How To Develop Roman Architecture

Many American architects in the 18th and 19th centuries looked to classical Roman architecture as a source of inspiration for their own designs. The White House and U.S. Capitol share similar architectural styles to that of Roman buildings like the Coliseum which has been standing for nearly 2000 years, and the Pantheon. “More recently, many official buildings built in the US are very strongly influenced by Roman architecture. The most obvious is the White House, which displays Roman influences in the arches and columns on the exterior” The Romans were skilled engineers and builders. They used advanced construction techniques such as arches, domes, and vaults to distribute weight and stress evenly throughout a building, which helped to prevent collapse.

They also built towering and decadent arches

Remarkable Rome Ancient Rome had many cultural achievements. Many achievements are very important and influential in American culture today. Some achievements are Roman Roads and Roman Architecture. Our road today are based off of Roman roads. Also our architecture is very similar to Roman architecture.

The Roman Empire was one of the most advanced cultures of its time. The grandeur of Rome has had abiding effects on the societies of the entire world. Evidence of the brilliance and creativity of the Romans can be found in many modern countries such as the remains of roads, walls, baths, basilicas, amphitheaters, and aqueducts. These exhibit the technological advances made by the engineers and architects of the Roman Empire. Many modern civic buildings have been built using the Romanesque styling.

After reading the chapter and learning more about the Romans I think creating their huge empire was an achievement, but not the only one. I believe how the Romans came to be and how they were able to create their huge emperor is their achievement. I believe explaining how Rome came to be can explain how they transformed into this amazing empire. From the beginning Rome wasn’t always strong and maybe we can learn something from that. They were weaker and weren’t always rich, but with power they were able to bring the world under their rule.

In many ways, Rome adopted its culture—art and architecture, literature, philosophy, music—from Greece. Rome architecture is greatly influenced by Greek architecture. Roman architects continued to follow the principle generated by the classical orders the Greeks had first shaped: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian but are altered. The Romans used these orders with greater freedom than the Greeks, often using elements from each order and combining them on a single structure. Roman buildings are also made with ashlar masonry, using cut stone blocks placed in horizontal courses like the Greek buildings.

One of the many reasons it is still standing today is because of its architecture. Much thought went into the construction of the Colosseum so that it would be a symbol of Rome known all over the world. Some of the most brilliant architects and engineers of the time were hired to help make the Colosseum outstanding. It took around eight years and 100,000 prisoners to build the Colosseum. The price to build the Colosseum is not exactly known but Emperor Titus sold many famous treasures of Jerusalem to fund the building.

Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece are very well known for their impact on Architecture and design, both are well respected because of the contribution they in the world of design. However, many Roman techniques and structure are much more thought of when looking at ancient architecture. How were monumental architectural structures such as the basilica, aqueducts, amphitheatre, influenced by ancient Greece? Such influence can be clearly seen in following : Columns, Temples and Basilicas , Theaters, and Materials used. Most of these Roman structures and techniques sparked with Greek influences and became a roaring fire.

The architectural style of the Thomas Jefferson building of the United States Library of Congress, designed by Paul Pelz and John Smithmeyer, is a spectacular take on the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. Finished in 1897, the Thomas Jefferson building was the first of the three buildings of the Library of Congress to be built and is the most striking of the three. The interior of the building is just as intricately and innovatively designed as the exterior. Initially containing four interior courtyards (two have since been turned into additional bookshelves), the rooms inside are filled with many pieces of American made artwork and sculpture commissioned specifically for the building. Visitors to the United States Library of Congress can turn

When the Americans built the Capitol in 1791 they wanted to compliment the Romans work and by bringing it into the United States. Roman architecture is very distinctive looking. In almost every famous Roman building their are at least a couple columns, columns are detached or attached from the building in all Roman architecture. Ionic columns are the ones on the Capitol building and on the Colosseum are Roman Tuscan columns. If you compare the Colosseum that was build in 70 AD to the Capitol Building that was build in 1791, there is little to no difference in the style, size or structure in the building that were build thousands of years apart.

According to the text, "No privately owned building, they decreed, could be higher than twice the width of the street on which it stood. " The text also states, "This ensured that sunlight always reached the streets." The building of the walls with stone contributed to the phyical strength part of building the city. According to the

The bath houses used arches, domes and vaults to make them both aesthetically beautiful and to work as functional spaces. The Romans also made spectacular private homes for those who could afford them, and designed and built innovative apartment type buildings for those who couldn’t afford a private residence. As with the Greeks, the Temples of Rome were a great architectural achievement. These temples are a significant source of their architectural history and still today are some of the most visible remains from their culture. Unlike the Greeks who believed in having an equal emphasis in their design on all sides of their temples, the Romans put the emphasis on the front of their buildings.

Also its off white color made it a good substitute for marble. Roman concrete was made from volcanic ash, lime, water and fragments of brick and stones added for strength and color(Ambler). Roman concrete was the first building material to be held up

Colosseum Architecture Arthur Erickson once said, “Roman civilization had achieved, within the bounds of its technology, relatively as great a mastery of time and space as we have achieved today.” That notion is certainly apparent once one takes a glimpse at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, is placed in the heart of the city. Only fitting, because with its divinity in architecture one can truly see how much this monument represented Roman culture during its time.

A civilization’s architecture not only shows the artistic skills of its designers and builders but also the functionality of its engineers, the power of its government, and the inventiveness of its people. Architecture was a crucial element to the success of two major cites in Europe, Rome and Athens. Each city had structures consisting of formal architecture like temples and basilicas showing the influence that its leaders had over each city, while utilitarian buildings like bridges and aqueducts helped build communication between distant cities throughout each empire. Though architecture as a whole was an important role in unifying the cities, the architecture design within each illustrates the similarities and differences between two.