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