Vaults In Roman Architecture

The Greeks started building corbelled arches and creating arch shaped voussoirs. These worked well, however, they did not discover the strength or span the distances that the Romans were able to. The widest known Greek archway spans only 7.35m, whereas the Romans built many great triumphal arches to emphasise their power in victory. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio wrote about the qualities a successful arch should entail, these were: “utility, strength and aesthetics” (Vitruvius, M., 1914). He wanted them to be built according to anthropometrics; symmetry and proportions of the human body. The full potential of the arch was reached when the Romans discovered the impressive compressive strength of the arch, meaning that they could span greater distances and create great heights using these new found qualities. Some of the most notable uses of the arch can be seen through Aqueducts, vast interiors and in, potentially, the most famous arched building; the Roman Colosseum.

One of the more inspiring and brilliantly conceived and constructed dome structures in the world is the Pantheon of Rome. This example imposes a magnificent strength of ingenuity and dominance over their surrounding landscape, and the Pantheon deserves to be researched and admired for its architecturally innovative and bold design of its time. The building was accommodated with serious technical impediments that required a thorough and scrutinizing attention to detail in order to overcome. It is because of the prevailed obstacles by the various designers, architects and builders of this building that captures the consideration of those interested in the development of building technology and progress throughout the

The interior of the Pantheon is called a “perfect space”, as the diameter of the rotunda is the same size as its height of 43 meters. The large interior is meant to symbolize the heavens. The top of the dome has an opening, which is meant to symbolize light and sun. The floors of the Pantheon are constructed to collect rain water which comes through the dome opening. This water, when evaporation takes place, cools down the interior temperature.

Many architectural and urban forms and elements that we witness today are largely influenced by how buildings were design and laid in Rome. Not only in terms of its external design that brought upon important messages but the design of interiors and the significance of spatial arrangement of spaces exist within them has created the sense of physical experience in the buildings as well. Rome’s urban development and the rise of architectural movement began during the time of Augustus

The Roman Pantheon is an architectural wonder built by the Roman's over 18 centuries ago that has had enormous impact on architectural design and techniques still today. Built under the reign of Emperor Hadrian 118-128A.D during the High Empire Period the Pantheon we know today was built in the same location as two prior pantheon's that both fell to fire (Kleiner 210). Although the exact artist(s) of that of the Pantheon are not particularly known credit goes to Emperor Hadrian whom dedicated the newly rebuilt Pantheon to Marcus Agrippa, the person whom created the very first pantheon that stood in the same spot(Moore). The word pantheon itself is of Greek orientation and means “a temple to all gods”(Kleiner 210) and the Roman Pantheon

In the Roman Catholic faith, a basilica is a parish that has been officially recognized by the Pope as an important place of pilgrimage and worship. Churches of spiritual and cultural significance are chosen as basilicas due to their architectural and historical importance. Once named, a basilica serves as a treasured historic site for Catholics, many of whom will travel to visit and pay tribute to the honored places of worship. There are less than 1,500 such churches in the world, making the title of “basilica” a cherished and prestigious nomination.

Initial observations of the Roman Pantheon from the front appear to be similar to the ruins of the Greek Parthenon, but really both structures are somewhat unique in their composition, purpose, design, and fate. Constructed over half of a millennium after the Parthenon was built, the Pantheon, built in 27 B.C., exhibits some of the architectural styles and characteristics of its predecessor. However, the Romans refined Greek building techniques, thereby developing a unique and more advanced architectural style.

First, Christianity started to grow in a fast rate of motion, and the nave of a basilica could receive large numbers. The semicircular apse in the nave, as the Romans had known, gave attention to the people who assembled to a central figure. The Christians discovered that the apse was a perfect place for drawing the religious community attention to the altar and speakers. As the Roman architecture of the basilica gradually increased to be a strong authoritative summary of faith for Christianity, they began to combine art and architecture to the structures that they believe would honor or give thanks to their Lord. Besides, Christians began to build a transept on their churches, transforming the basilica into a symbol for the cross.

This is an influential architectural advance by the Romans that we use to this very day. The ancient Romans used a material called concrete to make the arches strong enough to support an ample amount of weight. concrete was made using a mixture that included lime and volcanic sand. The Romans had created a very strong and durable type of concrete.

To start, Pompeii was a location for the Roman colony. In addition, according to Janson's History of Art, Pompeii had two main streets which were called the cardo and the decmanus. Moreover, a person can depict Pompeii as a distinct, yet similar appearance in design and architecture of the Romans. The people who lived in Pompeii were artistic, therefore the rich and detailed paintings and beautiful architecture. In Pompeii, many rooms are decorated with wall paintings that tell a story which is left up to the viewer of the paintings to decide what the story is saying, depicting. Pompeii is also known for Mau's Four Styles of Painting. Those styles are known as: The First, or Incrustation style, The Second, or Architectural style, The Third,

The design of the arch was perfected by the Romans, who devised ways to reinforce the arch so that it was able to evenly distribute the weight that it would bear without crumbling. They used concrete to strengthen the midsection of the arch and to seal the stones together to create a stabler structure. The construction of a basic arch is very straightforward. It consists of two piers, a series of voussoirs, and the keystone. Piers are vertical supports

The vaults developed from the roman arch consisted primarily of various structures such as the semicircular barrel vault, the groin vault,rib vault, and the segmental vault.

One of Roman Engineering’s greatest accomplishments was the use of the arch. The arch shape is very strong, able to support great amounts of weight. This allowed Romans to build massive structures that would stand for many centuries. The Romans adapted the arch design to fit many purposes. The barrel vault is merely an elongated arch; this was used for buildings tombs and sewers. The dome is an adaptation of the arch. The dome is an arch revolved on its vertical axis. The best example of the dome in ancient Rome is the Pantheon. The basic arch was used in almost every large building in Rome. Romans also used

With such support from the state and the Emperor, the church was given a massive financial support, which was invested in the building of the Basilicas. They were used to perform rituals such as worship, baptism, prayers, scripture reading, preaching and recognition of the dead and the after life. The liturgy of the early churches was very plain. They were build on a rectangular classical floor plan. The Basilica floor plan was simple; consisting of a narthex (the outside building short end), apse, transept, and aisle such formation gives the idea of building resembling to the cross. The early Christians were inspiration to represent such building to the cross. Once more this is part of the spiritual journey of Christianity. The other model was the central plan which would consist of a dome in the middle of the church. Were all the activities would take place. Like the worship and the baptismal ritual. This center plan was more common in the Eastern-Orthodox churches. This shows the heritage of Roman Christian art from the early ancestors such as the Greeks and the Middle East. A great example is the San Vitale in Ravenna which was an important Byzantine outpost in Italy. San Vitale was constructed under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 547. This church has a domed central core which

As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” however long it took to build the capital, the days, months, years, centuries of work can be viewed as a long lasting landmark which paved the way for new and challenging architecture to come (How Roman architecture influenced modern architecture [sa]). According to Tony Rook (2013: [sp] ch.2) the typical Roman temple shows the Etruscan tradition combined with the Greek one. Although some of their premature concepts were acquired from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Roman architects transformed the body of architecture for all time to come, offering buildings and structures that has never been before, along the side of public buildings and infrastructure that could be used by