ECB Architecture

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World History

Early Christian and Byzantine

IInd Yr. B.Arch.


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Historical Background

The following is a time line of events for the Early Christian andByzantine period:29 A.D . Passing of Isa(AS) andbeginning of Christian Religion286 A.D . Emperor Diocletianreorganizes the Roman Empire

splitting it into two; the Eastern andthe Western part313 A.D . Emperor Constantinerecognizes the Christian religion andadopts it as a state religion-324 A.D . Emperor Constantine

reunited the Roman Empire with anew capital at Byzantium364 A.D . Rome finally splits intotwo; the Western and Eastern Empire476 A.D . Rome is sacked by Visgothand Vandals

632 A.D . Muslim begin an advanceon the Byzantine empire


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Social Characteristics & BeliefsThe spread and acceptance of the Christian religionEarlyDuring the period from the first century to the third century after the deathof Jesus, Christianity was a secret societyIt was considered dangerous and subversive by the government

Christians met secretly in tombs and private housesGradually, however, it spread and became widely accepted in Asia minorand in Rome itself By third century, Rome had 50,000 Christians , soon was tolerated but it wasstill illegalReligionThe third century was for the Roman Empire a period of political instabilityand declineThe Empire was split into a Western and Eastern EmpiresIn A.D. 313, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan makingChristianity legalHe also adopted it as a state religion and he became the first ChristianemperorThe acceptance of the religion by the emperor fueled its expansionIt also led to the early development of places of worship for the new religionConstantine was able to unite the Roman Empire during his reign

He established the capital of the new empire at Byzantium, renamedConstantinople


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The empire was a multinationalstateGreek became the everyday languageas well as the language of the churchand everyday commerce in this empireThe general identity of the Eastern

Roman Empire was a combination of Roman statehood, Hellenistic cultureand Christian religion

Architecture of the PeriodWith Christianity widely accepted as a state religion in Rome it was necessaryfor architecture to respond to the demands of the religion for worshipspaceMode of worship was the most important determinant of the form of thechurch

Requirement for church design was centered on worship and burial

The requirements include:A path for processional entry and exit of the clergyAn alter area, where the clergy celebrate massA space for the segregation of the clergy from the congregation duringprocession and communionBurial space

he Society


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Synagogue at Dura Europos-the earliest Christiansworshipped and taughtwithin

Jewish synagogues

ly Christian Architecture

Domus Ecclesia (titulus) -HouseChurch-a followers house where thecommunal meal and teaching wereconducted- early ritual was very simple-communities were small


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Domus Ecclesiae - House of the Church-the successor to the domus ecclesia-no longer the house of a member-structure for the sole use of the churchcommunity-still a repurposed house

- walls reconfigured- dedicated baptism space


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Catacombspre-Constantine- cemetery-emulation of burialtechnique- practicality/lack of land-dignity of the body- preservation for

resurrection-communion of saints

-place of devotion


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Early Christian Architecture Introduction

Early Christian architecture may be taken tohave lasted from about 300 to 600 AD.

The Early Christians, as Roman craftsmen,continued old Roman traditions .

Utilized as far as possible the materials from

Roman temples which had become useless fortheir original purpose for their new buildings.

Their churches , modeled on Roman basilicas ,used old columns which by various devices werebrought to a uniform height.

Early Christian buildings hardly have thearchitectural value of a style produced by thesolution of constructive problems.


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EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH (300 AD 600 AD)

DIVIDED IN 2 PARTS

1. The Eastern Empire

2. The Western Empire

CHARACTERISTIC OF EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

1. Simplicity in Design and Treatment

2. Coarseness in Execution

Early Christian Architecture is Transitional Architecture

Influenced by Roman Architecture and with no own structure

SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTION

Trabeated and Arcuated

BUILDING MATERIALS

Salvaged materials from Pagan Temples


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Basilican churches had either closely spaced columns carrying the entablature, ormore widely spaced columns carrying semicircular arches.

The basilican church with three or five aisles, covered by a simple timber

roof, is typical of the Early Christian style It s long perspective of oft-repeated columns which carry the eye along to the

sanctuary ; a treatment which, combined with the comparatively low height of interiors, makes these churches appear longer than they really are, as is seen inS. Paolo fuori le Mura, and S. Maria Maggiore.


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BASILICA: Typicalplan.A, D, apseB, B, secondary apse;

C, high altar;G, transept;H, nave;

J, J, aisles

Types of Apse1. Semi-circular(Italian)2. Polygonal (German)

3. Square (English)4. Compound (French)


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PLANS USED BY EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

1. LONGITUDINAL -One axis referring to Basilican Type2. CENTRAL Two axes referring to square plan added before the church

proper.


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t. Peters BasilicaNarthex created on far side of the atrium- a variant of the porch- nave does not terminate at the apse

-covered a cemetery that contained manymartyrs- transforms into a large transverse space-known as a transept-this was a large reliquary-pilgrims gathered to venerate the remains of their fallen


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Church of the HolySepulchre- spatial complexity- structural complexity- site complexity- ritual complexity- programmatic complexity


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Church of St. Paul Outside the Wall (A.D. 380)Was destroyed in A.D. 1823, but was rebuilt on the original design,

and is the largest and most impressive of all basilican churches.


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Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome (A.D. 432)

Built by Pope Sixtus III and is the only church of which there is evidence that it was

originally a pagan basilica, and it is one of the most typical of basilican churches.


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BAPTISTERIES Early Christian baptisteries were originally used only forthe sacrament of baptism, and for this rite Roman circular temples and tombssupplied a most suitable type of building.


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OTHER STRUCTURESBELFRY Attached bell tower

CAMPANILLE Detached bell tower

Example - Leaning Tower of Pisa

TOMBS - Early Christian burial up to the end of the fourth century of the Christian era took place in theCatacombs outside Rome ; for burial within the city was prohibited by law.

- St. Constanza, Rome (A.D. 330) erected by Constantine for his daughter, but later converted into a church inA.D. 1256.

-The Tomb of Galla Placidia, Ravenna (A.D. 420) , appears to be the earliest building which is cruciform inplan.


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Byzantine ArchitectureBy the end of the 5th century AD, Rome had completely declinedIt had been sacked twice and was then under occupationIts influence was significantly reduced and the Impetus for architectural

innovation shifted to the Byzantine EmpireThis shift also marks the movement from early Christian civilization to theByzantine civilizationUnder the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the Byzantine style of architectureevolvedHis interest in church building led to the discovery of the groin vault and theevolution of the Byzantine styleThe attributes of the ideal churchincludedThe use of a centralized church plan

The use of surrounding islesThe use of pendantives and dome onpendentivesAnd the use of a complex program of interior structure, lighting and decorationto create fascinating interiors


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Domes and Domes on Pedentives Byzantine architecture gave us the pedentive domes and the dome onpedentives unique way of adjusting the circular form of a dome roof to a square or

polygonal plan It was the Byzantine builders who used it to create dramatic interiors In the Pantheon in Rome, the Dome roof had to be supported by acircular plan. The walls of the plan had to be thick to counterbalance theforces from the Dome


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The pendentive dome is derived bytrimming the sides of a regular domeover a square plan as shown in AThe pendentive dome enables thetransfer the total load of the dome tothe four corners of a building, meaningthat only the four corners need to bereinforcedThis allows the dome roof to be

adapted for a square building as shownin BAdditionally, the top of the pendentivedome can be trim to introduce anotherdome on top of it as shown in CThe additional dome can further be

raised to introduce a cylinder betweenthe pendentive dome and theadditional dome as in DWindows can then be introduced inthe cylinder enabling architects tocreating dazzling interior light effects


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Early Prototypes


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Constantines Churches were the first monumentalChristian structures-they occupied the most sacred sites-continued an unbroken architectural lineage-created a Roman paradigm for churches-this legacy lasted for over 1000 years-no major innovation in Roman churchesuntil the Renaissance


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Hagia Sophia or the churchof the holy wisdom is the mostaccomplished master piece inthe history of architecture

The church was constructed in 532A.D. by Emperor Justinian inConstantinople now IstanbulHagia Sophia was the greatestvaulted space without intermediatesupports that has ever been built

and it remained so throughout thehistory of the Byzantine Empire HagiaSophia is covered by a

central dome 102 feet (31 m)across, slightly smaller than thePantheon's

The dome seems renderedweightless by the unbrokenarcade of arched windows underit, which help flood the colorfulinterior with light

The dome is carried onpendentives

The weight of the dome passesthrough the pendentives to four


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First, low dome- forces directed more horizontally- leads to more lateral thrust


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A hierarchy of dome -headed elementsbuild up to create a vast oblong interiorcrowned by the main dome, a sequence

never seen before in antiquity

Of great artistic importance was itsdecorated interior with mosaics and marblepillars and coverings

The combination of interior decorationwith li hts floodin from its domes creates

h d d h h


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Hagia sophia dominated churcharchitecture after the 6th century ADFor over 900 years it was the seat of theOrthodox patriarch of Constantinople and aprincipal setting for imperial ceremoniesHagia Sophia was converted to a mosque atthe Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman

Turks under Sultan Mohammad II in 1453Its rich figurative mosaics were coveredwith plaster and replaced by Islamic motifs

It was for almost 500 years theprincipal mosque of IstanbulHagia Sophia served as model formany of the great Ottoman mosques of Constantinople such as the Shehzade

Mosque, the Suleiman Mosque, and theRustem Pasha Mosque

After continuing as a mosque for manyyears, it was in 1934 turned by Turkishauthorities into the Hagia Sophia

Museum


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anse of Byzantine ArchitectureByzantine churches, each with acentral dome opening intosurrounding semi domes and other

vault forms and accompanied by thecharacteristic iconographyproliferated throughout the ByzantineEmpire Greece, Balkans, Asia , part of North Africa and ItalyIt also influenced the design of

churches in western ChristendomThe later churches however lackedthe power and vigor of the HagiaSophia and were of a smaller scalecompared to it

As Byzantine architecturespread, it also developed with aregional flavor

Many cities built Byzantinechurches that were reflective of regional practices

Some of the most prominent onesare Santa Sophia Kiev, Saint Basils

Moscow, Monastry of HosiosLoukas, and Church of Graenica

S M k


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St. Marks ,Venice

San Vitale

f l h


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During the Byzantine period the Church itself became a symbol of the faith

The Church is viewed as a house of god and itsdesign and construction as a reflection of thissymbolismThe scale of the church was therefore increasedand its decoration became more complexIn this respect we see a contrast between an

overriding emphasis in Early Christian architectureon function and rituals, and in Byzantinearchitecture on symbolism

tion from Early Christian to Byzantine

. . .committed to glorifying the state and the emperors and to

Multiple domesgrouped alongcross

Greek Cross plan

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