Introduction

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE REFERENCES

What are the board exams like? 1. Ching, Francis D.K., A Visual Dictionary of Architecture

1. Memorization is necessary – you must remember many 2. Fletcher, Bannister, A History of Architecture 20th Ed.
facts
3. Mercado, Jose L., The Architectural Reviewer Volume
2. Wide in Scope – from pre-historic to modern styles III: History & Theory of Architecture

3. Repetitive – questions from previous exams are reused 4. Salvan, George S., Architectural Character & the History
of Architecture
4. History amounts to only around 10% of your total score
5. The Children‟s Atlas of World History

6. The World Atlas of Architecture

OUR METHOD OF STUDYING HISTORY: DEFINITIONS

To try not to memorize… but to understand History of Architecture

• "It is a record of man's effort to build beautifully. It traces
history of architecture

History is not a list of facts… it is a story that can be retold the origin, growth and decline of architectural styles which
over and over have prevailed lands and ages."

Historic Styles of Architecture

• "The particular method, the characteristics, manner of
design which prevails at a certain place and time.“

Six Influences of Architecture

• Geographical
• Geological
• Climatic
• Religious
• Social
• Historical

Four Great Constructive Principles

1. Post & Lintel Construction
2. Arch & Vault Construction
3. Corbel or Cantilever Construction
4. Trussed Construction
 Introduction

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian Byzantine

Pre-Historic Greek Roman Early Christian Romanesque Gothic Renaissance 18th-19th C: 20th C:
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

Revival Modern
NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East Islamic
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN
Indian Chinese & Japanese
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Pre-historic

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Pre-Historic
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Pre-historic
• Humans spread from Africa into Southern Europe, Asia
• Could not settle far north due to the cold climate
• From Siberia by foot into North America
• From Southeast Asia by boat into Australia

• Before 9000 BC, nomadic life of hunting & food gathering

• By 9000 BC, farming and agriculture was practiced
• Fertile soil and plentiful food
• Animal domestication for work, milk, wool

• People wanted to settle down, live in communities

PRE-HISTORIC
• First villages in the Middle East, South America, Central
history of architecture

NEAR EAST America, India and China

INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
HISTORY
ROMAN
• Direct human ancestors evolved in Africa from 2.3 million
EARLY CHRISTIAN
years ago - Homo habilis, Homo erectus, homo sapiens,
BYZANTINE homo sapiens sapiens
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
• Some people needed not farm, so they spent time on
INDIAN other work - pot-making, metal-working, art and…
CHINESE & JAPANESE architecture!
FILIPINO

• The success of the human race was largely due to the RELIGION
development of tools – made of stone, wood, bone • No organized religion
• The dead are treated with respect - burial rituals and
monuments
 Pre-historic
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER EXAMPLES

MATERIALS
• Animal skins, wooden frames, animal bones

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
• Existing or excavated caves
• Megalithic, most evident in France, England and Ireland

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

MENHIR
NEAR EAST • A single, large upright monolith
EGYPTIAN • Serves a religious purpose
GREEK • Sometimes arranged in parallel rows, reaching several
ROMAN miles and consisting of thousands of stones
EARLY CHRISTIAN DECORATION
BYZANTINE • Caves paintings in Africa, France and Spain
ROMANESQUE • Sculpture
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

Carnac, France
 Pre-historic
DOLMEN TUMULUS or PASSAGE GRAVE
• Tomb of standing stones usually capped with a large • Dominant tomb type
horizontal slab • Corridor inside leading to an underground chamber

CROMLECH
• Enclosure formed by huge stones planted on the ground
in circular form

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE Stonehenge, England (2800 – 1500 BC)
ROMANESQUE • Most spectacular and imposing of monolithic monuments
GOTHIC • Outer ring, inner ring, innermost horseshoe-shaped ring
RENAISSANCE with open end facing east
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN • Largest stones weigh 45 to 50 tons, came from Wales
200 km away
ISLAMIC
• Stones transported by sea or river then hauled on land
INDIAN with sledges and rollers by hundreds of people, raised
CHINESE & JAPANESE upright into pits, capped with lintels
FILIPINO
Genuine architecture - it defines exterior space
• A solar observatory - designed to mark the sun's path
during sunrise on Midsummer Day
 Pre-historic
PRIMITIVE DWELLINGS
• Mostly had one room
• The development of more complex civilizations led to
division of the room into smaller ones for eating, sleeping,
socializing

• In places where no industrial revolution has occurred to

transform building methods and increase population
density, houses show little difference from primitive ones

Wigwam or Tepee
• conical tent with wooden poles as framework
• Covered with rush mats and an animal skin door
Hogan - primitive Indian structure of joined logs

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN Natural or Artificial Caves Igloo - Innuit (Eskimo) house constructed of hard-packed
EARLY CHRISTIAN snow blocks built up spirally
BYZANTINE Nigerian hut - with mud walls and roof of palm leaves
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE Beehive Hut
FILIPINO Trullo - dry walled rough stone shelter with corbelled roof Iraqi mudhif - covered with split reed mats, built on a reed
platform to prevent settlement
Sumatran house - for several families, built of timber and
palm leaves, the fenced pen underneath is for livestock
 Near East

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Pre-Historic
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Near East
Mesopotamian Empire
under King Sargon of Agade
Mesopotamian Empire
under King Hammurabi Mesopotamian
Assyrian Empire • City-states of Ur, Babylon, Agade, Ashur and Damascus
under King Ashurbanipal • 2334 BC, King Sargon of Agade formed the first major
Persian Empire empire
under King Darius I
• 1792 BC, next by King Hammurabi
• Instituted laws to keep order
• Invention of writing - pictograms or cuneiform records on
clay tablets

Assyrian
ASHUR • Based in Ashur, biggest empire under King Ashurbanipal
DAMASCUS
PERSIA – conquered Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt
AGADE
BABYLON
UR
MEMPHIS PERSEPOLIS

EGYPT

THEBES

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
HISTORY
ROMAN Persian
• Started as villages on the flat land between Tigris and
EARLY CHRISTIAN
Euphrates rivers - “Mesopotamia” • Begun by Cyrus the Great from 559 to 529 BC
BYZANTINE • Turned into city-states with populations of thousands • Covered Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Eastern Mediterranean,
ROMANESQUE Bactria, Indus Valley and North Africa
GOTHIC • Each city-state surrounded by a wall and dominated by a • Darius I had provinces ruled by a satrap, who guarded
RENAISSANCE large temple the roads, collected taxes and controlled the army
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • Society of kings, craftsmen, soldiers, farmers, priests • Local peoples were allowed to keep their religions and
20TH C MODERN • Fought and traded with each other customs
• Sometimes would conquer each other and form an • Capital moved from Susa to Persepolis
ISLAMIC
empire • Network of roads linking the royal court to other parts of
INDIAN the empire – from Susa in Persia to Sardis in Anatolia
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Traded raw materials, carpets and spices
FILIPINO
• Darius and Xerxes tried to conquer Greece
• Ended with the defeat of Darius III to Alexander the Great
of Macedonia
 Near East
RELIGION ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
• Each city-state worshipped their own god for protection
• People aimed to make peace with their wrathful god MATERIALS
• Only materials readily available was clay, soil, reeds,
rushes
• Bricks made of mud and chopped straw, sun-dried or
kiln-fired
• Timber, copper, tin, lead gold, silver imported

DECORATION
• Colossal winged-bulls guarding chief portals
• Polychrome glazed bricks in blue, white, yellow, green
• Murals of decorative continuous stone

GEOGRAPHY and GEOLOGY

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN
Fertile Crescent:
ISLAMIC
• Marshlands with few natural advantages aside from
INDIAN water and soil
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Import materials like hardwood and metals
FILIPINO
Also:
• Deserts of the Arabian Peninsula
• Mountains and plateaux from west to east
 Near East
EXAMPLES PALACES
• Kings celebrated their victories, wealth and power by
ZIGGURATS building large palaces
• Religious buildings built next to temples
• On top was a small temple

Palace Platform at Persepolis

• Ruins still exist
• 50 years to build
• People from all over the empire were involved in its
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

construction
NEAR EAST Development: • Variety of architectural styles
EGYPTIAN • Archaic ziggurat
GREEK • Two or Three-staged ziggurat • parts: audience halls, reception halls, storerooms for
ROMAN • Seven-staged ziggurat during the Assyrian period tributes and valuables, military quarters, apadana – tallest
EARLY CHRISTIAN building, with 36 columns of 20m height
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN DWELLINGS
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Known as Megaron
FILIPINO • Entrance at end rather than on the long sides
• Portico - colonnaded space forming an entrance or
Ziggurat at Ur vestibule, with a roof supported on one side by columns
• 2000 BC • Suited to climate of Anatolian plateau
 Egyptian

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian

Pre-Historic
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Egyptian
HISTORY
• Wealthy country despite the desert - every year, Nile
would overflow, leaving the land fertile for growing crops
• Nile River was a trade route
• Gold from Nubia in the south

• Two kingdoms, Lower and Upper Egypt, combined by

King Menes in 3100 BC
• Many small towns, but royal cities at Memphis and
Thebes
• A single kingdom for most of its existence - unified under
SYRIA
the centralized omnipotent authority of the pharaoh (king)
GIZA
MEMPHIS

EGYPT
KARNAK
THEBES

NUBIA
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN
GREEK Pharaohs:
GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE
ROMAN
• Narrow stretch of fertile and arable land along the Nile • Seen as gods dwelling on earth
EARLY CHRISTIAN
• Beyond riverbanks, barren desert and rugged cliffs • Sole masters of the country and its inhabitants
BYZANTINE prevented attack from invaders • Builders and leaders
ROMANESQUE • Mediterranean and Red seas • Initiated the design, financing, quarrying and transporting
GOTHIC of materials, organization of labor and construction itself
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL Society:
20TH C MODERN • Divided into groups, by order of importance: senior
priests, officials, noblemen, and army commanders
ISLAMIC
• Most ordinary Egyptians were farmers
INDIAN • Architects, engineers, theologians, masons, sculptors,
CHINESE & JAPANESE painters, laborers, peasants, prisoners
FILIPINO • Weaving, glass-making, pottery, metal, jewelry and
furniture
• Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, music and writing
literature and history written on papyrus and stone tablets
 Egyptian
RELIGION ROOF & OPENINGS
• Cult of many gods representing nature: sun, moon, stars, • Roof was not an important consideration
animals • Flat roofs sufficed to cover and exclude heat
• No windows
• Spaces were lit by skylights, roof slits, clerestories

• After death, a persons soul went on to enjoy eternal life in

kingdom of the God Osiris - imagined this kingdom as a
perfect version of Egypt
• Pharaohs were buried, bringing with them the things they
might need in the afterlife, even living people
• Wished for a fine burial, embalmment and funeral rites,
and a permanent tomb or "eternal dwelling" WALL
• Batter wall - diminishing in width towards the top for
• Dead body had to be preserved to house the spirit stability
PRE-HISTORIC
• Remove insides, dry out the body, filled with linen, • Thickness: 9 to 24m at temples
history of architecture

NEAR EAST masked and bandaged • Unbroken massive walls, uninterrupted space for
EGYPTIAN hieroglyphics
GREEK ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
ROMAN DECORATIONS
EARLY CHRISTIAN DESCRIPTION • Mouldings such as "gorge" or "hollow and roll" was
BYZANTINE • Afterlife - life and house on earth is temporary, the tomb inspired by reeds
ROMANESQUE is permanent • Torus moulding
GOTHIC • For sustenance and eternal enjoyment of the deceased
RENAISSANCE • Religion is the dominant element in Egyptian architecture
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN MATERIALS
• Stone was abundant in variety and quantity
ISLAMIC
• Used for monuments and religious buildings
INDIAN • Durability of stone is why monuments still exist to this
CHINESE & JAPANESE day
FILIPINO
• Other materials, metals and timber were imported
• Mud bricks: for houses, palaces (reeds, papyrus, palm
branch ribs, plastered over with clay)
 Egyptian
• Hieroglyphics were pictorial representations of religion, Common ornaments:
history and daily life
• Derived from the practice of scratching pictures on mud-
plaster walls

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST • Common capitals used were the lotus, papyrus, palm
EGYPTIAN which echoed indigenous Egyptian plants, and were
GREEK symbols of fertility as well
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN • The shaft represented bundle of stems
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

• Avenue of sphinxes: rows of monsters (body of lion, head

of man, hawk, ram) leading to monuments
 Egyptian
EXAMPLES PYRAMIDS
• massive funerary structure of stone or brick
MASTABAS
• Rectangular flat-topped funerary mound, with battered
side, covering a burial chamber below ground

• First type of Egyptian tomb

• Developed from small and inconspicuous to huge an
imposing

Came in complexes:
• Offering chapel (north or east side)
PRE-HISTORIC
• Mortuary chapel
history of architecture

NEAR EAST • Raised and enclosed causeway leading to west

EGYPTIAN • Valley building for embalmment and internment rites
GREEK
ROMAN • Immense use of labor and materials, built in layers, like
EARLY CHRISTIAN steps
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL Parts:
20TH C MODERN • Stairway with 2 doors: one for ritual, second was a false
door for spirits
ISLAMIC
• Column Hall
INDIAN • Offering Chapel
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Serdab (contains statue of deceased)
FILIPINO • Offering room with Stelae (stone with name of deceased
inscribed)
• Offering table
• Sarcophagus – Egyptian coffin
 Egyptian

Pyramids at Gizeh
Step Pyramid of Zoser, Saqqara • Most magnificent of pyramids
• World's first large-scale monument in stone • Equilateral sides face cardinal points
• Designed by Imhotep • Forms a world-famous building group

• Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)

• Pyramid of Chephren (Khafra or Khafre)
• Pyramid of Mykerinos (Menkaura)
PRE-HISTORIC
• The Great Sphinx shows King Chepren as a man-lion
history of architecture

NEAR EAST protecting his country

EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE Bent Pyramid at Seneferu
FILIPINO
 Egyptian
ROCK-CUT or ROCK-HEWN TOMBS TEMPLES
• Built along hillside
• For nobility, not royalty MORTUARY TEMPLES
• worship/ in honor of pharaohs

CULT TEMPLES
• worship/ in honor of god

Parts:
• Entrance pylon
• Large outer court open to sky (hypaethral court)
• Hypostyle hall
• Sanctuary surrounded by passages
• Chapels/chambers used in connection with the temple
service

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

Tombs at Beni Hasan

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN Temple of Khons
• Typical temple: pylons, court, hypostyle hall, sanctuary,
ISLAMIC
chapels all enclosed by high girdle wall
INDIAN • Avenue of sphinxes and obelisks fronting pylons
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

Tombs of the Kings, Thebes

 Egyptian

Great Temple of Ammon, Karnak, Thebes

• Grandest temple and the work of many kings Great Temple of Abu-Simbel
• Example of rock-cut temple
• Constructed by Rameses II
• Entrance forecourt leads to imposing pylon with 4 rock-
cut colossal statues of Rameses sitting over 20 m high
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE Temple of Ammon, Luxor
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

Mammisi Temple Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri

• Became the prototype of the Greek Doric temples
 Egyptian
PYLONS DWELLINGS
• monumental gateway to the temple consisting of slanting • Made of crude brick
walls flanking the entrance portal • One or two storey high
• Flat roof deck
Temple of Isis, Philae
3 parts:
• Reception suite on north side - central hall or living room
with high ceiling and clerestory
• Service quarters
• Private quarters

FORTRESSES
• Mostly found on west bank of Nile or on islands
• Close communications with other fortresses

Fortress of Buhen
• Headquarters & largest fortified town near Nubia
• From here they could trade and invade lands to the south

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN OBELISKS
EARLY CHRISTIAN • upright stone square in plan, with an electrum-capped
BYZANTINE pyramidion on top
ROMANESQUE • sacred symbol of sun-god Heliopolis
GOTHIC • usually came in pairs fronting temple entrances
RENAISSANCE • height of nine or ten times the diameter at the base
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • four sides feature hieroglyphics
20TH C MODERN
Obelisk, Piazza of S. Giovanni
ISLAMIC
• originally from Temple of Ammon, Karnak
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian

Pre-Historic Greek
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek
Greek Empire
under Alexander the Great of Macedonia

Mycenaean or Helladic (1550 to 1100 BC)

• Continuation of Cretan ideas and craftsmanship on
mainland Greece
• Wealth due to their control of metal trading between
Europe and Middle East

Hellenic Period (800 to 323 BC)

• City-states developed on the plains between mountains –
Sparta and Athens were most important
ASIA MINOR • The "polis" emerged as the basis of Greek society
• Each had its own ruler, government and laws
CRETE
SYRIA • A federal unity existed between city-states due to
PERSIA
common language, customs, religion
MEMPHIS
INDIA
• Several different forms of government: Oligarchic,
EGYPT Tyrannic, Democratic

THEBES • Under Pericles (444 BC to 429 BC), peak of Athenian

prosperity
• Outburst of building activity and construction,
developments in art, law-making, philosophy and science
PRE-HISTORIC
• Philosophers – Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
HISTORY
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC Aegean Period (Minoan)
RENAISSANCE • Civilizations on Crete and Greek mainland from 1900 to
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL 1100 BC
20TH C MODERN • The first great commercial and naval power in the • Among best soldiers in the ancient world – Hoplite Army
Mediterranean, founded on trade with the whole eastern defeated repeated invasions by Darius and Xerxes of
ISLAMIC
seaboard: Asia Minor, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Persia
INDIAN • Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Persia,
Libya, even South Italy and Sicily on the west
CHINESE & JAPANESE Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan
• Trade and communications produced a unity of culture
FILIPINO
and economic stability • Greek language and culture reached an enormous area
• Knossos was the largest city, had a magnificent palace
Hellenistic Period (323 to 30 BC)
• Hellenistic Empire established, Greek civilization
extended
 Greek
GEOLOGY & CLIMATE ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
• On the mainland, rugged mountains made
communication difficult DESCRIPTION
• Mountains separated inhabitants into groups, clans,
states
• archipelago and islands: sea was the inevitable means of
trade and communications

• Between rigorous cold and relaxing heat

• Clear atmosphere and intense light - conducive to
creating precise and exact forms
• Judicial activities, dramatic presentations, public
ceremonies took place in the open air

RELIGION

Aegean
• Rough and massive
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST Hellenic

EGYPTIAN • Mostly religious architecture
GREEK • "carpentry in marble“ - timber forms imitated in stone with
ROMAN remarkable exactness
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE Hellenistic
ROMANESQUE • Not religious in character, but civic – for the people
GOTHIC Aegean religion: • Provided inspiration for Roman building types
RENAISSANCE • Primitive stage of nature worship • Dignified and gracious structures
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • Priestesses conducted religious rites, sacred games, • Symmetrical, orderly
20TH C MODERN ritual dances, worship on sacrificial altars
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
ISLAMIC
Greek religion: • Columnar and trabeated
INDIAN • A highly developed form of nature worship • Roof truss appeared, enabling large spaces to be
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Gods as personifications of natural elements, or deified unhindered by columns
FILIPINO mortals
• Gods could influence events in the human world MATERIALS
• Timber and terra cotta
• Greeks sought advice from oracles – oracle at Delphi • Stone
 Greek
EXAMPLES PALACES
Palace of King Minos, Knossos
HOUSES Palace at Tyrins
Lion Gate, Mycenae
On islands:
• Flat roofing
• Drawn together in blocks
• Two to four storeys high
• Light admitted through light wells

On mainland:
• Single-storeyed house with deep plan
• Columned entrance porch with central doorway
• Living apartment proper with sleeping room behind

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
TOMBS
• rock-cut or chamber tombs - “tholos” tomb
Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae
 Greek
TEMPLES
• Chief building type
• Earliest ones resembled megaron in
plan and construction

• Number of columns at entrance:

1 column – hemostyle
2 columns – distyle
3 columns – tristyle
4 columns – tetrastyle
5 columns – pentastyle
6 columns – hexastyle
7 columns – heptastyle
8 columns – octastyle
9 columns – enneastyle
10 columns – decastyle
12 columns – dodecastyle

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek
Arris
MOULDINGS
• Architectural devices, which with Splay
light and shade, produce definition to
a building
• Could be refined and delicate in
contour, due to fineness of marble
and the clarity of atmosphere and light Fillet

Billet

Cove

Cavetto

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

Ogee
NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN Cyma Recta
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC Cyma Reversa
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC Beak
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
Brace
 Greek
• Certain refinements used to correct optical illusions: GREEK ORDERS
• Horizontal lines built convex to correct sagging • Shaft, Capital, and Horizontal entablature (architrave,
• Vertical features inclined inwards to correct appearance frieze, cornice)
of falling outwards
• On columns, entasis was used, swelling outwards to • Originally, Doric and Ionic, named after the two main
correct appearance of curving inwards branches of Greek race
• Then there evolved Corinthian, a purely decorative order

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE METHODS OF NATURAL LIGHTING
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • no windows
20TH C MODERN • clerestory - situated between roof and upper portion of
wall
ISLAMIC
• skylight - made of thin, translucent marble
INDIAN • temple door, oriented towards the east
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek
DORIC ORDER
• Without base, directly on crepidoma
• Height (including capital) of 4 to 6
times the diameter at the base
• Shaft diminishes at top from 3/4 to
2/3 of base diameter
• Divided into 20 shallow flutes
separated by arrises

• Doric capitals had two parts - the

square abacus above and circular
bulbous echinus below

Doric entablature:
• Height is 1 and 3/4 times the lower
diameter in height

3 main divisions:
• Architrave, principal beam of 2 or 3
slabs in depth
PRE-HISTORIC
• Frieze
history of architecture

NEAR EAST • Cornice, mouldings

EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek
IONIC ORDER
• Volute or scroll capital (derived
from Egyptian lotus and Aegean
art)

Ionic column:
• More slender than Doric
• Needed a base to spread load
• Height was 9 times the base
diameter
• Has 24 flutes separated by
fillets
• Upper and lower torus

Ionic entablature:
• Height was 2 and 1/4 times the
diameter of column

Two parts:
• Architrave,with fasciae
PRE-HISTORIC
• Cornice
history of architecture

NEAR EAST • No frieze

EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek
CORINTHIAN ORDER
• Decorative variant of Ionic Order

Corinthian column:
• Base and shaft resembled Ionic
• More slender
• Height of 10 diameters
• Capital: much deeper than Ionic, 1
and 1/6 diameters high
• Capital invented by Callimachus,
inspired by basket over root of
acanthus plant

3 parts:
• Architrave,
• Frieze,
• Cornice, developed type with dentils

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Greek

Temple of Nike Apteros, Athens

Temple of Hera, Paestum

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN Temple of Artemis Ephesus
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN
The Parthenon, Acropolis
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
The Erectheion, Acropolis
 Greek
TEMENOS
• Enclosure designated as a sacred land
• Entire groups of buildings laid out symmetrically and
orderly

AGORA

Acropolis at Pergamon

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN STOA
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE The Acropolis, Athens
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL 10 structures form a world-famous building group:
20TH C MODERN • Propylaea
• Pinacotheca
ISLAMIC
• Statue of Athena Promachos
INDIAN • Erectheion
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Parthenon
FILIPINO • Temple of Nike Apteros
• Old Temple of Athena
• Stoa of Eumeses PRYTANEION, BOULEUTERION, or ASSEMBLY HALL
• Theater of Dionysus
• Odeon of Herodes Atticus
 Greek
THEATER or ODEION
• Carved or hollowed out of the hillside
• Acoustically-efficient

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN STADIUM or HIPPODROME
CHINESE & JAPANESE PROPYLAEA
FILIPINO PALAESTRA and GYMNASIUM
NAVAL BUILDING
TOMBS/ MAUSOLEUM
Theater of Epidauros
 Roman

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian

Pre-Historic Greek Roman

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Roman
Roman Empire in 114 AD
under Emperor Trajan

2 periods:
BRITAIN
Etuscan or Etruscan (750 BC to 146 BC)
LONDON
GERMANY
Roman (146 BC to 365 AD)
• Developed constitutional republic
FRANCE • Farmers & soldiers, concerned with efficiency and justice
ITALY
NIMES ROME
GREECE • For 500 years Rome was ruled by elected leaders called
SPAIN POMPEII
BYZANTIUM
consuls
• In 27 BC, Augustus crowned himself Emperor with total
SEGOVIA
(CONSTANTINOPLE)
ATHENS
CARTHAGE
power
ANTIOCH PERSIA • Succession of military dictatorships of which Julius
AFRICA Caesar‟s was most famous
EGYPT
• Empire reached its greatest size in 114 AD under
Emperor Trajan - 4000km wide and 60 million inhabitants
• Used natural frontiers such as mountain ranges and
rivers to define their empire
• Otherwise they built fortified walls, such as Hadrian‟s
Wall in England
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST • Provinces run by governors

INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN • Latin was the official language
GREEK
HISTORY • Applied roman system of laws
ROMAN
• Many city-states on the Italian peninsula • Was the intermediary in spreading art and civilization in
EARLY CHRISTIAN Europe, West Asia and North Africa
• From 800 -300 BC, among all cities in Italy, Rome
BYZANTINE became the most powerful
ROMANESQUE • 334 – 264 BC, Rome conquered all of Italy and
GOTHIC established one of the strongest empires in history
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • Was centrally-located on the northern Mediterranean
20TH C MODERN • Not a sea-faring people
• Depended on conquest by land to extend their power
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
• Fought with Carthage in North Africa for control of the
CHINESE & JAPANESE
Mediterranean
FILIPINO
• Hannibal led the Carthaginian army and its 38 elephants
across the Alps into Rome
 Roman
RELIGION COLUMNS
• Polytheistic, several cults • Orders of architecture, used by Greeks constructively,
• Roman mythology slowly derived attributes from those of were used by Romans as decorative features which could
Greek gods be omitted

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY and CLIMATE Tuscan Order

• Italian peninsula: Central and commanding position on • Simplified version of Doric order
Mediterranean sea • About 7 diameters high
• With a base, unfluted shaft, moulded capital, plain
• Temperate in the north entablature
• Sunny in central Italy
• Almost tropical in south Composite Order
• Evolved in 100 AD, combining prominent volutes of Ionic
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER with acanthus of Corinthian
• Most decorative
DESCRIPTION

• Etruscans were great builders

• Large-scale undertakings, like city walls and sewers
• Draining marshes, controlling rivers and lakes by using
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

channels
NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN • Romans had great constructive ability
GREEK • Complex, of several stories
ROMAN • Utilitarian, practical, economic use of materials
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE MATERIALS
ROMANESQUE • Stone: tufa, peperino, travertine, lava stone, sand, gravel
GOTHIC • Marble, mostly white
RENAISSANCE • Imported marble from all parts of the Empire to river
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL Tiber
20TH C MODERN • Earth for terra cotta and bricks

ISLAMIC
• Etruscans introduced the use of concrete (300 AD to 400
INDIAN AD):
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Stone or brick rubble with pozzolana, a thick volcanic
FILIPINO earth material as mortar
• Used for walls, vaults, domes
• Concrete allowed Romans to build vaults of a magnitude
never equaled until 19th century steel construction
 Roman
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
• Adopted columnar and trabeated style of Greeks
• Arch and vault system started by Etruscans - combined
use of column, beam and arch (arctuated)
• Were able to cover large spaces without the aid of
intermediate support

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Roman
TYPES OF VAULTS DECORATION

Wagon/ Barrel/ Tunnel Vault:

• Semi-circular or wagon-headed, borne on two parallel
walls throughout its length

Mosaics
• Thousands of small stones or glass tiles set in mortar to
form a pattern
• Showed pictures of roman life

• Opus Incertum - small stones, loose pattern resembling

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

Wagon Vault with Intersecting Vault: polygonal walling

NEAR EAST • Opus Quadratum - rectangular blocks, with or without
EGYPTIAN mortar joints
GREEK • Opus Reticulatum - net-like effect, with fine joints running
ROMAN diagonally
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC Cross Vault:
RENAISSANCE • Formed by the intersection of two semi-circular vaults of
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL equal span - used over square apartment or bays
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

Hemispherical Dome/ Cupola:

• Used over circular structures
 Roman
EXAMPLES

FORUM
• Roman cities were well-planned with straight streets
crossing the town in a grid pattern
• In the town center was an open space called the forum
RECTANGULAR TEMPLE • Surrounded by a hall, offices, law courts and shops
Maison Caree, Nimes

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO BASILICAS
Basilica in the Forum, Pompeii
CIRCULAR TEMPLE Basilica of Septimius Severus, Lepcis Magna
The Pantheon. Rome
 Roman
THERMAE DOMUS

• Romans liked to keep clean and fit

• Built elaborate public baths throughout the empire
• For as many as 30 men and women in the open

Parts of the thermae

• Apodyteria – dressing room
• Laconicum (sudatorium) - sweat room, rubbing with oil INSULAE
• Tepidarium – warm bath • 3- or 4- storey tenement type buildings
• Frigidarium – cold bath • Prototype for the modern condominium
PRE-HISTORIC
• Unctuaria – oils and perfumes room
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE Baths of Diocletian, Rome
FILIPINO
 Roman
CIRCUS TRIUMPHAL ARCHES
Circus Maximus, Rome Arch of Septimius Severus, The Forum, Rome

THEATERS and AMPHITHEATERS AQUEDUCTS

PRE-HISTORIC
• Gladiators trained to fight each other at organized • Carried water in pipes from the country to the heart of the
history of architecture

NEAR EAST contests city

EGYPTIAN • For the entertainment of the townspeople
GREEK
ROMAN The Colosseum, Rome
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO

Pont du Gard, Nimes, France

Segovia Aqueduct, Spain
 Early Christian

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian

Pre-Historic Greek Roman Early Christian

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Early Christian
Christianized
by 600 AD

• Belief that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God -
BRITAIN
Christianity was born
LONDON • Disciples spread stories of Jesus‟ life and teaching by
word of mouth and by written account in the new
testament
FRANCE
ITALY
MARSEILLE ROME
GREECE
SPAIN NAPLES
CONSTANTINOPLE

SEVILLE
ATHENS ANTIOCH
CARTHAGE SYRIA
JERUSALEM DAMASCUS PERSIA
NORTH AFRICA BETHLEHEM JUDEA
ALEXANDRIA

EGYPT

• Moved from Judea to Antioch in Syria and into the

Northern Mediterranean
• Founded new communities along the way
• Carried by St. Peter, St. Paul and other missionaries to
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

Rome, the center of the Empire and fountainhead of power

NEAR EAST and influence
INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN • Emperor Nero ordered Christians to be fed to wild beasts
GREEK or burned to death
HISTORY
ROMAN
• In 63 BC, the Romans conquered Judea in the Eastern
EARLY CHRISTIAN
Mediterranean • Despite this, in 4th century Rome, Christianity grew
BYZANTINE • Main inhabitants were the Jews • In 312 AD, Constantine, a converted Christian, named it
ROMANESQUE • Jews believed that one day the “Messiah” or “Christ” the official religion of the Roman empire
GOTHIC would free them from the Romans • By 600 AD, most roman villages had their own churches,
RENAISSANCE governed by a bishop
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • In 27 AD, Jesus began preaching to people in Galilee, • Patriarchs based in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch,
20TH C MODERN north of Judea Constantinople and Rome
• After three years, he was arrested by the Jews and found
ISLAMIC
guilty of offending their god GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
INDIAN • Ruins of Roman buildings served as quarries from which
• He was nailed to a cross and died a painful death
CHINESE & JAPANESE materials were obtained
• He appeared to his disciples after his resurrection from
FILIPINO
the dead
 Early Christian
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

DESCRIPTION
• Highly-influenced by Roman art and architecture
• This architecture hardly has the architectural value of a
style, simply because it was never really produced by the
solution of constructive problems

ROOF and CEILING

• Further development of trusses - king and queen post
trusses

EXAMPLES

BASILICAN CHURCHES
• Roman basilicas as models
• Usually erected over the burial place of the saint to whom
it was dedicated
• Unlike Greek and Roman temples which sheltered gods,
the purpose of the Christian church was to shelter
PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

worshippers
NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN • Came in a complex, with cathedral, belfry or campanile,
GREEK and baptistery
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN • Fine sculptures and mosaics worked into new basilicas
BYZANTINE • Paid little regard to external architectural effect
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC • Entrance at west
RENAISSANCE • Priest stood behind altar, facing east
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Early Christian

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Early Christian
St. Peter's, Rome Other examples:
• Erected by Constantine near the site of St. Peter's S. Apollinare, Ravenna
martyrdom S. Sabina
• The Circus of Nero was torn down to erect it S. Agnese Fuori Le Mura, Rome
St. Paulo Fuori Le Mura
S. Clemente, Rome
S. Maria Maggiore, Rome

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Early Christian
BAPTISTERIES
• Used only for sacrament of baptism, on festivals of
Easter, Pentecost and Epiphany
• Large separate building from church, sometimes
adjoined atrium

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE TOMBS or CATACOMBS
ROMANESQUE • Christians objected to cremation, insisted on burial on
GOTHIC consecrated ground
RENAISSANCE • Land for burials had become scarce and expensive
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN • Monumental tombs became expressions of faith in
immortality
ISLAMIC
• Cemeteries or catacombs were excavated below ground
INDIAN • Several stories extending downwards
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO • Usually domed and enriched with lavish mosaic
decorations
• Walls and ceilings were lavishly decorated with paintings
mixing pagan symbolism with scenes from the bible
 Byzantine

The Historical
Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian Byzantine

Pre-Historic Greek Roman Early Christian

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN Near East
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL
20TH C MODERN

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE
FILIPINO
 Byzantine
Byzantine Empire in 565 AD
under Emperor Justinian

• Strongly Christian people - founded many monasteries

and churches
• Converted the Russians and Eastern Europeans to
Christianity - this form of Christianity survives today as the
Eastern Orthodox Church
BULGARIA

ROME
GREECE
SPAIN
CORDOBA CONSTANTINOPLE
ASIA MINOR
ATHENS
CARTHAGE ANTIOCH
JERUSALEM SYRIA
DAMASCUS
AFRICA
ALEXANDRIA

EGYPT

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
INFLUENCES
EGYPTIAN • Under Emperor Justinian, regained control of lost lands
GREEK of the Western Roman Empire, such as Northwest Africa,
HISTORY
ROMAN Italy and Spain
• Fierce barbaric tribes such as the Goths and Vandals
EARLY CHRISTIAN
attacked from outside the empire • Attacks from Slav Barbarians and Bulgars from the
BYZANTINE • In 285 – 293 AD, the empire had split into two – an northwest were constantly being repelled
ROMANESQUE Eastern and Western empire • Persians, Arabs and Muslims from east
GOTHIC • Constantine, a converted Christian, changed the capital • Normans and Venetians
RENAISSANCE of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330 AD • Ottoman Turks captured the city in 1453 and killed
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • The western empire based in Rome finally collapsed in Constantine XI the last emperor
20TH C MODERN 476 AD
• Eastern empire lasted another thousand years and was GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY
ISLAMIC
known as the Byzantine empire • Where Asia and Europe meet, separated by a narrow
INDIAN strip of water
CHINESE & JAPANESE
• Constantinople stood on the site of an old Greek town • Art and architecture executed by original Greek
FILIPINO craftsmen
called Byzantium (present-day Istanbul)
• Known as the "new Rome", most commanding position • Influence reached Greece, Serbia, Russia, Asia Minor,
and most valuable part of eastern Roman empire North Africa, further west
• Bulwark of Christianity during the Middle Ages • Also Ravenna, Perigeux and Venice, through trade
 Byzantine
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER DOMES
• The dome was the prevailing motif of Byzantine
DESCRIPTION architecture
• First buildings constructed were churches • Practice of using domes contrasts with Early Christian
• Dumped Early Christian style for new domical Byzantine timber truss system
style
• Byzantine is still official style for Orthodox church 3 types of dome:

Simple - Pendentives and domes are of same sphere

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE Compound
ROMANESQUE • Dome of separate sphere, rises independently over
GOTHIC sphere of pendentives or dome raised on high drum
RENAISSANCE distinction:
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • Basilican plan - Early Christian
20TH C MODERN • Domed, centralized plan - Byzantine

ISLAMIC
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
INDIAN • Fusion of domical construction with classical columnar
CHINESE & JAPANESE style
FILIPINO • Domes of various types placed over square
compartments using pendentives
• Semi-circular arches rest directly on columns, with Special designs: melon, serrated, onion or bulbous shape
capitals able to support springing of arches
 Byzantine
EXAMPLES S. Mark, Venice
• On the site of original Basilican church
CHURCHES • An exterior quality all its own: blending of features from
• Centralized type of plan many foreign lands
• Dome over nave, sometimes supported by semi-domes
• Entrance at west • Sits behind the Piazza of San Marco, vast marble-paved
open space serves as atrium to church

• Glittering, resplendent façade

• Exterior enriched by fine entrance portals, mosaic and
marble decorations

PRE-HISTORIC
history of architecture

NEAR EAST
EGYPTIAN
GREEK
ROMAN
EARLY CHRISTIAN
BYZANTINE
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC S. Sophia, Constantinople
RENAISSANCE • Hagia Sophia "divine or holy wisdom"
18TH-19TH C REVIVAL • Built by Justinian, designed by Anthemius of Tralles and
20TH C MODERN Isidorus of Miletus
• Rose on the site of 2 successive Basilican churches of
ISLAMIC
the same name
INDIAN
CHINESE & JAPANESE • Most important church in Constantinople
FILIPINO • Perfection of Byzantine style

• Later converted into a mosque