Ch. 4 Early Christian

As we studied in class, the emperor Constantine first recognized Christianity as a religion in 313 C.E. Further studies taught me that the initial time period of the Christian religion from Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine came to the coronation of Charlemagne around 800 AD. The period we cover in class during this time for the Early Christian impact during the middle ages is from 300-800. C.E. This time period is imperative because Christians were granted the rights to houses of worship and the abilities to display holy artifacts.

Two popular shapes for places of worship during this time include: the "centralized church" which is circular and holds more people, and the "Basilica" which is in the shape of a cross. During this time the goal during construction was to"glorify god" by using the best materials to accommodate all of the people to worship. 
Below are structural examples of the centralized church

 Below is a little history of a worship place during this time period, and its symbolic relationship to the religion.

A more modernized centralized church is the North Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, seen below.

 During this time the furniture was very elaborate in design and carvings. It was also know that the people were not seeking more functional furniture, and most importantly storage was a necessity. Below is an example of an early christian piece of furniture with storage, and an example of something like it we may see today, a storage bench.

Resrouces:
http://architecturemyart.blogspot.com/2013/02/architectural-early-christianity.html
http://www.archdaily.com/tag/brutalism/

The initial period of the Christian religion in general it can be said from the period of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine came to the coronation of Charlemagne around 800 AD. - See more at: http://architecturemyart.blogspot.com/2013/02/architectural-early-christianity.html#sthash.qf2Nhmx5.dpuf

The initial period of the Christian religion in general it can be said from the period of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine came to the coronation of Charlemagne around 800 AD. - See more at: http://architecturemyart.blogspot.com/2013/02/architectural-early-christianity.html#sthash.qf2Nhmx5.dpuf

The initial period of the Christian religion in general it can be said from the period of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine came to the coronation of Charlemagne around 800 AD. - See more at: http://architecturemyart.blogspot.com/2013/02/architectural-early-christianity.html#sthash.qf2Nhmx5.dpuf

Chapter 3. Classical Civilization Greece and Rome Discussion

The era of Classical Civilization within Greece and Rome has been a very monumental time in our history. In this post I will share some of my classmates: Justine, Kristina P, Ariana and Katies’ thoughts of this time period.

Classical Civilization Greece Discussion:

Justine had previous experience with learning about ancient Greece and I was glad that she shared with us about the drastic climate changes that that area had experienced. It is important to take these statistics into consideration when learning about the history of these areas because we need to keep in mind the day to day living situations of their society.

Kristina P made a good connection to ancient Greek pediments. I would never think of the Statue of Liberty as a pediment, but I guess it very well could be. Both figures serve as a great importance to their countries, and tell a story. I really enjoyed he current day application of a master bathroom that includes extravagant tiling techniques. The look of wealth in design through a tiled floor could definitely be seen in a modern Greek inspired home.

Classical Civilization Rome Discussion:

I found it very interesting that in Ariana’s blog she made a real world comparison to the ancient roman dwellings known as insulas. Her comparison to the Slum apartments in Mumbai is very fascinating. Close living quarters is not often something we think of in the field of interior design. We have typically evolved from the Insula type of living with more spacious conditions, but we have to often step back at all living conditions and economical situations when creating a place to call home.

Katie had also made comparisons in her blog to the roman insula’s. It is very obvious that insulas can be compared to modern day apartments. Kate, however, made good points about the differences between today's apartments and an insula. Insulas had poor lighting, no plumbing and the living conditions were somewhat dangerous. In today’s apartments, the higher apartment you hold does not necessarily mean the worse conditions. 

Resources:

http://www.history1jvs.blogspot.com/ for more on Justine’s Blog

http://history1kmp.blogspot.com/ for more on Kristina P’s Blog

http://www.history1ah.blogspot.com/   for more on Ariana’s Blog

http://www.history1ked.blogspot.com/ for more on Katie’s Blog

Chapter 3. Classical Civilization- Rome

Colosseum

Ancient Rome resembled many similar structures as Greece during this era. Columns and extravagant, ornamental designs were incorporated in many structures. It was because of the discovery of concrete that ancient Romans were able to take an even larger step through design and creation of these amazing structures.

 

Pantheon Interior

Pantheon Overhead View

One of the most famous examples of this is the Colosseum from 80A.D. The use of new techniques, as well as taking new risks in construction has influenced architecture around the world. Another famous example is the Pantheon from 126 A.D. located in France. This structure holds no electrical lighting, yet was built with a central opening called the "oculus" to the sky. I am still in aw at the fact that these structures were constructed and built on man power. These two examples are different in structure from anything I've seen from ancient Greece and this is why they stood out to me.It amazes me and I wish I had the ability to see the process of how they were built.

Since then, the dome structure has been implemented into many design features of commercial and residential spaces. The Reichstag Dome by Ren Hui Yoong featured below is a more modern representation of this.

Learning about the residential dwellings during this time is intriguing because we get a better feel of how these individuals lived during this time period, and what the socialization aspect of their lifestyle was like. The Insula, reminds me of an outdoor shopping mall like Uptown Normal, with apartments above but confided in one building. The Domus, reminds me of a more luxurious ranch style home. I think the aspect of this home that I find the most interesting is the slanted roofs into the interior of the home (compluvium) where rain water would gather(impluvium) . An illustrated image on the right shows this design element that I find beautiful, I think seeing and hearing the rain fall into your home would be a relaxing benefit.


Below I think this is a great example of a modern day compluvium or in other comparisons, today we might think of court yards, or sky lights. This image is taken from a mall's food court. Below that is another modern representation of this idea incorporated into a restaurant.

 

Resoruces:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

Chapter 3. Classical Civilization- Greece

I find the influence of Greek culture on today's life very extraordinary. I was surprised to find out that most of what we know about classical civilization Greece has been investigated through the remains of their pottery. The images brought about on these works of art tell stories and resemble civilization during this time.


Classical Civilization amazes me most because of the massive structures that have been left behind, the Parthenon being one of them. I still do not believe that manpower alone had the ability to create something so beautiful, structurally sound, and symbolic just to show devotion to the gods. 

I ask myself questions that quite possibly will never be answered: how many individuals were involved in making such a thing? How did they all agree on a structure, plan and a space to create these temples? How long did it take to build? Were there rules within these temples and is this why these structures are still standing?  Was there ever remodeling?

I enjoy the study and evolution of the columns that are some of the main focus pieces of these structures and I'm sure if anything, ancient Greeks had to insure that theses were created very sturdy. Surprisingly, the decorative patterns, and detail in these classic orders has been adapted and incorporated even today. Below is an example of ionic classic orders framing the center of this beautiful master bath.





















Another very important aspect of the Greek culture is their art and sculptures. Fasinating enough, sculptures were incorporated in their architecture at the top of buildings known a the pediment. Below is an example of a pediment sculpture. These life size works of art really capture the detail of this era and represent scenes important during classical civilization in Greece.  I noticed that researchers can probably automatically tell when a sculpture was from a pediment due to the angular shape the piece as a whole creates and where it would be placed on the triangular top of a building.

 

  During this time, interior architecture was also evolving. A huge influence that has been brought over to modern design is the fret or key detailing. As seen in the picture to the right, the scroll in the ionic column is an example of this pattern, as well as two modern adaptations.

 

Hand Rendering