LECTURE-1

LEARNING LEVEL-1

ARCHITECTURE
AN OVERVIEW
Historical development from earliest examples of human
settlements to 21st century post-modern era.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Traces the changes in
•DESIGN OF VARIOUS BUILDING
TYPES & FUNCTIONS
•Structure
•Construction methods, and
•Other architectural elements
(Doors, Windows, Materials etc)
THROUGH
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Traces the changes in
•Design of various building
types & functions
•STRUCTURE
•Construction methods, and
•Other architectural elements
(Doors, Windows, Materials etc)
THROUGH
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Traces the changes in
•Design of various building types &
functions
•Structure
•CONSTRUCTION METHODS, and
•Other architectural elements
(Doors, Windows, Materials etc)
THROUGH
NEED TO STUDY HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
 EARLY BEGINNINGS
THE NEED FOR SHELTER

• Caves are the earliest forms of

known winter shelters.
• The need to survive the harsh
summer climates may have lead
to the earliest form of tents
made from large tree leaves,
stones and tree branches.
• Later periods are marked by the
evolution of such temporary
structures into relatively
permanent and more reliable
forms like formations of small
stones attached with mud
mortar.
 EARLY BEGINNINGS
EVOLUTION - THE FIRST SETTLEMENT

• Jericho ( Jordan ) is quoted to be

the earliest known town. A small
settlement here evolves in about
8000 BC into a town covering 10
acres. And the builders of Jericho
have a new technology - bricks,
shaped from mud and baked hard
in the sun.
• Some Successive settlements of
Jericho are Mehrgarh , Catal
huyuk, and Harappa. All dated
8000-4000 BC.
THE ADVENT OF CIVILIZATIONS

• Mesopotamia ( 5000 BC )
• Egypt ( 3500 BC )
• India ( 2400 BC )
• China ( 2205 BC )
 MESOPOTAMIA
(5000 BC)
• Ancient Mesopotamia saw
the rise of the first civilization
in world history.  Here, the
earliest cities in world history
appeared along the banks of
Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• The materials used to build
were the same as those used
today: sun-baked brick made
of mud mixed with straw,
mud plaster and wooden
doors.
• The era characterizes
monumental architecture like
huge palaces and temples
called ziggurats.
 MESOPOTAMIA
(5000 BC)

• The ziggurats were brick-built

temple-mounds, taking the form
of a layered platform. They
resembled step pyramids with a
flat roof, on which a shrine
would be built. Access to this
shrine was by a broad staircase
or ramp.
• These would form the focal point
of a town around which the rest
of the town was built.
• Constructing these great
buildings demanded high level
design and engineering skills.
 EGYPT
(3500 BC)

• This civilization thrived at the

banks of river Nile.
• The architecture of ancient
Egypt includes some of the most
famous structures in the world,
including tombs and temples.
• It too is characterized by large
stone monumental structures
while the domestic dwellings
were made up of mud bricks and
wood.
EGYPT
(3500 BC)

• The pyramids are astounding

creations but they bear little
relation to anything in
subsequent human history. By
contrast the temples of ancient
Egypt, almost as impressive in
their scale, stand at the start of a
lasting tradition in architecture.
• Early pyramids (Mastabas) were
built of brick while later were
built of stone.
• Post and lintel system was
employed exclusively and
produced the earliest stone
columnar buildings.
EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
(3500 BC)
Mastabas

Step Pyramids

Straight Pyramids
ARCHITECTURAL SIMILARITIES
MESOPOTAMIA & EGYPT

• Both are characterized by

monumental constructions.

• Sun-dried mud brick is the

building block of man's first
monumental buildings - the
ziggurats (or temples) of
Mesopotamia and the Mastabas
(or early tombs) of Egypt.
 ANCIENT GREECE
(7th-5th CENTURY BC )
• After generations of experimentations with buildings of limited variety the
Greeks gave to the simple post and lintel system the purest, most perfect
expression it was to attain.
• Slimming the fat pillars of Egyptian architecture, formalizing the decoration,
introducing better balance and proportion.
• The pillar, with a decorated top or 'capital', supporting a horizontal cross beam
was taken from Egypt.

THE FIVE GREEK ORDERS

THE POST AND LINTEL SYSTEM
FIVE GREEK CLASSICAL ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE

CAPITA
L

SHAFT

BASE
 PARTHENON-THE TEMPLE
447-438 BC

• Parthenon is a temple of pre

dominantly Doric order with
elements of ionic order being
used in the centre of the building.
• A temple built for the Goddess
Athena the Parthenon was part of
the acropolis complex.
• It comprised of huge limestone
foundations with marble stone
columns used for the first time in
history.
• Parthenon was conceived as a
theatrical event with the
movements of the viewer in mind
as they move around and through.

Temple to Athena at the Acropolis -The Parthenon

PARTHENON-THE TEMPLE
447-438 BC

PARTHENON PLAN THE FACADE

THE GREEK THEATRE
• An exclusively Greek contribution to
architectural history is the raked
auditorium for watching theatrical
performances.
• It comprised of a circular stage with
tiers of seats separated by aisles, all
built initially in stone.

THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS

 ANCIENT ROME
( 200 BC )

• It combined the Greek and Asian

elements like columns and arches.
• Invented concrete, hence the
construction of arch, vaults and large
domes like the pantheon.
• A vault is a deep arch, while dome is a
collection of arches all sharing the same
centre.
• It has far greater capabilities than the
lintel, for it can combine many smaller
units (of stone or brick) to make a
greater whole.
• A Roman brick arch can span 50 yards as
compared to a Greek lintel which could
span only 7 yards.

REPETITION OF ARCHES FORMING VAULTS

FIVE TYPE OF ARCHES

Pointed Semi Circular Segmental Bucket Corbelled

ELEMENTS OF ROMAN
ARCHITECTURE
PANTHEON-THE CHURCH
(120 AD)

PANTHEON PLAN

PANTHEON CROSS SECTION

PANTHEON-THE CHURCH
(120 AD)
ANCIENT ROME
• Roman bridges
• Roman aqueducts

THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT ALCANTARA BRIDGE SPAIN

THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF STYLES
(ROMANESQUE )
( 11th- 13th CENTURY)

• Inspired by Roman architecture,

having rounded arches and
columns.
• Romanesque buildings were
monumental, supported by
massive walls, and had very
small windows.
• Wooden roofs were replaced by
ceilings which were constructed
with barrel and cross vaulting.

1. Barrel vault
2. Cross vault
THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF STYLES
(ROMANESQUE )
( 11th- 13th CENTURY)

• Examples are Rotunda and

Basilica and French monastery in
Cluny.

The French monastery

THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF
STYLES (GOTHIC)
(12th-15th CENTURY)
• Gothic architecture began
mainly in France, where
architects were inspired by
Romanesque architecture and
the pointed arches of Spanish
Moorish architecture. It's easy to
recognise Gothic buildings
because of their arches, ribbed
vaulting, flying buttresses ,
elaborate sculptures (like
gargoyles) and stained glass
windows.
• They marked it as “Gothic” to
suggest it was the crude work of
German barbarians (Goths) as it
was out of fashion.
St Patrick’s cathedral
 KEY GOTHIC FEATURES

Ribbed vault Flying buttress A Gargoyle

ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE
THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF STYLES
(RENAISSANCE)
(15th-17th CENTURY)
• Age of awakening.
• The symmetrical and well-
balanced buildings of Greece
and Rome were copied.
• The buildings lost the Gothic
vertical dimension but gained
range. Other features were
columns, arches and domes as
well as harmonious
arrangements of doors and
windows.
• St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican and
the Louvre museum in Paris are
examples of Renaissance
architecture.
THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF STYLES
(BAROQUE)
(17 -19th CENTURY)
th

• Used Renaissance terms in more artistic fashion.

• Complicated decorations, paintings and contrasts between light and shadow.
• Baroque looks different in different countries.
• Irregular shapes, huge domes, and extravagant ornamentations inside out.
• Trevi Fountain in Rome and St. Paul's Cathedral in London are examples of
baroque architecture.
THE CHRISTIAN ERA-EVOLUTION OF STYLES
(THE 19TH CENTURY ECLECTICISM )

• A mix-up of various styles.

• Encompass a bewildering range of
other historical styles - Egyptian,
Byzantine, Romanesque, Venetian
Gothic and Muslim Indian.
• Only one feature of 19th-century
architecture is entirely new in the
west - the use of cast iron which
formed the basis for the modular
steel frame tradition of the later
20th century construction.

Eifel tower France

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

• A world reshaped by science,

industry and speed
• Characterized by simplicity of
form and absence of applied
decoration.
• The norm of “Form follows
function – Modernistic ethic”
was given
• Truth to materials, meaning that
the natural appearance of a
material should not be
concealed. Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Use of industry made materials.
 NEW WORLD-POST MODERNISM
THE LATER 2OTH CENTURY

• It was a movement started in

response to the simplicity of
modernist architecture.
• More richness of the past
combined with modern
functionalism.
• Complexity and contradiction of
form.
• Un expected touches to the
building that go against
convention but look appealing.