Egyptian Architecture (3000BC-100AD)

1. Columnar and trabeated style (trab=beam)

2. Mainly tombs and temples.
3. contrast to west Asiatic architecture(palaces)
4. Egyptian-Massive walls, made of sun dried mud bricks
5. Housing- One or two storey high, living hall in centre.
6. Temples- rectangular plan, fronted by monolithic pillars, oriented to word
nile.
7. Columns- vegetable origin like the lotus stalk, tied intervals by bands.
8. Advanced in use of colors, blue, red, yellow
9. Tomb was an eternal home to Egyptians.
10. 3 types of tombs-mastabas, royal pyramids & rock cut caves.
11. Mastaba- central space-sarcophagus
12. Pyramids-only for pharaohs-massive & impregnable tombs.
13. Material used for core-Lime stone.
14. Granite for king’s chamber, passages.
15. Entrance from north.
16. Great pyramid of cheops at Giza(230.5m*230.5m), 146m height.
17. Built in solid stones with a casing of finally dressed Tura lime stones & the
apex stone was once coated with gold.
18. Rock cut tombs- eg:Trit-Aukh-Amon at Thebes.
19. temples 2 types- Mortuary, Ministration to pharaohs(cult)
20. Mortuary-Series of rooms, pillared court, phypo style hall- the dark
mysterious chamber, chapel.
21. Only the royal & privileged persons were admitted for stately
22. Religious functions.
23. In cult temples, the processions were unique features.
24. Sphinxes & obelisks were set up in pairs to dignify the temple entrances
25. eg of cult temple, temple of khons at konark.
26. Obelisks are large sizes monoliths square in plan(sun worship)
27. Height of obelisk is 9 or 1- times its lower diameter.
28. 4 sides of base are cut with fingers of hieroglyph.

Greek architecture (650BC-30BC)

1. Greek temples were surrounded by open colonnades in full view of common

people
2. Oriented to words east(sun)
3. Civilization spread mainly during bronze ages.
4. Hellenic(650-323BC)
5. Columnar & trabeated style evolved from wooden hut of up right posts &
supporting beam & sloping rafters.
6. two periods-Hellenic period, Hellenistic period.
7. Arches, domes, vaults were not used by the Greeks.
8. Greek used timber & after built.
9. In 600BC - Masonry from coursed rubble to fine ashlars.
- no mortar was used.
- Minimized the joints by using large sized stones.

10. 3 orders of architecture-Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.

11. Hellenistic period(323-30BC)
12. Influenced by Middle Eastern culture.
13. Religious character but after 4th century BC, public buildings began
14. Arches started appearing on wall openings.
15. 3rd century BC roof trusses came to cover larger spaces.
16. Ornate Corinthian order was more popularly used.

Roman architecture (300BC-365AC)

1. Followed columnar style and also Etruscan’s arch &vault.

2. Columns were superimposes in case of colosseum of rome.
3. Use of lime concrete was started(cement)
4. Character of rome arch is the capacity to span over large spaces.
5. Roman buildings were of several storied, ornamented by half attached
columns superimposed one above the other.
6. arch. of romes was essentially an art of shaping space around rituals.
7. Many structures were utilization type such as acqueducts & bridges.

Medieval period

1. Early Christian architecture (313-800 AD)

i. Fallowed roman style.

ii. Columns were either closely spaced to carry entablature or widely
spaced to carry semi-circular arches.
iii. The basilican churches were rendered spacious, graceful, impressive
and dignified by arranging the columns & rows.
iv. Main entrance was provided in one shorter side.
v. Biblican scenes become usual features of decoration.
vi. Architecture represents their fantacism, passion search for mystery of
the real presence.
2. Byzantic architecture ()330-1453AD)

i. Characterized by the novel devt of dome cover square or polygon

plans of churches and tombs.
ii. Various type of domes used were, simple, compound, melon shaped,
onion shaped.
iii. Domes were constructed with out centering with thin radiating
bricks or light weight fumic stones.
iv. Used the columns decorately as well as structurally to support
galleries and semi circular arches.
v. Walls were fully covered with marble mosaics and fresco-decoration

3. Muslim architecture 7th century

i. Major constructions- mosque, tombs, palaces.
ii. Constructions- Jama masjid
- madrassah
- rauza
- dargah
- khans
- the pointed architecture
- the dome
- arabesque

4. Romanesque architecture (9 to 15th century)

i. Is direct modification of roman architecture which grew in Italy,

France, Germany, central Europe, Spain, and Britan.
ii. Used lighter materials.
iii. Stained glass was little used.

5. Gothic architecture (12th century)

i. Introduction of pointed architecture, buttress and high pinnacle.

ii. Invented flying buttress in place of vaults to support walls.
iii. Gothic style is a synthesis of aesthetic and technical qualities.
iv. Invented stained colored glass.
v. Designed town halls, royal places, court houses, hospitals.
vi. Churches were convenient rather than symmetry.
 Renaissance periods

6. Renaissance architecture (15th 19th century)

i.Is the revival of classic Greek and roman architecture.

ii.Large sized stone blacks were used to dignity
iii.Buildings were arranged with special regard to symmetry.
iv. 5 order of architecture were standardized and used both
constructively and decoratively.
v. Ornamentation was based on classical methodology and pagan
subject.
vi. Status was neither proportion to human scale nor an integral part of
the buildings.
vii. In place of stained glass, fresco paintings were used.

Buddhist architecture (300BC-820BC)

1. Major features- stupas or topes, stambhas or lats, chaityas, viharas or monasteries.

2. stupa- monument propagates the ‘Doctrine’.
3. stupa- circular, section and the total form of which were all derived from circle.
4. eg:stupas,sanch(250BC), Saronath(7th century), Amaravath(3rd c,AD), bar hut(2rd
c,AD),budh gaya(75BC)
5. Column-2types-persepolitan type, graeco-roman type.
6. First-octagonal, bell shaped capital.
7. graeco- roman type is rectangular with shallow flucts.
8. Eg: ashoka pillars (274-237 BC)
9. chaityas-temple as well as assembly halls created out of particular demands of
Buddhist region.
10. Eg: Bhaja,kondane,karle,ajanta(2nd C,BC), tllora.
11. Vihara- residential places of Buddhist priests.
12.
Indus valley civilization (Harappan)(3000)
Indian architecture (500 BC to present)

1. 5000 yrs ago, people from Sumerian origin came and settled nearest river
Indus.
2. Is a contemporary of ancient Mesopotamia.
3. cities were systematic and divided into 12 blocks (365*244m each)
4. English bonds in walls.
5. Streets-9m wide.
6. Under ground drainage lines with inspection chambers at regular
intervals.
 7. houses consisted of rooms around a courtyard and staircase.(kiln burnt
bricks)
8. Ox- driven carts of large solid whets for transportation.
9. Tools of stone and copper were in use.
10. Pots were made of clay, wood.

Vedic (1500-1000BC)
1. Dravidians-The builders of the city civilization of Indus valley.
Indo-Aryan (1500BC)

1. Aryan village was made of timber and thatch huts.

2. Protected by timber fence consisting of rectangular wooden posts.
3. Gate way at entrance.
4. All Indian art is derived from the Aryan village.
Dravidian architecture (600AD-1000AD)
1. Temple consists of garbha-gritha (womb-house) with a mandope or the
open porch.
2. Mainly adopted trabeated system of construction.
3. No arches, avoid mortar.
4. Temples were expanded with courtyards called prakaras enclosing
gopurams.
5. Temples on hill tops, situated amidst beautiful surroundings.
6. 5 types-pallava, chola, pandya, vijayanagar, late pandya/madhura
7. pallava- rock cut temple, structural temples(shore temple)
8. chola: temple consists of usual compartment such as a pillared halls
attached to the vimana or the tower over the sanctum.(brihadeshwar temple
of tanjavur)
9. Pandya- practice of constructing the vimala over the cella; importance to
the temple entrance gopuram.
10. Vijayanagar style-temple of modulate sizes, rich in beauty, form,
proportion,
In addition to main temple in centre, there were separate shrines,
pillared halls, and pavilions.
11. Another important is kalian-mantapa.
12. Late pandyan/madhura style
- Temples with vast size and impressive appearance.
- Pillared halls, parkares outside.
- Eg: Ranganath, Madhura, Rameswaram, Tirupathi.