THE ACROPOLIS (Roth, p. 233)
In this second unit of our History and Theory of Design class appropriately named foundations, we started at the beginning. Starting with discussion of the ancient Egyptians and the advancements made by their culture. Key contributions from the Egyptians included the first use of “post and lintel construction.” As Roth said on page 188, “Egypt is where western Architecture begins, rooted in ancient Egyptian religion and science.” Religion was extremely significant to the Ancient Egyptian culture. They believed in many gods. Ra, the “sun god” was the highest and most important god in their society. Of course the giant pyramids are the most recognizable achievement of the ancient Egyptians. These were great temples trying to reach as high as possible to the heavens to reach the gods. These “Great Pyramids” were constructed of sandstone because it was the most readily available material.
The Greeks built their society with a lot of similarities to ancient Egypt and went on to contribute many important things to the way structures and society is formed today. While the Egyptians depended on the ever constant, dependable cycles of the Nile River to nourish their community, the Greeks used water in a different way. The geographic setting of Greece and the constant surroundings of water made it easier to travel over water than land. This lead to the influx of cultural influences from all over. There is no doubt that the Greeks built on the post and lintel construction methods developed by the Egyptians. One key development attributed to the Greeks was the use of post and lintel construction to develop structures that repeatedly made use of the porch, the court and the hearth. These three design elements can be traced in all building forms from that point forward. Another addition to post and lintel construction that was used a lot was the use of a “tympanum.” This is a usually triangular shaped ornamental figure that would be placed on top and center of the lintel and was typically symbolic of the space you were about to enter.
Order was possibly the most significant element of Greek society that echoed throughout their architecture and on into the Roman architecture that followed it and even into the buildings that are designed and constructed today. The Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite orders in columns exemplified the Greeks pursuit of the ideal. Like the design, redesign and modification process of the columns themselves, the buildings were prototypes and an ever progressing attempt to reach what heaven would be like on earth. The pinnacle achievement of Greek society, (aside from their development of democracy,) is considered by many to be the Acropolis. This the inner group of buildings surrounded by a great wall in Athens. The focal point is the Parthenon, the great temple for Athena. The Acropolis had several buildings, each with its specific purpose and is what I believe to be the earliest template for an organized city like the ones we typically see in western society today.
The Romans came in to break all the boundaries previously set by any culture before them. They absolutely built on everything the Greeks had accomplished, and even went on to establish what came to be known as an empire. Like the Greeks the Romans focused an enormous amount of attention on an organized city. Their policy was to stop at nothing to achieve the ideal, the constant pursuit of extravagant pleasure, exemplified in the form of a modern city. If a mountain was in the way of the plan, knock the mountain down. They key component of Roman advancement in architecture that made many of their achievements possible was the development of the arch. Arches were used on top of columns to build buildings taller and more breathtaking than ever before. The arch was repeated in a circular pattern to create massive domes, the most impressive perhaps is the dome of the Pantheon in Rome. Arches could be placed side by side for a long stretch of space to create long halls or basilicas in which great bodies of people could be assembled and a public speaker could use the shape of the space to help broadcast his voice so that many people could listen. I believe it is the dedication to public buildings as well as a conscious effort to DESIGN the way a society functioned that made the Roman society such a powerful and successful culture that people continue to study today.
The arch form as well as tall vertical monuments is used in the erection of great monuments in cities around the world to symbolize the significance of a place. Often times stories are written in images on the sides of these monuments in a way that is reminiscent of the hypostyle halls of the ancient Egyptians. The evolution of the arch into a dome evolved yet again into a stronger, higher and more dynamic form in the form of the pendentive. This is an arch placed on each of the four sides of a square, with a dome placed on top of the arches. The pendentive gave way to the next era of significant architectural advancement with the construction of the Christian churches and gothic cathedrals through the medieval or so called “dark ages.”
As we can clearly see the foundations unit did exactly what its title suggests… lay the foundation for the understanding of architecture in a way that bridges the gap between when people began to create buildings out of necessity up to the buildings we currently inhabit and occupy today. Looking forward to the ALTERNATIVES unit, it is my assumption that we will be looking into ways that societies took what had been accomplished before them and dared to ask the question, what if we tried something different ?
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