St Sophia

The structural similarity between the two buildings is the large domes, which are vital point of their construction. The materials used in the concrete of the dome also varies. At its thickest point, the aggregate is travertine, then terracotta tiles, then at the very top, tufa and pumice, both porous light stones. At the very top, where the dome would be at its weakest and vulnerable to collapse, the oculus lightens the load. Hagia Sophia is an innovative hybrid of longitudinal and central architectural planning. The building is clearly dominated by the hovering form of its gigantic dome. Its idiosyncratic mixture of basilica and rotunda precludes a ring of masonry underneath the dome to provide support around its circumference, the main dome of Hagia Sophia rests instead on four pendentives that connect the base of the dome with the huge supporting piers at the four corners of the square area beneath it. The origin of the dome on pendentive is obscure, but its large-scale use at Hagia Sophia

The Pantheon is an iconic part of architecture, particularly in the mediterranean. Constructed in Imperial Rome, the Pantheon was an incredible piece that forever influenced the basics of architecture. A similar piece, contemporary to the Pantheon, would be the Dome of the Rock. Found in Jerusalem, the Umayyad caliph built the shrine in the seventh century to serve a function as an Islamic shrine. Being the oldest extant Islamic monument known to man, the Dome of the Rock is sacred to both the Muslim and jewish religions.While being in completely different cultures, the Pantheon and the Dome of the Rock share numerous similarities varying from their functionality to the characteristic style of the domes.

the most historical mosques, Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock, are built for different

Architecture comes with many significant meanings, including religious significance. The Pantheon, built from 118 to 125 CE in Rome, Italy, was a temple made to worship the Roman gods and goddesses. This temple is one of the most important buildings both in history and architecture, influencing many other monuments with its form, such as The Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock, built from 687 to 692 CE, was the first great Islamic building. Located in Jerusalem, it is a shrine still very significant to many religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, today. Though not resembling each other in appearance, these buildings are extremely similar, in terms of religious meaning. The Pantheon and the Dome of the Rock, through their own distinctive form and similar location backgrounds, illuminate religion as the most important factor in each society, as these monuments symbolize a sense of unification throughout the city.

One of the most recognizable landmarks of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock is an octagonal shrine built in a similar architectural style used in Christian churches in Palestine at that time. Completed in 692 AD under the rule of Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik, the building has two ambulatories forming an octagonal shape around a circular arcade, and within it lays the Foundation Rock. Its wooden gilt doom rises like a tall cylinder and reaches an overall height of thirty meters (Grabar 1996: 52). Most parts

The Hadrian’s Pantheon and the Justinian’s Hagia Sophia are two beautiful buildings with different features that make them unique in their own different ways. The Hagia Sophia basilica is located in Istanbul, Turkey, and was built by Isidore of Miletus and Anthemois of Tralles. The building is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica, it then became an imperial mosque then after it became a museum. The Hagia Sophia was originally called Melge Ekklesia which means (Great Church) in 360 BC, the new name Hagia Sophia came into use around 430. The basilica was a symbol of the Empire; and had a dome on top of a cube with 40 windows around the base of it. The central dome dimensions are 108 feet. Diameter, 180 feet high from apex to floor; with

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore has managed to raise several questions and curiosity amongst scholars. In the early 14th century a feud between Florence and other emerging cities began, each trying to beat the other with building bigger cathedrals. Florentines didn’t like the look of gothic cathedrals, for inspiration for their dome, they looked at ancient Rome’s famous building that payed tribute to all of the gods, the Pantheon. A mural years before the dome had been created, depicted what the committee had in mind for the cathedral.

Early Christian architecture at Rome was influenced by Roman. This building hardly not at all the architecture worth of the style simply because it was never clearly generate by the answer of constructive problems. Early Christian building picks up from where the Roman left off and was based mainly on the currently Roman public building known as the basilica. Early Christian churches modeled on Roman basilicas, use old columns which by many devices were bought to a uniform height. Basilican church is the role model in Roman basilica. The purpose of church is shelter worshippers and it unlike Greek and Roman temples which shield gods. The interior of the churches came in complex, with cathedral, belfry or campanile and baptistery.

Many basilicas, in attempts to emulate the structure of Ancient Roman churches, are constructed in a longitudinal floor plan style. A longitudinal floor plan has many characteristics that make it distinct from the other styles of Basilicas. Below is a floor plan of the general design of early Christian basilicas. Most of the basilicas, including the Santa Sabina, take on a longitudinal floor plan design which encompasses most of these features. A longitudinal plan takes on a rectangular shape, and which parts of the structure are symmetrical along an axis. As numbered in the diagram below, the parts start from the front entrance of the church and lead to the opposite end. The first object a person encounters is the propylaeum of the Basilica, the entrance to the

It followed the train of thought that nature, the geometry of nature is perfect, and God has made that perfect, so his house, AKA the church, should imitate that perfection. This caused the increase in geometric shapes found in nature to be found in the church. Triangles can be found in the arched windows and door, Circles in the Rose stained glass window. Symmetry was also very important. The cause of such a heavy emphasis on light, and symmetry was because of something St Aquinas said “ ad pulchritudinem tria requiruntur” which means that the beauty of the three required. The three being integrity, right proportion or harmony, and bright or vividness. If the church were to be the symbol for God, and the holy city on earth it must be beautiful, and so it must have these

Today St. Peter’s Basilica is seen as the holiest catholic shrine in the world. This history started with Constantine himself authorizing the building of the first Basilica in 324 A.D after Christians were allowed to construct places of worship. The Basilica was intended to protect Gaius’s trophy which in turn is said to be protecting the tomb of St. Peter, the church’s first pope. The shrine was found during a 2nd century evacuation of the Vatican’s necropolis and it did this by having the shrine in the center. The original Basilica was built longitudinally with 4 aisles leading to a Nave with Gaius’s trophy underneath. Outside the Basilica was a staircase that led to a four sided portico, or porch that was also known as paradise. Paradise has a fountain

Hagia Sophia is an important and beautiful monument. It is also an international, cultural treasure. That’s why it has to be under the protection of UNESCO. The Christian mosaics should be restored. The great gold and black calligraphic disks, the speaker's podium and the mihrab are also fascinating treasures and should remain. I think that it should be shared by both religions in harmony and should remain a building honoring both religions, which made it beautiful.

Dedicated in 360 AD, the building has served as a church, a mosque, and a museum ever since, despite the fact that the city it is in has been repeated destroyed by violent earthquakes. Why has it survived? Because the greater part of the structure is not a box, it’s a series of domes. Domes (and their planar cousin, the pyramid) distribute lateral forces very well for three reasons. First, and foremost, even movements strong enough to get a dome to sway will not produce areas of the structure that have no support against gravity, because the base is much wider than the top. Second, domes distribute forces in all directions naturally, and thus the design is much better at dissipating energy. And third, most of the mass of a dome is low, and

In 609 AD, Byzantine Emperor dedicated Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV; the Pope renamed it as Santa Maria ad Martyrs, which is the official name of the Pantheon today. Nowadays, Pantheon is still used as a Catholic church; the people will celebrate the Mass and wedding there. It is also a world-famous tourist attraction.

St. Peter’s Basilica is a late Renaissance church located in Vatican City built at the place of crucifixion of St. Peter the Emperor Constantine at request of pope St. Slyvester I. It was originally built from 315 A.D. – 349 A.D. but, rebuilt from 1451 A.D. – 1625 A.D. with the dome being designed by Michelangelo. For St. Peter’s Basilica’s dome to remain structurally sound, tension rings were added to the structure and there is an inner and outer dome. Utilizing the sector formula, the dome can be analyzed in how it maintains its structure