Abstract This paper analyzes the city structures of the Roman empire. The author gives a detailed explanation of the structure and functions of the roads, forums, aqueducts and baths that were used for social, religious and commercial activities.
From the Paper ?The discipline of engineering was very close to that of architecture in the Roman World. Roman architecture was a social art that gave the people of the Roman Empire benefits that no community had ever achieved before. Innovative city planning in the Roman Empire excelled in the creation of roads, forums, aqueducts and baths.?
From the Paper "Greek and Roman art and architecture were both innovative and distinguished by features which can be compared and contrasted. In both cultures the major trends in art and architecture were set in their respective archaic periods. However, the comparison and contrasting of both are best restrained to the more mature periods of each society.
Classical Greek art begins around the Fifth Century B.C. During this time the Greeks had consolidated their military victories by ousting the Persian invaders, reduced civil unrest by removing the old kingships and replacing them with oligarchies and democracies, and limited the mercantilism of the Greek poli or city.states (Greer 66-69). In terms of art and architecture, however, it should be remembered that Greek art was largely commissioned by the demos of relatively small cities (...)"
This paper discusses Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier's architectual plans for the ideal city: Planning, technology, role of family, automobile and social organization.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 5 sources, 1991, $ 47.95
From the Paper Two Ideal Cities
"Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier were both visionary architects and urban planners. Wright and Le Corbusier both hated the state of modern cities and both wished to transform the nature of cities. Wright once said, "To look at the plan of any great city is to look at the cross section of some fibrous tumor.". Their ideas on how this transformation should be achieved, however, were completely different. The solutions they found to practical problems of urban planning reflect their differing social theories and value systems.
Le Corbusier was born in Switzerland, while Wright was born in America. Both architects grew up away from the great urban centers that they ended up revolutionizing. Frank Lloyd Wright's ideal city was called the Broadacre City, and he presented the ... "
Abstract Discusses the history and aims of this movement. The Bauhaus and work of architect Gropius as a response to German industrialization and commerical standardization. Ideology of this New Architecture. Need for artists or architects to recognize their obligation to the community. The German Craft Association. Life, work and influence of Gropius.
From the Paper "Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus
In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Deutscher Werkbund or "German Craft Association" was formed with the expressed aim of improving the aesthetic quality of manufactured goods and industrial architecture while producing both less expensively (Adams, p. 477). The creation of this Association was very much a response to two complementary pressures. On the one hand, Germany was undergoing a period of rapid industrial development in which the factory and the machine were replacing the cottage and the craftsman's hands as the locus and source of production. On the other hand, a sense that many of the machine-made products and machine-serving buildings and other structures were of less aesthetic quality (and greater cost) than was desirable was also emerging."
Abstract This paper discusses the way that tomb construction developed and changed in Egypt. The paper looks at three periods - The Old Kingdom (c2780-2260 BC); Middle Kingdom (c1997 -1650 BC) and New Kingdom (1552-1069 BC) - in order to compare the methods.
From the Paper "Because of the incredible power and authority of the king at this time, his tomb was designed to exemplify his grandeur as well as serve as the final resting-place for his body and earthly possessions. In addition, the tomb complex was also the focal point of the king's cult for ritual prayer and for worship. Unfortunately, the roles of the king's tomb proved to nullify each other; the builders tried to "hide" the king's body and possessions while at the same time allowing the public in to worship him at the same time. As a result, the whereabouts of the king's treasure were common knowledge and over time each of these tombs was stripped of everything of value, not excluding the king's corpse itself? "
Abstract This paper explains how a hurricane forms, looks at the special and unlikely circumstances which led to the devastating effects of Hurricane Andrew, and describes the damage caused in various states and why faulty building techniques were partially to blame.
From the paper:
"David Fisher's book on hurricanes describes a Category 5 hurricane as the ?scariest place on Earth, and Andrew was a Category 5 hurricane when it hit both south Florida and Louisiana.
A hurricane is a giant heat pump (Fisher, p. 61). Both the heat of the sun and the heat generated as evaporated moisture condenses contribute to the development of the hurricane. As the spinning winds contract, they speed up, much as a skater speeds up by pulling her arms in more tightly to her sides. Organization of the storm also requires an upper level high over a lower-level low, which allows the tropical depression to organize into a well formed, rotating tropical storm. If these conditions persist, the tropical storm may strengthen into a hurricane."
This essay examines the Bauhaus school of architecture which originated in Germany in the 1920 and remains the most influential architectural movement.
Abstract This paper looks at the Bauhaus architectural movement and its relationship to the massive technological advances of the early twentieth century. It examines the philosophical beliefs of the Bauhaus founders and evaluates their finest achievement, the Dessau Bauhaus, which was completed in 1925. It explains how the Dessau Bauhaus achieved its celebrated status in the world of architecture.
From the Paper "In the late the 19th and early twentieth century technological advances swept across the world with an undreamed of speed. The pace at which technology reinvented culture seemed almost preternatural, and amounted to the greatest alteration in man's view of the universe since Isaac Newton (Hughes 15). The study of the modern age (1880-present) and how artistic developments viewed cultural change would not be complete without a look at architecture's role. The work of an architect will by its nature influence society more than a painting and sculpture; its size and usefulness to poeple make that a certainty. Buildings surround us, we move through them, and they are part of our everyday life."
Tags: architecture, art, Bauhuas, dessau, modern, technology, twentieth, century
From the Paper "The Parthenon has been admired for centuries for its architectural purity. The structure appears visually perfect. The source of this perfection is the subtle structural refinements conceived by its architects. Contributing to the Parthenon's majesty is a wealth of sculptural detail. The combination of superior sculpture and pleasing proportion make the Parthenon the best-known of all Greek buildings.
The Parthenon is both a religious and political structure. The war between the Greek city-states and Persia interrupted almost all temple building for a generation while the Greeks concentrated on restoring their defensive walls, civic buildings, and the fleet. When the Persians were defeated in 479 BC, Athens emerged as the leader among Greek cities. Thus Athens controlled the war chest of the Delian League, a Panhellenic league. "
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine Le Corbusier's views in The City of To-Morrow and Its Planning. The plan of the research will be to discuss Le Corbusier's attitudes and biases regarding such issues as the appropriate means and concepts employed in the well-conceived creation and construction of buildings and other facilities in urban centers, with a view toward evaluating their content and significance.
Le Corbusier's principal focus in The City of To-Morrow and Its Planning is on the necessity for the urban architecture of the twentieth century to behave functionally and logically, in line with the fact that in the current period the machine and industry are decisively triumphant and that they reflect man's passion for order and manageability in an otherwise chaotic world. Additionally, Le Corbusier conceives of an urban ... "
Abstract This paper provides a description of the early and later architectural designs of the Roman houses, villas, and apartments. The author offers a historic view of the designs found in excavations and on mosaics and discusses the social relevance of certain architectural designs.
From the Paper "Architecture was outstanding among the Roman arts. Many of the outward forms of Roman architecture were taken over from the Greeks. It was through Rome that these forms became the common language of a great part of the tradition of western architecture. Connections between Greek houses and Roman ones provide important context both for Roman villas planned around peristyles as well as for the luxuriousness of the decoration and contents of late republican and early imperial houses and villas. This Greek luxury was a matter of some ambivalence for the Romans. Certain members of the Roman elite were eager to emulate the model of Hellenistic taste as found in Greek palaces of the fourth century B.C. and later (Robertson, 1986). But there has been a change of attitude about Hellenistic influence on architecture, painting, and mosaics: scholars are now stressing the ready naturalization of Greek art and ideas in the Roman context rather than using Roman art to reconstruct a hypothetical Hellenistic original (Jones, 2001)."
Tags: architecture, excavation, hadrian, mosaic, ostia, pompeii, roman, villa
Abstract The paper shows that ancient Roman architects implemented the elements of space, symmetry and construction with exceptional innovative skill. Although their most notable achievements, the arch and vault construction, was first conceived by the Etruscans and had a profound influence on Roman architectural style and design, the paper shows that the innovations made by the Romans were still tremendously substantial and distinct.
From the Paper "Another revolution can be seen in the Roman network of roads. The Romans were the first civilization to make well-designed roads. Around the time of Augustus the major roads were constructed to keep the incredibly large empire linked to avoid collapse. The Romans contributed a number of things to the basic idea of roads, such as archways, city streets, and arch bridges. This greatly increased the ability to build because of the way the roads were laid out. The roads allowed the Roman Empire to expand Rome in every direction; hence the saying "All roads lead to Rome". In fact, they were so abundant and well constructed that many of them still exist today as memorable landmarks today."
From the Paper " The Parthenon in Athens and the Pantheon in Rome are two of the greatest surviving monuments of ancient civilizations. Though they came from very different cultures, the two buildings have a great deal in common. Both monuments were symbols of the political goals of the rulers who built them. Each building is also considered the ultimate achievement of a period in architectural history. But, the two monuments also demonstrate differences between Greek and Roman ideas about architecture and the state.
The two monuments have similar recent histories. Both are so well preserved because they were adapted by later cultures. The Parthenon was the only temple ever to be used by four different religions (ancient Greek, Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Islam). The survival of the Pantheon was due to its use by the.."
This paper provides a look at the principles of New Urbanism, a land development movement designed to combat ugly urban sprawl, by redeveloping inner cities and/or making the most efficient use of open space development.
Abstract This paper examines the topic, New Urbanism, synonymous with the term "Smart Growth" which is a way to develop land efficiently, whether it may be a new development using open space land, or a redevelopment of a part of an inner city- called "infilling". The paper explores the ten principles that New Urbanism is guided by and gives examples of developments across the country that have used this method and prospered.
From the Paper "Small, picturesque towns like Nantucket and Savannah dot the eastern landscape of the country. These towns are the illustration of the principles America was founded upon: closeness, unity, community, and family. The neighborhoods were compact and had mixed-uses. Everything a family needed in the normal course of the week was all within walking distance. There was a town square where the townspeople met and talked. In the youth of this country small developments like these were common, however in the last 50 years America has seen development practices take a turn for the worse. The current practice of building suburbs nationwide sprang up after World War II, and development has sacrificed hundreds of thousands of acres to this practice ever since. Now the majority of U.S. citizens now live in automobile-oriented, unattractive suburbs full of strip malls and four-lane roads with four-foot sidewalks. Although this is still the norm, there is a new kind of development that is making an impact on the way communities are built. This new method, called New Urbanism or Smart Growth, has caught on in the last 20 years and is now popping up all over the country. New Urbanism is a way to combat ugly urban sprawl, replacing it instead with small, interconnected communities that are pedestrian-friendly and contain housing, work places, shops, entertainment, schools, parks, and other amenities essential to the daily lives of residents, all within easy walking distance of each other. New Urbanism involves using the principles it sets forth to fix and redevelop existing cities, called "infilling", as well as to create new, high-density, compact towns and villages."
From the Paper "Gothic architecture is viewed in two different but complementary ways. On the one hand the Gothic style was the result of daring builders who took preexisting elements from Romanesque architecture, experimented with them, improved upon them, and produced new technological forms. On the other hand, the great churches were reflections of the heavenly city as a "gem-encrusted, translucent, shining vision (Kostof 331). These two ways of looking at the Gothic are really one, however, since, as Kostof puts it, "technology needs a vision to become a style" (332-33). The new manner of building might have occurred anyway since the principal elements--the pointed arch, the vault rib, the flying buttress, stained glass--had all been used in other places prior to the 1130s. But the immense expenditures and the radical change in style would not have been justified if there..."
Abstract This paper traces the history of the architectural form and cultural function of the amphitheatre from its modest beginning in ancient Greece through to the Roman influenced theatre of today. It examines how, although some aspects of their design and function are debatable because so little of their physical structure exists today, Greek theaters can be chronologically classified into three categories: The early Athenian, Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman. It discusses how all of these theaters could be divided into essentially three parts: the theatron (or auditorium), the orchestra and the skene (or scene building) and how these standards developed over time.
From the Paper "In its simplest form the orchestra of a theater is simply a circular plot of land designated as a place for dance and this idea defines the orchestra employed during this time. It was circular in shape with a diameter of about 66 feet and was believed to be a locus for supernatural powers. An altar (or thymele), described as "a short drum of marble decorated with low-relief carvings of garlands and satyrs, or other Greek icons? was usually erected in the epicenter of the orchestra. It was primarily used prior to performances for sacrifices in honor of the god Dionysus, however plays with religious content often incorporated the altar into the performance. A level surface area, raised one foot from the orchestra and situated below the skene, termed the proscenium, served as the area in which the majority of the dramatic action transpired."
