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The Construction Principles of Greek Architecture Foundation - Most important material for the Greek temple was stone. Most cities used limestone, sometimes painted white with the powder of marble. The stone was drilled along with the line drawed for intended size. Dried wooden wedges were inserted in each holes and watered. Then the stone was cracked by the power of expansion of the wedges. Platform and columns – Temples and structures were of trabeated and columnar (post and lintel) in construction. Columns were constructed using the mortise and tenon joint in which the tenon is cut to fit the mortise hole exactly and usually has shoulders that seat when the joint fully enters the mortise hole. Each drum of columns was also unfinished and still had knobs; divided in four parts which consist of concentric circles. Each drum had a rectangular hole on either side to insert a plug. It was maybe used as a guide to pile the drums accurately, rather than to fix them. Walls and Tiles - Blocks of stone were used for the wall of Greek temples The blocks were arranged from each ends of the wall to the centre, fixed with double "T" shaped cramps. Wood was used for the beams to support the roof. Tiles for the roof were usually made from clay; marble were also used for some splendid temples. Most of the roofs consisted of pan and cover tiles. Finishing - The columns were probably fluted when the construction had been finished. It is because that if fluted previously, they will be damaged by the blocks for the wall. First, the knobs were removed and the surface was smoothed then fluted roughly and smoothed carefully. In this stage, the surface of the base and the wall was also finished. An idea was that the Greek temples were fine The columns were also varnished for their protection. Architectural Sculpture - In the pediment, figures were arranged in the triangular space and entablature was often carved. In Ionic order, it has continuous frieze relief and in Doric order, it has panelled reliefs, metopes. In the case of Parthenon, stylistic chronology of the sculptures revealed that the carving was done in the final stage of the establishment. Orders of Greek Architecture The three styles of architecture are distinguished by the form of the columns. Of the three great orders , the Doric was the earliest and the one in which the noblest monuments were erected. It is recognised by its capital, of which the echinus is like a circular cushion rising from the top of the column to the square abacus on which rests the lintels. A refinement of the Doric Column is the entasis, a gentle convex swelling to the profile of the column. They are almost always cut with grooves, (fluting), which run the length of the column (usually 20 in number) & meet at sharp edges (arrises). The Entablature is in three parts (architrave, the frieze and the cornice). The Ionic order is rested on a base, and the capital was adorned with a spiral roll. The horizontal spread of a flat timber plate across the top of a column is a common device in wooden construction, giving a thin upright a wider area on which to bear the lintel, while at the same time reinforcing the load-bearing strengt h of the lintel itself. The columns have narrow, shallow flutes (usua lly 24 in number) that do not meet at a sharp edge but have a fillet between them. . Caryatids, draped female figures used as supporting members to carry the entablature, were a feature of the Ionic order, occurring at several buildings. The third Greek order, the still more ornate Corinthian order, but was comparatively little used. It is latest of all orders and a modification of the Ionic, had a capital embellished with designs taken from the acanthus leaf. Later, the Romans used the Corinthian order extensively and adapted it into their widely used composite order. Sources: http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~greekart/archtect/index_e.html; http://www.studenthandouts.com/01-Web-Pages/01-Picture-Pages/09.03-Ancient- Greek-Architecture-Doric-Ionic-Corinthian-Column.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_architecture The Construction Principles of Roman Architecture Arches and vaults - The key element for building an arch is the solidity of its side walls which have to withstand the pressure discharged by the keystone through the voussoirs to the springers. Centina (centring) is the wood structure upon which the stones of an arch were laid during construction. Travertine proved to resist stress with limited strain and was widely employed to build arches. The arch aims to carry across all openings; and they further extended its use, in the form of a vault, to the covering of rooms or voids which they desired to roof in. The principle of this vaulted arch they had evidently borrowed directly from the Etruscans. Walls - The Romans developed a very effective kind of mortar by mixing pozzolana, a volcanic ash, with lime; they obtained a cement which was resistant to water. Most Roman buildings are made up of opus caementicium, a sort of concrete which was laid into timber structures until it hardened. The resulting walls were very solid, but not nice to see, so very often some sort of facing was applied. The Romans made use of fired bricks; round and triangular bricks which were used to imitate columns and other architectural motifs. Use of Superimposed Orders - the Romans did not hesitate to superimpose one Order upon another, making two or more stories, one over the other, each carrying a complete Order upon its face. The derivation of this idea is possibly traceable to some of the Greek temples, in which a second Order was sometimes used on the interior to support the gabled roof covering the structure, and, incidentally, to admit of a higher central aisle. Character of Roman Architecture - Roman architectural monuments are all imbued with a feeling for tremendous size, a straining at magnificence, almost a theatrical effect; and are pompous and grandiose in contrast to the work of the preceding civilization, in which refinement and taste, instead of a feeling for size or display, were the most distinguishing characteristics. The Roman Orders - is properly composed of three parts- the Column, the Entablature, and the Pedestal. The Tuscan order was occasionally used in the lower or basement story of a building; a combination of the Greek Doric with some characteristics taken from the Etruscan Orders. The shaft of the column is always plain and never fluted. The Composite order is a more elaborate form of the Corinthian, and was used only for purposes of extreme display and ornamentation. The general proportions of this Order are almost exactly the same as those of the Corinthian; and its minor details, while similar, are even more elaborately ornamented. The capital is an evident combination of the principal Ionic and Corinthian features, and the entablature is most richly moulded and carved. Aqueducts - The Romans used stone arch technology to build long bridges and high aqueducts. Again accurately cut stone has been used on external faces and the cavities have been filled with gravel, sand and rough stone. Furthermore, the Romans developed techniques such as constructing rows of arches on top of other arches. This meant that they could build high bridges and aqueducts by stacking rows of arches on top of each other. Aqueducts must have a slight incline (angle) in order that the water flows down hill, by the force of gravity. The Romans were capable of building to a consistent accuracy over long distances. The aqueducts required very careful planning before building, especially to determine the water source to be used, the length of aqueduct needed and its size. Great skill and training were needed to ensure a regular grade so that the water would flow smoothly from its source without the flow damaging the walls of the channel. Roads Sources: http://www.romeartlover.it/Costroma.html; http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Cyclopedia-Carpentry-Building-7-10/Study-Of-The-Orders- Part-III-Architecture-Of-The-Romans.html ;http://www.technologystudent.com/struct1/roman2.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads
