Course Package - Appreciation of Architecture | ARCH 150, Study notes of Architecture

Download Course Package - Appreciation of Architecture | ARCH 150 and more Study notes Architecture in PDF only on Docsity! ARCHITECTURE 150: APPRECIATION OF ARCHITECTURE AUTUMN 2010 Monday Wednesday September 29 Introduction & Terms Reading: Nuttgens Preface & Chapter 1 October 4 Prehistory & Vernacular Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Intro & Chapter 1 October 6 Egyptian Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 3 October 11 The Ancient Mediterranean Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 2 October 13 South Asian Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 4 QUIZ 1 October 18 Archaic Greek Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 7 October 20 Greek Architecture of the 5th c. B.C and Hellenistic Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 7 October 25 Architecture of Ancient China Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 5 October 27 Architecture of early Rome Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 8 November 1 The Roman Town and House Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 8 QUIZ 2 November 3 Imperial Roman Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 8 November 8 Ancient American Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 6 November 10 Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 9 November 15 Romanesque Architecture 1 Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 10 November 17 Romanesque Architecture 2 Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 10 QUIZ 3 November 22 Islamic Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 11 November 24 No Class Lecture Makeup Quiz Session November 29 Gothic Architecture 1 Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 12 December 1 Gothic Architecture 2 Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 12 December 6 The Medieval City Reading: Nuttgens Chapter 12 December 8 Recap and QUIZ 4 University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 Appreciation of Architecture Autumn Quarter 2010 MW 3:30-4:50 Kane 130 Professor Ann Huppert Heather LaHood GSA ahuppert@uw.edu hll3@uw.edu 208N Gould Hall 180 Architecture Hall Office hours: W 1:30-2:30 Office hours: Tu 1:30-3:30 appreciate: to form an estimate of worth, quality, or amount; to perceive the full force of; to be sensitive to; to esteem adequately or highly; to recognize as valuable or excellent; to find worth or excellence in. –– Oxford English Dictionary Course Goals: Appreciation develops from understanding. The goal of this course is to introduce and foster an understanding of architecture as a central component of the built environment. Architecture is all around us and part of our daily lives. It refers not only to buildings: architecture is human settlement, the physical settings made by humans for their traditions, rituals, living, working, and community-building. It is the house, street, city, temple, church, theater, city hall, market, park, and garden. It embodies the relationship of humans and the natural world, and represents our most basic need for shelter, as well as our loftiest aspirations. This quarter we begin to learn architecture's story. Illustrating the history and traditions of architecture will allow you to know about it and, in recognizing its features and learning its vocabulary, come to notice and care about it. By understanding architecture’s past, you become aware of its present and can begin to imagine its future. About this course: Arch 150 is the first of two 3-credit Appreciation of Architecture courses and presents a chronological survey of the history western and non-western architecture from Pre-history through the Middle Ages. Lectures are organized around individual cities or regions and are illustrated with slide images. Course requirements: Class attendance is essential. This is the most important factor in getting a good grade. If you will be unable to attend class regularly, this isn't a good class for you. Conversely, if you come to class, pay attention, read and review the material in a regular and timely manner you will do well in this course. No electronic equipment may be used in the classroom. This includes laptop computers and cell phones. Within the darkened classroom, the lighted screens of electronic equipment are a distraction to those around you. The materials distributed to you (lecture outlines and slide images) will facilitate you taking hand-written notes in class and allow you to concentrate on looking closely at the projected images. Class website: https://catalyst.uw.edu/workspace/ahuppert/15444/ The website has the course calendar, links to pdfs with the course pack – containing the syllabus and outlines of the buildings and topics for each lecture - and images for each class. Additional information about office hours, grading and CLUE study sessions, as well as useful links are also posted here. Material on the class website will help you study but these are not a substitute for class attendance. Course Pack: This pdf contains important documents for the class: the syllabus, course calendar, and lecture outlines listing the buildings and topics for each lecture. You should print out the lecture notes to review in advance and bring to each class. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Prehistoric and Primitive Architecture Reading: Nuttgens Preface and Chapter 1 Terms: post and lintel beam menhir adobe tipi or teepee longhouse Prehistoric architecture The roots of architecture. Pre-history refers to cultures who didn’t record their own story. Although there are traces of prehistoric wood construction, most wood buildings have long disappeared. So we must turn to the ways in which prehistoric peoples used earth carving (ditches and circles) and stones to mark the land. These constructions required extraordinary work to make, and so although we don’t know their use, we know that they were important, perhaps sacred, constructions. Stone construction: The cave as shelter; single stones standing in a pattern; post and lintel; The upright or vertical as the contrast to the horizontal, the horizon, the earth. Carnac, Brittany, France: stone work of ca. 4500 BCE The site of long parallel avenues of standing stones, called menhirs, which cross the landscape for a half- mile. At Carnac too are dolmens: stone uprights with a spanning stone creating a roof. These may have been used as graves. The significance of the stone lines is unknown. Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England 2950-1500 BCE Originally Stonehenge was simply a large circular ditch cut into the earth with a ring of postholes just inside. The postholes held some sort of wood structure, but we don’t know what. In subsequent building programs for the next 1000 years, bluestone pillars were brought from Welsh mountains, and finally the huge sarsen (sandstone) pillars were brought to form a ring of trilthons (pillars with continuous lintels) -- this is the outside ring of stones we see today. Stonehenge was apparently built for some sacred purpose, but what is unknown. Some scientists think it was an astronomical observatory, but this is considered unfounded. The fact is, we don’t know, and we may never know. Primitive architecture Primitive means first, as in ‘primary school’; it doesn’t mean backward or awkward. Primitive architecture is useful to examine because we can see the kinds of buildings that probably also were built by prehistoric peoples, but which have not survived the millennia. Today architects look more carefully at primitive architecture, because architecture in its primitive or vernacular form responds directly to site, climate, and materials at hand. Materials govern the character of the architectural enclosure: Stone or masonry/mud and brick are heavy–earth materials Masonry buildings usually have prominent and protective walls. Stone and masonry have no bending strength, so are used for walls, and only used for roofs if the span is very short, or if the roof is a dome. They are strong in compression – they are heavy and hold fast to the earth. New Mexico: Pueblo In the southwestern US, the density of masonry walls mediates the extreme heat of the day and the cold of the night. The mass of the masonry keeps the temperature of the dwelling more constant. The roof is flat since rain is very infrequent. Wood and thatch are light materials, unlike stone and masonry–air materials Wood has little compressive strength, but is very strong in bending (tension). The method of building is like weaving – many slender members tied together. Many Native Americans were nomadic or semi-nomadic, so lightweight buildings that were easy to assemble and disassemble served their purposes. The tipi of the plains Indians was carried from place to place by means of a travois, a horse-drawn sled. In other parts of the world, nomads build light shelters they can take with them, such as the Bedouin who travel the Arabian desert. Northwest Coast Indian fishing camps and longhouses Northwest Coast Indians traditionally built their shelters and longhouses out of several kinds of available wood: sometimes the cedar planks were removed from the frame and taken to a new camp – from the fishing camp to the forest camp and back again. Samoa – wood and thatch building The climate is mild, so there is no need for a wall to enclose the dwelling, but it is rainy, so a roof that sheds rain is important. Identifying building materials and methods from plans and sections Notice the way in which you can determine the constructed character of the buildings, their similarities and differences, through looking ONLY at the plans and sections. St. Francis de Asis, Rancho de Taos, N.M. begun 1772 by Spanish Franciscans Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas 1980 Fay Jones, Architect University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Egyptian Architecture Reading: Nuttgens, Chapter 3 Terms: mastaba pyramid pylon axis hypostyle hall column capital relief carving hieroglyph, hieroglyphic Centers of early "civilization": where humans settled, established agricultural cycles, and built cities. These occurred earliest in river valleys. The Nile River was central to ancient Egyptian civilization, a static cyclical culture that endured many centuries. Ancient Egypt's civilization, stretched along the Nile, was protected, surrounded by desert and by the great marshy delta of the Nile. The Nile is bordered on either side by rock cliffs, which yielded many kinds of stone for building material, and the quarrying and assembly of the buildings required huge numbers of laborers and many years’ work. Ancient Egyptian culture was rigidly hierarchical, with the pharaoh at the top socially, politically and religiously, with many nobles, workers and slaves below. The architecture reflects this rigid order. The monumental architecture has a strict path, or axis, that organizes the composition. There is always a strong contrast of light/dark, sun/shadow, open/closed, river/desert. The imagery is based on their nature-based religion: gods are representations of nature, the sun, and animals, and the Pharaoh is both human and god. The axial, repetitive, monumental scale of the architecture reinforces the relationship of the human in this cosmic landscape. The human being is relatively insignificant compared to the enormity of the sun, the desert, and even the river, which records the seasons by its cycles of flood and drought, but is mysterious as to its source and its destination. In the same way, the funerary monuments are huge, permanent, and awe- inspiring, with a linear order and a static composition. Saqqara (Sakkara): Step Pyramid of Zoser 2600 BCE The step pyramid can be understood as a series of mastabas one on top of the other, with shafts leading below ground level to foil tomb robbers. This is the antecedent of the pyramid. Zoser united the upper (south) and lower kingdoms of Egypt. His funerary complex includes temples and an exterior enclosing wall along with the step pyramid. The columns along the wall have capitals that recall the papyrus plant. Giza: Great Pyramids 2500 BCE Built over many decades, these funerary monuments have almost no interior space. Like the mastaba they have shafts leading below the ground plane, as well as into the mass of the pyramid itself. The pyramids were built as the final tomb space of a complex that included a river temple and a causeway leading to the pyramid. Smaller pyramids and mastabas, with tombs of nobles and family members, surrounded the Great Pyramids. Karnak: Temple of Ammon or Amon-Ra 1530-1100 BCE The Temple of Ammon is dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra. It was built and changed over many centuries. The building complex exhibits the light-dark contrast that makes Egyptian architecture so dramatic. Open spaces are in brilliant sunlight, but the many-columned hypostyle hall was roofed—its dark interior, combined with the massive scale and closeness of the columns, overwhelms the worshipper. The columns are huge, very tall and thick, with painted and carved relief hieroglyphs decorating their surfaces. The straight axis governs the architecture in the same way that the axis of the Nile orders the culture of ancient Egypt. Peloponnesus of Greece: Mycenaeans c. 1500 BCE The topography of the mainland of Greece is rocky and hilly. Limited water makes it difficult to cultivate. The Mycenaeans were a warlike society whose history is the basis for many of the myths and heroes of later Greek culture. Mycenaean culture was far less luxurious and open than the Minoan civilization, although there are many stylistic similarities, and clearly the Mycenaeans knew the Minoan civilization. The Mycenaean Bronze Age settlements organized themselves in a confederation of city-states, which intermittently made war upon each other, and sometimes allied with one another to make war on others. The cities were built on hills surrounded by walls, highly defensible and visible: acropolis (acro=high, polis=city) The city of Mycenae itself was an acropolis, surrounded by walls built of huge stones, called cyclopean because they were thought to be built by giants, or Cyclops. Its main gate is called the Lion Gate because of the sculptural decoration above the gateway. The megaron, the king's ceremonial hall was in the center of the fortified city, its most protected place. Tiryns: Tiryns was a coast city and so the environment was not so forbidding as that of Mycenae. It too is a walled city with an acropolis and a megaron. The deeds of the Mycenaeans are the source of many Greek myths, which concern gods and heroes, and they were the Greeks who fought at Troy, ultimately destroying the city. A blind storyteller, Homer, is credited with passing the story down into recorded history into what we now call The Iliad. For many centuries this story was thought to be fictitious, until 19th century archaeologists found the remains of both Mycenae and Troy. The Mycenaean megaron, the audience hall of the king and the most protected place within the acropolis, is considered the formal source for the Greek temple. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture South Asia: Hindu and Buddhist Architecture Readings: Nuttgens, Chapter 4 Terms: mandala goporam (sgl.), gopura (pl.) tank sikhara stupa vihara chaitya Like the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the earliest civilization in the Indian subcontinent centered on a waterway, the Indus River in present-day Pakistan. Estimates place the beginning of this culture as early as 6000 BCE, but the cities probably date from 3000 BCE. Like Mesopotamia, there was very little rock in the Indus Valley, so cities were built with sun-dried brick. The river was used as a water source as well as a transportation means. Although there are extensive remains of both Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, the archaeology is still young, since excavation began in the 1920s and is ongoing. The river floods over the millennia have erased much of the evidence of the cultures of the Indus. Both Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were large, gridded cities with defensive walls. The architecture is entirely brick, and includes palaces, baths, granaries among streets and gates. These cities began to decline around the time of the Aryan invasion into the Indian subcontinent. Around 1500 BCE, Aryans from the north invaded India and enslaved the indigenous Dravidians. They brought with them the caste system, and the belief in Brahma, an ethereal ideal of a spiritual ultimate reality. This faith merged with the earthier beliefs of the Dravidians to become Hinduism. Cities and temples were designed on the mathematical principles, which were based in Hinduism, the idea of the mandala, a variant of the perfection of the supreme principle. This sacred diagram had strict proportional systems, based on the forms of the square and the holy mountain home of Siva. The base of the temple is a square plan and the massive masonry structure above represents this "mountain." The exterior surface is a richly patterned and sculpted with nature-based forms, representing Hindu beliefs. The mathematical and nature-based forms in the building unite two aspects of Hinduism. Angkor, Cambodia: Temples (Angkor Wat and others) 10th - 12th centuries Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire, which encompassed Cambodia and parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Mahabalipuram, India: Shore Temple 8th c. CE Madurai, India: Great Temple 1623 South Dravidian type: courtyards and chapels all laid out within an enclosure gopuram: tower gateway; mandapa: dancing hall or court; tank: pool for washing; sikhara: central "mountain" tower over the shrine In 255 BCE, the Indian emperor Asoka converted to Buddhism and established it as the state religion. Siddharta Gautama, a nobleman, had established the religion in the 5th century BCE, and when he died he became Buddha, "the enlightened one". Like Hinduism, Buddhist temple structures are mountain-like: the stupa, or mound, marks the placement of the relics, Buddha’s ashes, which were divided and placed in different sites. The stupa serves as a reliquary. It has a solid, rounded form, around which the faithful walk and read the stories of Buddhism. All stupas mark an event in the Buddha's life. Sanchi, India the Great Stupa begun 273 BCE by Asoka Asoka’s stupa may have contained the remains of the Buddha himself. Later it was encased within the larger stupa, and gateways and walkways around the base were added. Borobudur, Java 700-800 CE A step pyramid with nine superimposed terraces, each terrace is lined with reliefs that are read by the worshipper who walks around the terrace. The top three terraces are circular and are crowned with a central stupa. It was constructed as a focus of an adjacent monastery that has since disappeared. As a complex central circle within a square plan, it seems related to the Hindu temples at Angkor. Besides the stupa, the rock-cut temple is also important to the Indian Buddhists. In this case the temple is cut out of living rock, and the shrine, or stupa is within. The walls are carved with rich murals depicting the Buddha and incidents from his life or the life of his disciples. Karli, Rock cut chaitya (assembly) hall Ajanta, 29 caves 2nd c. BCE to 640 CE University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Greek Architecture: 5th century BCE and Hellenistic 4th c. BCE Readings: Nuttgens, Chapter 7 Terms: agora stoa bouleuterion = council house Panathenaic Way Ionic order volutes frieze caryatid The 5th century BCE is regarded as the high point of Greek civilization. The culture was based as it had been since the 8th century in city-states, such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth. It was during this brief period in the 5th century that ideals in the arts, philosophy and politics reached their peak. Democracy, rule by the people, (demos=people cratos=rule, authority) and the idea of polis or city were most fully realized in Athens. A single group of architects and artists worked at both Olympia and Athens, and in different ways these sites represent the societal ideals held by the Greeks and represented in their gods, Zeus at Olympia and Athena at Athens. Olympia Founded on a flat plain at the confluence of two rivers, Olympia is very different from the sanctuary of Delphi. The athletic matches, held every 4 years, were founded by Herakles (Hercules) in 776 BCE, in memory of Pelops, the athletic hero and king for whom the Peloponnesus is named. The games were held even in times of war, because a sacred truce allowed athletes to compete in spite of warfare. The sanctuary is set below a small mountain, Mt. Kronos, named after the father of Hera and Zeus. The Olympic games, which we celebrate every 4 years worldwide, are the legacy of the games at Olympia. Temple to Hera 6th cent. BCE archaic Doric: originally the site was dedicated to Hera. This early temple is called the Heraion, and was first built of wood. It was gradually rebuilt of stone. This temple is honored by a number of votive treasuries built by city-states, as at Delphi. Temple to Zeus, father and lawgiver of the gods, 460 BCE: This 5th c. Doric temple is taller in proportion than the archaic Heraion and larger overall. The temple held a gold and ivory statue of Zeus sculpted by the sculptor Phidias, who also made the statue of Athena for the Parthenon in Athens. palaestra: athletic training field stadium: the stadion, a foot race, became an ancient Greek measure of distance: ca. 187 m. The games are dedicated to Zeus, and are an important method of contest, or battle, without war. Thus they represent a socialization of humanity; yet the site is still largely a natural setting, not a city, and the buildings, as at Delphi, are related to the sanctuary of Olympia. Athens Athens, its agora, or marketplace, and its acropolis, or citadel, represent the ideals of the fifth century Greek city-state. Together they represent the architectural embodiment of democracy, the city as a communal organization, removed from but still revering its roots in its natural setting. Because of this, the city of Athens is a model of urban ideals. Agora: marketplace, where goods are bought and sold, people come together to argue, discuss and teach (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle). The town square, an open outdoor room shaped by long buildings at the sides, the stoas, which were used for meeting and for commerce. The bouleuterion, or council house, was for the meeting of the council of citizens’ representatives to discuss and to vote in this early democracy, of rule by the people. Acropolis: the ancient fortress of the town. Site of ancient shrines to Athena, the patron goddess of wisdom and strategy. The most important buildings of the fifth century Acropolis are: Propylaia, or gateway building, designed to serve as a protective gate and a frame for the first views of the acropolis. You reach the propylaia by a winding sacred way. Parthenon, temple to Athena Parthenos, the virgin. This most famous Doric building contained a huge gold and ivory statue of Athena by Phidias, the sculptor of the Zeus statue in Olympia. The sculptural decoration of the building is the interior frieze representing the Panathenaic procession, and the exterior frieze with metopes, representing mythical battles. Proportions of the Parthenon were carefully planned and have been exhaustively studied. Erechtheion: named for a legendary king of Athens, Erectheus. It is built in the Ionic order, with a caryatid porch. The Erechtheion is more enclosed than the Parthenon, as well as more complex, because of the uneven site, the foundation of the old Athena temple, and the many commemorations it represents. Temple of Athena Nike or Nike Apteros (wingless). a small amphiprostyle Ionic temple that overlooks the Propylaia. Hellenistic Architecture Athens eventually fell to its Persian enemies who had harried it for so long, but in the next century after that, an extraordinary ruler came to power in Macedonia in northern Greece: Alexander the Great, who conquered all of the eastern Mediterranean and even ventured into Afghanistan and India. Alexander died of a fever when he was only 33, in 323 B.C. His influence on the Mediterranean world is difficult to imagine had he lived longer. The Greek city: The group of colonial cities in Asia Minor typifies the planned port city, with its harbor, agora, theater, temple sites and residential quarters. Ephesus, site of the world famous Temple of Artemis, was a port town with a resplendent city center including a library, theater and an ornamented avenue that led from the harbor to the city center. The Greek city was organized in a grid system of streets with open spaces for the agora, civic and religious buildings. The Temple of Artemis, of which nothing remains, was a huge Ionic temple, famous throughout the ancient world. Miletus: a planned city by Hippodamus, with a grid plan that included large residential blocks. It also has its agorae, bouleterion, theater and temples. Pergamon: a pilgrimage city famous for its Altar to Zeus, a huge and dramatic shrine that is very different from 5th century B.C. Greek architecture. The city is on a steep site and has theater and agora as well as the huge precinct of the Altar. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Architecture in Ancient China Readings: Nuttgens, Chapter 5 Terms: concentric order frame brackets, bracket system courtyard house pagoda Like Egypt, Chinese civilization grew relatively unaffected by influences outside its own civilization. Instead, China developed an indigenous culture out of its diverse populations and traditions, which is remarkably long-lived. Its architectural traditions also influenced Japan. The earliest civilization developed in the Yellow River Valley, and the heart of Chinese culture was located in this area for thousands of years, with only a few diversions. Below is a simplified historical outline of the historical periods and their architectural characteristics. Neolithic: 5000 BCE to 1800 BCE Shang dynasty 1766-1111 BCE; capital at An-yang in the Yellow River valley. The earliest dynasty to bring central control to a wide area of China Chou (Zhou) dynasty 1111 - 221 BCE Actually 2 different dynasties, Western Zhou had a capital at Chang'an - modern Xian; Eastern Zhou capital was Luoyang. A decentralized struggle of Warring States followed this period. Ch'in (Qin) Dynasty 221-206 BCE: only 15 years, but unified much of China, and set the stage for the achievements of the Han dynasty that followed. Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor) began the building of the Great Wall. It is his tomb, near modern day Xian, which contains the thousands of terra cotta warriors discovered in the 1970s. Han Dynasty 206 BCE - 221 CE great geographical expansion to central Asia, Korea and Malaysia. Capital at Chang'an (modern Xian) and Luoyang. The Han Dynasty is concurrent with the Republican and Imperial Rome. By the Han Dynasty, city design, the courtyard house type and construction techniques were all highly developed, and set the pattern for architectural traditions which endure to the present. Ideology of the City: Walled, gated cities were laid out in accordance with cardinal directions, all symbolic. The city "faced" south, turned away from North. China was considered the center of the universe, and the Emperor the center of China: concentric walled enclaves that move inward to the most protected place, the Emperor’s palace. Quarters of the city had specific uses: market/commercial, ancestor worship, diplomatic/government, residential. Temple and Palace types: centrally planned symmetrical ceremonial halls, with city-like quadrants. Typology of the house: like the city, the house develops a system of pavilions and courtyards, walled off from the street. Also like the city, the most important rooms are the deepest inside the compound and the most protected. Materials and methods of construction Earth platform: Buildings are founded on a terrace of rammed earth that is sometimes terraced one on top of the other in a series of graduated steps. Frame: wood column and beam systems develop highly complex bracketing systems which are structural reinforcing in order to withstand the weight of the heavy roof, and highly ornamental. Roof: the roof system is nearly always a variation on a pitched gabled or hip roof, with broad overhangs (eaves) supported by brackets. The rafters hold a mud clay underlayment upon which glazed clay tile roofing is laid. The roof is very heavy, protective, and ornamented. These architectural traditions developed further in later dynasties, but continue to be the guiding principles. They have spatial similarities with the concurrent Roman developments of city and house in spatial hierarchy and the development of the courtyard. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture The ancient Roman town, and the Roman house Readings: Nuttgens, Chapter 8 Terms: colony cardo decumanus capitolium domus atrium peristyle triclinium insula amphitheater Unlike the city of Rome itself, which was organic and gradual in its development, planned Roman towns were embodiments of Roman military and civic ideals. Roman cities often had their origins in Roman military encampments. Spatially these were organized by two crossing main streets, the cardo and decumanus, and a central forum, all surrounded by city walls. The remnants of Roman planning can be found in towns through out Italy, the Near East, and North Africa. Florence (Italy) – Roman colony Florentia Timgad (Algeria) The city itself was a hierarchy of spaces just as the house is. We can look to Pompeii and Ostia as examples of Roman cities, because both have preserved their ancient urban fabric. Pompeii Resort-like town near the Bay of Naples, buried in the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE; excavation was begun in 18th century. There were many Roman towns near here that were destroyed and have now been excavated, including Herculaneum, Oplontis, Boscoreale. Pompeii was a large seaside town that had been damaged by an earthquake over ten years earlier, and was still being repaired from that damage. The eruption was sudden and the ash covered the city quickly, preserving the moment in time that the city was destroyed. Pompeii is a large walled town of which about one quarter remains unexcavated. Forum: Capitolium, temple, basilica and public buildings: the hierarchy of public space in covered and exterior rooms. Street: gateway, road, sidewalk/crosswalk, shop front and entry Courtyard House: the Roman house or domus and its rooms fit in the city fabric; the rooms that are open to the sky (atrium, peristyle, garden) and the enclosed rooms are a hierarchical spatial system not unlike the city and its forum. The most public rooms are near the entry: the atrium is the formal entrance courtyard. Interior rooms such as bedrooms and dining rooms face inward toward enclosed courtyard rooms with no roof, such as the atrium and the peristyle. Dining occurs in a triclinium, which usually looks on to a courtyard. The courtyard spaces of the domus were often decorated with fountains, sculpture, mosaic paving and plants: fruit trees, flowers, grapes and other plants that provided shade and food as well as decoration. Palestra = gymnasium Athletic training facility often attached to public baths. The palestra usually has large protected courtyard spaces used for exercise. The palestra in Pompeii included a swimming pool . Amphitheater Ostia Ancient port of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber. When Rome fell, the river silted up and the city was saved because it became a swamp and as such was uninhabitable. It was nearly deserted for 1600 years and was excavated in the 20th century. Unlike Pompeii, Ostia was a working class town, with warehouses, shipping offices and multifamily housing, as well as upper class domus housing. Forum: the representation of Roman business and citizens, with its Capitolium Warehouse: multistory storage building Insula: the Roman apartment house -- 4-5 story building around a court with shops on the ground floor—a denser and larger multifamily dwelling type. Insula buildings were often built by speculators, sometimes very cheaply. The upper apartments were the cheapest, since they were farthest away from the street and from a water source. The insula is the precursor to the modern city block building. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Imperial Roman architecture 44 BCE to 313 CE Reading: Nuttgens, Chapter 8 Terms: triumphal arch, triumph vaulting barrel vault groin vault dome coffers In 43 BCE, Julius Caesar was assassinated, and a civil war followed. Octavian, nephew of Julius Caesar, came to power, called himself Augustus and established a dynastic succession that made him an emperor in all but name. After Augustus, the various rulers called themselves emperor, and Rome became a true imperial power. The city of Rome and its forum were embellished and enlarged, as were all the important colonial capitals. The Romans ruled much of the known, western world for well over 500 years. Roman culture was based on discipline and government, and their architecture embodied the glory of Rome's generals, athletes and emperors, as well as its gods. Roman buildings grew in size and splendor, and as the life of the empire became more luxurious, civic buildings became very grand. Imperial Roman architecture is characterized by the development of grand interior space. This was made possible because of the use of the arch and of concrete, the availability of skilled labor and fine materials, and the Roman taste for impressive civic buildings which reflected Rome’s greatness. Monuments, public buildings and the private house were all highly refined architectural types. Civic Architecture to celebrate the power and greatness of Rome Forum Romanum, the republican forum, compared to the imperial fora Individual emperors built the imperial fora to aggrandize the emperor and establish his propaganda as a military and civic leader. Forum of Augustus 1st c. BCE, Temple of Mars Ultor Forum of Trajan 2nd c. CE, Basilica Ulpia, Column of Trajan Triumphal arch – the military triumph Arch of Titus 1st c. CE - commemorating Titus' victory in 70 CE in the Jewish Wars Arch of Constantine 4th c. CE; built to celebrate Constantine, but using pieces from the monuments of earlier emperors Column of Trajan 2nd c. CE - part of the Forum of Trajan; the column has a continuous relief depicting the Roman wars with the Dacians (present day Romania) Imperial Tombs: Mausoleum of Augustus 1st c. CE Mausoleum of Hadrian (Castel St. Angelo) 2nd c. CE Use of the vault and dome—the grand interior space: Theaters: Theater of Pompey 55 BCE Theater of Marcellus 1st c. CE Stadiums and Amphitheaters: Circus Maximus - 3rd c. BCE Colosseum 80 CE Pantheon of Hadrian 120 CE: use of the dome to make huge interior space. Baths: the groin vault construction of the baths is responsible for the largest interior spaces for 1000 years, until the rise of Gothic architecture. Basilica of Maxentius (Constantine) 313 CE Baths of Caracalla 211 CE University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture Readings: Nuttgens Chapter 9 Terms: basilica plan central plan nave aisle apse atrium altar truss clerestory pendentive mosaic tessera, pl.tesserae In 312 CE, Constantine defeated Maxentius (they had shared the rule of the Roman Empire), and he became the first Christian emperor of Rome. He made Christianity the state religion; furthermore, he ordered the building of churches, which was shocking to the pagan aristocracy of Rome. EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH (WESTERN EMPIRE) Rome: St. John Lateran 314 CE St. Peter at Vatican 320 CE St John Lateran Baptistery 315 CE Santa Costanza (tomb of Constantine's daughter) late 4th century CE The first Christian church, St. John Lateran, was built quickly, dedicated in 313 CE, less than a year after the battle. It was built on the outskirts of Rome, rather than in the heart of the pagan city. The church building itself was modeled on the basilica type, a simple, easily built commercial building with a large interior space. It was not as pagan as the temple form, and not as grandiose or difficult to build as vaulted bath construction. The second early Christian church, St. Peter, was also built outside of town, in an area called the Vatican, at the site of burial of many Christians, including St. Peter. Churches were built throughout the empire. The were modeled on two types: the basilica type, a rectilinear columnar hall, quite sober and plain on the outside, but able to hold a large congregation who entered at one short end and focused on the altar at the other. The interior was often highly decorated with fresco and/or mosaic. The other type was used often for tombs and baptisteries, and was a central plan, often round building. Santa Costanza, and the Lateran Baptistery were this type. Most Early Christian churches reused classical columns from the rapidly deteriorating pagan monuments. Central plan churches were decorated with fresco and/or mosaic as well. In 330, Constantine, who came from the eastern part of the empire, and ultimately despaired of winning over the Romans with Christian churches, built a new capital at the place we call Istanbul, then called Constantinople. The Empire was split between the Eastern Roman Empire, called the Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, and the Western Roman Empire, with its capital at Rome. Following Constantine’s lead, the emperors continued to rule from Constantinople, and the Western Empire, left with no strong leadership, grew weak. In the 5th century CE the Western Empire fell to invaders from the north, while the Eastern Roman Empire continued until its defeat by the Muslims in the 15th century. BYZANTINE CHURCH (EASTERN EMPIRE) Constantinople: Hagia Sophia 532 CE Ravenna: (all these listed built in 6th-7th c. CE) Sant' Apollinare in Classe San Vitale Tomb of Galla Placidia Venice: St. Mark 11th cent. CE The Eastern Empire, called the Byzantine Empire, was strongly Christian, and because of its prosperity and strength under Constantine, was able to build richer, structurally more complex buildings. Byzantine churches are characterized by a complex, nearly central plan, many with remarkable domed and vaulted spaces. Byzantine architecture makes lavish use of mosaic interior decoration on its walls and especially on its vaults and domes, and the light reflecting off the mosaic surfaces lends an ethereal sense to the complex interior space. Some of the most important Byzantine churches are in Italy, in or near Venice, because northeastern Italy remained a part of the Byzantine Empire long after the Western Empire fell. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Romanesque Architecture I: Carolingian Architecture, the Abbey, the Pilgrimage Readings: Nuttgens Chapter 10 Terms: Carolingian Palatine abbey monastery cloister refectory pilgrimage crusade narthex ambulatory tympanum historiated capital In western Europe, the Roman empire gave way to isolated, feudal governments, with periods of centralized power in the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor, and later, by the Pope. There were no "nations" as such at this time, and regions developed distinct cultural and architectural differences. Charlemagne, Charles the Great of France (Carolus in Latin, hence Carolingian), was the first great leader to unite most of what we now call France. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, 800. Although this unification was short-lived, later rulers recalled Charlemagne as the first great Christian monarch. The architecture of his time was based on Byzantine, Early Christian and even Roman ( hence Roman-esque) precedents. Gate House at Lorsch, Germany 767 Palatine Chapel, Aachen, now Germany 796 Oratory of Germigny-des-Prés, France 804 Culture of the Monastery: Between 500 and 1000 CE, the so-called “Dark Ages”, the bits of cultural legacy are widely dispersed in small pockets of civilization. By this time, the Christian faith had a strong foundation throughout western Europe. Monasteries served as cultural and economic centers that preserved both classical and medieval, ecclesiastical knowledge. After 1000 CE (the first Christian millennium, which was widely dreaded as the end of the world) cities and trade developed more widely. Monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland 820 Abbey at Cluny, Burgundy (France) 1042 on Paray-le-Monial 1100 Fontenay Abbey, Cistercian order, France 1150 Pilgrimage: Christian legends shaped the development of the western Church, by means of the pilgrimage routes. The Crusades to Jerusalem of the late 11th and early 12th centuries were long and dangerous pilgrimages from western Europe across the Mediterranean or around the land route through the Byzantine Empire to fight the Muslims who had taken over rule of Jerusalem. Within Europe, the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in what is now northeast Spain was the most famous and enduring pilgrimage to a city other than Rome or Jerusalem. The site's Christian importance originated from the alleged landing of the disciple James at that place, and a shrine grew there, drawing pilgrims. Great churches, hospitals, inns and schools grew up along the route from northern France to Santiago, a route that traverses much mountainous territory. The scallop shell became a symbol of this pilgrimage. University of Washington Department of Architecture Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Islamic Architecture Readings: Nuttgens Chapter 11 Terms: mosque mihrab qibla minaret minbar paradise garden squinch muqarnas From its founding in the 7th c. CE, Islam spread fast over the entire southern Mediterranean and east to India. The faith began in central Arabia in a semi-nomadic trading culture that had no monumental architecture, but Muslims soon developed a distinctive architecture, which spread as the faith spread. Although the Prophet Mohammed had championed the simplicity and mobility of the nomadic Arabs, the spread of Islam soon embraced the building of cities as an important way to establish the faith. Based on strict monotheism that allowed no saints or relics, Islam permitted no representation of the Prophet or other holy images. Muslim artists developed a system of decoration based on plant images, Arabic inscription, and geometries, and abstract geometry characterizes the form and decoration of Islamic structures. The mosque is not a church; there is no priest or liturgy. The mosque is a large interior space with a courtyard attached where the faithful wash themselves before prayer. The direction of prayer is indicated by a mihrab, or niche in the qibla, the wall facing Mecca. There is frequently an ornamental dome in front of the mihrab, and a minbar, or pulpit, for reading the Quran. The minarets, towers from which the faithful are called to prayer, mark the enclosing wall. House of the Prophet, Medina 624 - the simple indoor and outdoor rooms of the home set the model for the mosque’s courtyard and prayer hall. Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem 700 Built on Mount Moriah, the Muslim monument commemorates Muhammed's ascension to heaven. It is obviously influenced by the Constantinian rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, built in the 4th century, and its use of mosaic owes a debt to Byzantine architecture. The Dome of the Rock occupies the mount on which the holiest site of the Jews, Solomon's Temple, stood prior to being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Great Mosque, Damascus 706-15 Built in part on Roman ruins, the Damascus mosque is a large hypostyle hall paired with an open courtyard and fountain, all within a walled enclosure. The form of this mosque and its elements characterize all mosques until the 12th century. Great Mosque, Kairawan, Tunisia 820-836 Like the Damascus mosque, this huge building serves as a community center for the city as well as the religious center. Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain 786-987. Southern Spain was held by the Muslims until 1492, when the Jews and Muslims were expelled from Catholic Spain. Cordoba, once a Roman capital, became capital of the Spanish caliphate before being taken over by Christians. The great mosque was begun in the 8th century and enlarged over the next two centuries. The church was inserted in the16th c. by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The mihrab and maqsura, the protected place of worship for the caliph or ruler, are highly developed in the Mosque at Cordoba, decorated with mosaic, arches and domes which celebrate the complex geometries of Islamic architectural ornament. Alhambra, Granada, Spain 13th c. Built on a 9th century citadel, the caliph’s palace is composed of delicate shady pavilions and garden courtyards. The garden is celebrated in Islamic architecture because of Islam’s desert roots. Paradise in the Quran is described as a garden, with the sight and sound of water, lush planting including citrus fruits, shady peristyles and dark breezy interior rooms. Thus the four-square plan of a garden is called simply the paradise garden. Court of the Myrtles Court of the Lions The interior of the Alhambra palace is decorated with ceramic tile and with small relief patterns that facet the interior of domes and corners through the use of the squinch. This type of decoration, in either masonry or stucco, is called muqarnas. Like the rest of the decoration, it is derived from complex abstract geometries. Room of the Two Sisters Room of the Ambassadors Architecture 150 - Appreciation of Architecture Gothic Architecture 1: The Ile-de-France Readings: Nuttgens Chapter 12 Terms: Ile-de-France westwork chevet crypt rose window lancet trefoil quatrefoil flying buttress gallery – tribune – triforium The 12th and 13th centuries were a time of great cultural development all over Europe. Communities that had been small, relatively static towns now grew in size and civic organization, and this is reflected in the architecture of the church as well as the civic government. Growth of trade and of the guild or trade union gave the population a prosperity unknown since Roman times. What we think of as “Gothic” architecture, the first great northern European architecture, began in the relatively small region surrounding Paris, and is, incredibly, an architecture that was invented anew in the 12th century by a brilliant abbot. The term “Gothic” was applied much later in the 17th century as a slur implying a barbarian architecture. Architecture of the Ile-de-France: The Abbey Church of St.-Denis, 1135-1144 , the site of the tomb and relic of the patron saint of France, the 4th century martyr St. Denis, had long been the royal abbey of the French kings. Abbot Suger, the abbot of St-Denis from 1122 to 1152, sought quite consciously to develop a new architectural style that would represent the Celestial City, a vision of heaven. The ambulatory, or chevet, of St.-Denis exemplifies these goals in its geometrically complex plan and vaulting system and its ingenious placement of windows lit with stained glass. Notre Dame de Chartres, 1194-1225, is considered by many the most perfect of Gothic achievements – its interior is a complete work, emphasizing the dynamism and abstract austerity of the Gothic while avoiding the exaggerated dramatic effects of later work. Chartres was designed to include flying buttresses from the outset, which allowed the gallery to be eliminated. The upper wall then was free to hold two tall lancets of glass, each pair topped by a rose, Mary's symbol. Notre Dame de Paris, 1155-1210, probably because it is located in the capital, was planned as an enormous building, much larger than earlier Gothic churches. It was begun before Chartres, but during construction the nave walls began to fail, necessitating the use of buttresses on the exterior of the building. The combination of the heavy lower piers supporting the high thin wall exaggerates the height and expanse of the nave. Sainte Chapelle, 1241-1248, the royal chapel in Paris, represents the splendor and exaggerated effects of the late Gothic. The structure becomes so delicate, tall and narrow, and the windows so tall, wide and brilliant, that the sense of the interior is a cage of colored glass.