The Impacts of the Roman Empire: Roman Architecture

Roman Architecture
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Abstract
The impacts of the Roman empire are widely felt even to this day especially in the architectural designs that are traced to that era. The Roman architectural aspects and significance is in the same way very crucial in today’s architectural field as most architectural professionals still visit the Roman cities to view the remnants of the Roman architectural structures that are still in place to-date. This paper seeks to look at the significance that the Roman architecture has had on architectural practice over the ages and the aspects that the architectural designs carry about the cultural and societal practices that the designs are based. The Roman architecture is intensely revered due to the fact that it highly carries a lot of influence on even today’s architectural designs despite the much advancements that have been made technologically. The skills and creativity that the Roman architects showed even considering the fact that such utilities as electricity had not yet been invented at the time is something to give much credit to. This paper has delved much on comparing today’s architectural designs and that of the Roman era and even that of the Greek and the significance that this relationship has on the entire architectural field. The Roman architecture had much to do with displaying the cultural and societal aspects as well as portraying the splendor of the Roman Kingdom. This aspect receives much less attention in today’s design which is not that much into showing the cultural aspects of the society. The few Roman architectural monumental structures that still exist today are a clear picture of the skills that the Roman architects bore and a lot of today’s architecture has much to reference from the ancient architects.
Roman Architecture
There are some intriguing truths that are associated with the phrase that Rome was not build in a day. From an architectural point of view, there is an element that speaks to the time that most of the roman building that are still seen today, with close reference to the techniques that were used at the time. It is interesting to note that most of the architects will from time visit Rome. This is a relative to the fact that, there are historical significances that are associated with the construction techniques that were used at the time and they have a subtle impact on the current techniques.Over the years, the construction techniques have shifted around with some improvements and in some of the cases there have been some retrogressive developments. The most important aspect of the developments is that the changes in the techniques and the approaches that have been used over the years are a reflection of the society and values that they had at the time. Looking at the developments that architecture has had over the years, there are frames of reference that can be made to a certain culture at the time and the dominant approaches that were used at the time, along with the values that were held in the society. The roman empire is one of the most significant historical landmarks that have been used in reference to civilization. In the case of the construction techniques, there are some aspects that could be borrowed from the same, and could be used to day. These are techniques that were used before there was an advent boom in the utilities that are now common in the 21st century techniques. Today, almost all of the buildings have some or all of the utilities such as gas, electricity and plumbing. While the construction techniques during the roman empire may be considered to be ancient there are aspects that could be borrowed from the same. There are significant differences between the roman architecture and the modern architecture in terms of construction techniques and the cultural significance of the techniques in question. The significance of the romans is felt to date, and it is a reflection of a unique society and the cultural significance that they had.[Rohan Kanchetty, "The Comparison Between Ancient And Modern Roman Architecture", Prezi.Com, last modified 2014, accessed November 25, 2016, https://prezi.com/j64epfqpqovn/the-comparison-between-ancient-and-modern-roman-architecture/.]
Modern Roman Architecture is very different from Ancient. Since electricity has been discovered all buildings have Computers and Televisions. Even aqueducts have been modified instead of bridges with water we now use pipes. The buildings now are in different shapes. Maxxi a very modern 21st century museum unlike any other ancient buildings it has a very unique structure, for the roof they did not use roof shingles the top was glass and metal. Not only concrete and cement is used, but other materials are! The Romans built the Colosseum in 70 AD and was finished in 80 AD.The center arena was 287 ft long and 180 ft wide. the Colosseum was 157 feet tall with four main floors and the perimeter was 1788 feet long. To build the Colosseum it took 60,000 people. It is the largest amphitheater in the roman empire, it could easily fit a football field!Several different events were held in the Colosseum including gladiator contests, mock battles and animal hunts, and dramas that were based on Classical mythology. If they held a mock sea battle they flooded the Colosseum with water. People who fought against dangerous animals where highly trained to do this act. At last disaster struck part of the Colosseum crumbled and fell. When Rome plunged into the dark ages war and vandalism started to affect the structure. Also, weathering and erosion took place in this disaster.[Rohan Kanchetty, "The Comparison Between Ancient And Modern Roman Architecture", Prezi.Com, last modified 2014, accessed November 25, 2016, https://prezi.com/j64epfqpqovn/the-comparison-between-ancient-and-modern-roman-architecture/.]
As Rohan Kanchetty states in the article, there are significant differences that exist between how the romans approached their construction techniques and the significance that the same had with reference to their conquest. While the elements of cultural changes can be seen in the current architectural techniques that are used in the modern approaches, there is a subtle significance that is associated with the roman society and the architectural techniques used.[Rohan Kanchetty, "The Comparison Between Ancient And Modern Roman Architecture", Prezi.Com, last modified 2014, accessed November 25, 2016, https://prezi.com/j64epfqpqovn/the-comparison-between-ancient-and-modern-roman-architecture/.]
The roman empire existence is one of the most influential historical eras that has had massive impacts in the current society. This is relative to the fact that there are elements of the roman empire that can be traced to the modern society. However, there are some unique elements that can be established in the roman empire with reference to the architectural techniques that were used at the time. This was a time in history, when the roman society was at its highest. There was some element of restlessness with reference to energy. At the time, the creators of the roman empire, were pumped with ambitions that exceeded the rest of the society. Most of the leaders at the time looked to make sure that they expanded the territory in Europe and Mediterranean region. However, they also mastered a number of architectural techniques some of which have become indicators of the artistic developments of the time and the society. These are techniques that also reflect on the culture of the society. Some of the techniques that were used by the romans can be borrowed by the modern architects to bring some element of culture to the society.[Stan Mack, "Benefits Of A Roman Arch", Ehow, last modified 2016, accessed November 25, 2016, /list_5938884_benefits-roman-arch.html.]
To understand the roman techniques of construction, it is crucial to first explore the various aspects of the same that made the approaches unique. The romans did not manage to improve the lives of the citizens relative to the financial stardom that the kingdom achieved at the time. However, there is an aspect that the ruling class did not fail at; making artwork and culturally significant developments that have remained behind to this day. Some of the most significant developments can be reflected in the architectural techniques that they used at the time. Some of these techniques include the fact that, most of the architects of the time mastered the arch, dome and the vaults. At the center of the roman construction techniques is the mastery that they had with the use of concrete in their buildings. These are features that reflective of the roman empire and that speak to the level of creativity that was around during the era. Some of the ideas that can be seen in the techniques used by the romans, can also be traced back to the Greeks.It is through the mastery of making the domes, arches and the vaults, that the romans made some of the most memorable building in the history of architecture. They were able to build temples, basilicas, monuments, amphitheaters, public baths and triumphal arches. Other than the fact that the romans were able to build all of the above, they also mastered the construction of drainage systems, aqueducts, drainage systems and even bridges. They also built vast network of roads and created new urban centers from scratch using army camp designs. Some of the most elaborate designs had some element of borrowed culture as stated before. This is relative to the fact that the romans respected the Greek architecture, Greek sculptures, Etruscan art and the Egyptian pyramid architecture.Some of the most memorable building that were done by the romans include the MaisonCarree, the Colosseum, Arch of Titus, the baths of Trojan, Trajan’s bridge, library of Celsus, Hadrian’s wall, the pantheon, palace of Diocletian, baths of Diocletian, arch of Constantine and the Cloaca maxima. It is also important to note that the oldest sewage system is also attributed to the roman constructions. This had been constructed to drain the city’s waste and direct the local marshes by draining them into the River Tiber.[Jessica Ambler, "Roman Architecture", Khan Academy, last modified 2016, accessed November 25, 2016, /humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/beginners-guide-rome/a/roman-architecture.] [Rohan Kanchetty, "The Comparison Between Ancient And Modern Roman Architecture", Prezi.Com, last modified 2014, accessed November 25, 2016, https://prezi.com/j64epfqpqovn/the-comparison-between-ancient-and-modern-roman-architecture/.]
Before the influence of the Greeks was felt in the roman construction techniques, there were some subtle influences that came from the Etruscans. These included the use of the arch and that of the vault. The reason why, these are influential and attributed to the romans is the fact that, they mark the part where the roman techniques parted from that of the Greeks. Ideally, the Greeks were more inclined on using lintel and posts that they were with arch and vault. There are a number of vaulting methods that were used by the romans, most of which can be seen in the remnants of the various buildings left behind. The vaulting technique used simple geometry forms to create vaults such as the barrel vaults, segmental vaults and the groin vaults.The vault surfaces would in most of the cases be covered in tiles or stucco. Some of the best examples and that are constantly referred to by architects are the Maxenitius which is in Rome and the basilica of Constantine. The vaults also led to the development of the domes, which came up naturally. This is in reference to the fact that the vaults were instrumental in the construction of vaulted ceilings. This was a crucial development especially where the romans constructed roofs for large public facilities. Given the fact that, most of the ground plans of the various developments were multi-lobed, the romans had to make sure that their designs were complex enough to handle the same. There is also an aspect that can be established from the roman architecture, that indicates that they also relied heavily on the domes to bring out open spaces in their buildings such as is the case when observing buildings such as the basilicas or the public baths.
It is through the development of the domes, arch, and the vaults that led to the development of the use of concrete. Much of the roman construction techniques revolve around the fact that, they had mastered the use of concrete in their buildings. This is in reference to the fact that concrete, would be easy to mold and for the various complex and simple geometric shapes which are quite evident in most of the buildings that were built during the era. The fact that, the romans were trying to move away from the architectural developments there were largely used by the Greeks, this was a subtle move.Using the dome, they were finally able to solve the space bridging. This is relative to the fact that the romans understood that using roofing techniques to bring to the open spaces also meant that they could do more with the designs. This is to mean that, given that they had massive spaces to create roofs above, they had to come up with a roofing technique that would best allow them to create complex designs on the ground over large spaces. The domed roofs also meant that they were structurally stable. Given the fact that the romans were living at the time where they wanted to show off all the grandeurand the power that they had accumulated over the years of conquest, they build large building as show of the same. Some of the buildings that they constructed at the time, could hold thousands of people. This is relative to the ...