Architecture In Ancient Roman Architecture

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Recommended: Discuss the development of both concrete and the arch in Rome

Roman architecture was responsible for developing many different building styles and techniques and the creation of various new ones. Ancient Rome expanded quickly from a small town (founded in 753bc) situated on the Tiber River, to an empire with one fifth of the world’s population under its control. This displayed the strength that they possessed, and the control of many different cultures led to the acquisition of a range of typologies. The result of the architectural influence of other nations (mainly the Greeks and the Etruscans) led to many great masterpieces of art and building design. The Romans took many pre-existing ideals and developed them into new technologies and ways of living; architecture is just one of these developments. These newly developed technologies, such as concrete, enabled new building approaches and methods. The arch, the dome, vaults and columns, which shall be explored in further detail, were also heavily exploited in order to reach their full potential in construction. This greatly enhanced the way construction techniques were utilised and the abilities of the architects of the time. I will argue that Roman architecture brought about a new way of designing and constructing buildings which the civilisations before had not established to its full potential. Through my conclusion, one should see that Rome used and improved many pre-existing technologies which allowed many newfound techniques. This enabled them to construct buildings such as the Colosseum, with increased complexity and size.

It is commonly believed that the Romans were the founders of the arch due to the complex and world famous buildings they have created using it. However, the first signs of the arches came in the form of a triangul...

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... Vitruvius described 5 types of roman atrium house: Tuscan, Corinthian, tetrastyle, displuviate, and testudinate (Sear, F. 1982 p.32). As such, even the layout of towns, public buildings and houses also used pre-existing ideas from other cultures to create their own specific styles.

Overall, ancient Rome was responsible for the evolution of new building styles through taking pre-existing styles (mainly the Greeks and Etruscans) and developing them into bigger and bolder approaches to building. This was done through discovering the full potential of the arch, the combination of different orders of columns and the creation of a new one and the extended use of concrete. As such this allowed Rome to show its strength in more ways than conquering other civilizations. It also displays how Rome enhanced the architecture and gave it good footings to move on in the future.

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