How Did Roman Architecture Influence Modern Architecture?

Picture what ancient Rome looked like with all of their incredible structures. Then all of a sudden this huge empire fell and hardly left anything behind. But the things that were left behind were its legacies. As many historians have stated throughout time, "Rome fell but its legacy lived on." Even though the Roman Empire did not last forever, it left behind many things to be remembered. A few of those being architecture and engineering, art, language and writing, and philosophy, law, and citizenship. But there is one legacy that has left the greatest mark on society. Roman architecture and engineering has had the biggest impact on today's society because it can be seen just about anywhere around the world, it has improved our means of transportation,

The purpose of this ORTO is to illustrate the extend to which Roman architecture, from the late 2nd centaury BC to the 4th century AD, had an influence and effect of modern western architecture. Therefore the aims of my ORTO are as follows:

While the basic forms of Roman architecture were adapted from the surrounding past and present cultures, their innovation led to the advancement of these traditional ideals. The most notable advancement would be the invention of concrete to construct buildings. Composed of broken stones, flint, and sand, when this material became mixed with lime it created an amazingly durable and strong material known as concrete. With this, the newly developed material formed the core of most walls and ceilings of Roman structures. It is for this reason that concrete is the most significant Roman invention, "‘contributing more than any other material,' says Professor Middleton, ‘to make Rome the proverbially "eternal" city.'" (Walters, 23) Since the material was shaped by surrounding wood structures which could later be removed, the outer appearance of buildings became unattractive. To avoid this brick and marble were used as an outer shell of structures to conform to the beauty of surrounding Roman creations. The discovery of concrete and the efficiency of reusing the wood frames to construct buildings made architecture far quicker and easier than ever before. It is clear that "once the Romans had put the idea of using vaults and concrete together, the possibilities were endless." (Ramage, 53) Elaborate structures were now accessible, and the ability to erect enormous

The history of their architecture runs virtually in step with the history of their empire to an extent. As the Empire expanded so did the architecture, and as Romans became more magnificent their architecture followed. Roman architecture began as a form of worship. The first Roman architects were the ancient priests and dwellers who made areas of sacrifice and worship for their gods. At first, their homes were simple huts but as they grew smarter and more aware of their surroundings, making the building more complex than ever. So, like many arts, Roman architecture’s roots are embedded in the worshiping paid in religion. The Romans were, of course, not the first to practice many of their building philosophies. However, they built like no other society before them. Their methods showed and proved, efficiency and sophistication to construct a whole new look. With the rise of the Romans and the everlasting hail of Caesar after Caesar and Emperor after Emperor, Roman architecture expanded and influenced building over the world. Unlike the Empire, though, Roman design did not die at the hands of the Germanic’s, or rather at the hands of self-destruction; it continued to expand and play a part in every major style throughout history. Even through its empire’s own defeat, architecture has stood as an everlasting symbol of what Rome once was, and what the rest of the world is today. , Roman architecture cannot be looked at as a small period or cultural event, for it lives on today through the

The ancient Romans created and borrowed fundamental types of concepts that made up buildings. The ideas that the Romans borrowed were basic ideas such as the column. A column is a vertical shaped pillar with the chief design concern of supporting a building. Most columns consist of three parts, the base, the shaft, and the capital. The shaft is usually cylindrical in shape. The Greeks had three basic types of columns, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. All three types have narrow fillets on them. These were small vertical slits that ran the length of the column. The Romans modified the column and added two types, Truscan and Composile. The columns became widely used in homes and temples in Greece and later in Rome ("Architecture").

The Roman Empire is credited with the development of many great achievements. These achievements can still be seen in Rome and throughout the world. The Romans are well known for their aqueduct system and huge colosseum that are still standing today. These monumental building feats would not have been created without the use and knowledge of many different techniques. The use of cement was one of the technologies employed to build these large structures. The utilization of arches was another. Many people associate the idea of arches with the Romans. However, they were not the first people to utilize arches. This paper will concentrate on why the Romans were credited with developing the arch; what they did to improve previous cultures use of arches; and how the Romans used arches to create massive structures that are still standing today.

For example, in Ancient Rome, most of the buildings were build be using columns, therefore, the buildings were more reliable. In many of our buildings today you see this same columns used in buildings in our society today. For instance, “You can see the influence of Roman architecture in government buildings, large banks, and even some famous buildings like the United States Capitol Building (Ducksters).” A building that the Romans built that also takes a big part in our society today is the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built in the shape of a dome, and was built to honor every god the Romans worshipped.

So much of what we know about Roman culture, military methods, religion and art weren’t truly Roman in their genesis but were adopted and perfected by the Romans. So perhaps it is fitting that their most iconic architectural element was also adopted and perfected. It is unclear whether the arch originated in Etruria or in Sicily by Archimedes (Alchin, 2017) but there is no question that the Romans were the ones who put it to widespread use. The structural importance of the arch was that it “enables wide spaces to be crossed by the use of the minimum of materials, thus relieving weight which would otherwise put an intolerable burden on the structure.” (Kamm, n.d.)

However, in addition to cutting costs, concrete also proved to be a necessary tool in the advancement of Romans arch technology when location became an obstacle. This innovation is exemplified in Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia. The location of this temple at the top of the central hill draws parallels to Greek temples as it is placed on a high ridge. This has the effect of displaying the settlement’s piety and wealth. This lofty location proved to be an impetus for a new method of Roman construction: concrete and reveted arches. To keep the budget low, the Romans first drew from the early Etruscan corbel arch. Innovating from that Etruscan influence, they created voussoir vaults with expensive cut stone. Decreasing the cost further, the Romans invented hydraulic concrete by mixing pozzolana in the mortar. These improvements allowed the Romans to build The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia along a hill, using voussoir and concrete arches below the structure which were reveted in opus incertum to give the appearance of expensive materials. At the very top of the structure, the builders included a beacon of Greek influence in the temple layout with a

As you can imagine, the arch opened the door to a great many changes in structural design. The Romans utilized it in their homes and in their public buildings. It found its way into bridge design, as well. Yet, the arch alone does not explain the amazing advancements made in Roman architecture. Concrete also play a huge part in shaping Roman construction. As such, it is also important to understand exactly what concrete

Ancient Roman dwellings evolved architecturally in time from simple huts in the earliest times, to sophisticated and extremely long-lived structures in the later Republic and Imperial Rome following the annexation of the Greek city-states. This is very evident in many Italian and Greek cities where archaeologists have found different occupational levels, with each lower architectural strata being much more ancient (Lavan, Özgenel, & Sarantis, 2007). Typically, however, Roman architecture refers to the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic (6 century BC) to the relocation of the capital to Constantinople in 330AD. An architectural period supported by two great innovations: the cement and the arch.

Roman arches are of great importance, not only to Rome but to the world as a whole. The arch was not invented by the Romans, as arches have been used in cultures far predating the Romans; however, the Romans did find a way to perfect the arch. Before the Romans, arches were used to support relatively small amounts of weight, such as in storerooms, these arches limited the scale of buildings they supported. The Romans however used arches to support immense amounts of weight. The reason for the arches newfound strength lies not with the shape of the arch, but within the material used to construct it. Through the invention of concrete, Romans were able to construct arches that would hold the weight of structures such as the aqueduct, which provided water to entire cities. Soon, several cultures adopted the Roman arch to support their own

In ancient Rome, architecture and engineering were highly regarded. It contributed much to Rome’s development, power, as well as the longevity of such an immense and substantial empire. Architecture displayed an immense amount of workmanship as well as innovation. This is seen through Rome engineers as they created the concept of concrete, constructed the famous Roman aqueducts, and the luxurious Roman baths. Roman’s were clearly superior engineers compared to their competitors because Roman engineers developed new and innovative concepts that were never introduced before, therefore contributing to the success of the Roman Empire.

When one thinks of Roman architecture, many things come to mind, such as arches, columns, statues, and richly covered surfaces in marbles. One must stop to think that this empire, which gained power and influence in the first century BC, must have been influenced from the thousands of years of cultures preceding them in order to create their masterpieces of ingenuity. This phenomenon can be seen in our borrowing of ideas of ancient Greece and Rome for the construction of our capitol buildings in the United States. The Romans surely considered design principles of other cultures when developing their buildings, since daily conquests of new lands opened Roman soldiers’ eyes to innovations from the great vastness of their empire. This

Architecture of the ancient Roman Empire is one of the most fascinating of all time. The city of Rome once housed more than one million residents. The Romans made great use of many architectural shapes like arches and columns. Using these they were able to build monstrous buildings of worship, entertainment and other services. The one building that comes in mind over the centuries, when you think of Rome is The Amphitheatrum Flavium or The Coloseum.