of brick-making
• Concrete
– Perfected this material
– Became the most characteristic material in Roman
structures
– Was used to construct massive walls and great
vaults
 Roman Architecture: Architectural Ideals

• Space
– To the Romans, the space inside a structure was
just as important as the exterior
– Interior space was the primary focus of Roman
architecture and was shaped by vaults, arches,
and walls
• Romans were fond of extravagance
– Architecture for the powerful was gaudy and
colorful, not like the ruins as seen today
 Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
 The combination of arches, vaults, and
concrete in architecture are a pure Roman
creation
– The individual elements had been used in earlier
civilizations
• Egyptians and Mesopotamians had used primitive arch
forms
• Greeks had experimented with the arch and concrete
with little success
• Etruscans had constructed vault-like forms
 Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

 Arches
 More intricate than a simple
post-and-lintel system
 Formed by a multitude of small
elements that curve over space
by resting against each other in a
delicate balance
 Voussoirs (Wedge-shaped stone building block used
in constructing an arch or vault)

○ The elements used to create an arch

○ The shape of the structure keeps
each voussoir in place
○ Held together by their own force
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

 Vault
– Created by extending an arch along its axis
• Merely an extended arch
– Supports and provides a roof for a given area

– Types of vaults
• Barrel/Tunnel vault
• Cross/Groin vault
• Dome
 Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

• Barrel/Tunnel Vaults
– The earliest type of vault
– Appear in limited form in
Egypt, Mesopotamia,
and Hellenistic Greece
– Has a few limitations
• Exerts a continuous load,
therefore needing
constant support
• Difficult to illuminate
• Increases in length
require thicker vault
supports
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

 Cross/Groin Vaults
– Created to overcome the limitations of barrel
vaults
– Employed by the Romans very heavily
– Formed by intersecting two barrel vaults at right
angles
– Limitations
• Resistant to square plans
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

 Dome
 The grandest type of vault
 Types
○ Cloister vault
 An eight-sided vault, with an octagon-shaped dome
 Formed by crossing barrel vaults over an octagonal plan
 Rare in Rome, more prevalent in medieval architecture
○ True dome
 Perfectly rounded dome, preferred by the Romans
 Built up in complete rings wherein each ring forms a self-
supporting component of the final dome
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution
 Concrete
 Roman concrete, also called opus caementicium, was the
core of every Roman wall after the 2nd century bc. Mostly
walls made in opus caementicium were covered with other
materials to make a more robust and workable surface. Opus
caementicium is a construction technique using an aggregate,
water and a binding agent. The aggregate functioned as a
filler like gravel, chunks of bricks or stones and rubble. The
binding agent is usually called mortar like lime, gypsum or
pozzolana (nowadays 'Portland' cement is used).

 A mixture of mortar-like cement with an aggregate

 Many advantages over traditional stone
○ Does not need to be quarried, shaped, or transported
○ Highly skilled labor was not needed to prepare the concrete
○ Can be cast in just about any shape imaginable
○ Arches and vaults could be economically fabricated
Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

• Concrete (opus caementicium)

– Surfaces
• Romans developed many types of facings that were
weather resistant and pleasant to the eye

Opus mixtum;
 Roman Architecture: Structural Revolution

• Opus incertum: small irregular stones. Random shaped stones of concrete

• Opus reticulatum: small squared tuff blocks laid in a diamond pattern.
• Opus testaceum: thick horizontal brick work Brick facing; made concrete wall
look as if it were constructed from bricks

• Opus spicatum: brick laid in a herringbone pattern.

Opus quadratum : regularly laid
courses of ashlars

Opus vittatum: square tuff blocks intersected

by brick bands at regular and irregular distances
Opus africanum : vertical chains of upright
blocks with alternating horizontal blocks.
 THANK YOU.

References:

Sir Banister Fletcher- A History of Architecture. (Twentieth Edition)

Emily Cole- The Grammar of Architecture
Louis Hellman- Architecture for beginners

This is just a track line to the subject matter. students are requested to study the recommended books & also go after .