Architecture

Definition:The word architecture can have many meanings. Depending

on the context, architecture can refer to:
1. any man-made building or structure
2. a man-made building or structure that is important, large, or highly
creative
3. a carefully designed object, such as a chair, a spoon, or a tea kettle
4. a design for a city, town, park, or landscape
5. the art or science of designing and building buildings, structures,
objects, and outdoor spaces
6. a building style or method
7. a plan for organizing space
8. the flow of information on a Web page
9. the planned design of any kind of system
10. a systematic arrangement of information or ideas

Ancient Egyptian Architecture
(from 3000 BC to 700 BC)
Egyptian architecture is easily recognizable, thanks to its most famous
buildings pyramids. The construction of these impressive burial places for
pharaohs and their families required between 20,000 and 30,000 workers.
Construction materials were limestone and sun-baked bricks. Workers had to
transport materials by sled and than they had to lift the blocks using the system
of ramps and pulleys. Other Egyptian structures were temples and tombs,
which were often decorated with hieroglyphics and carvings.
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Ancient Egyptians believed in
life after death, that is why
preserving the body of the
dead was important to keep
their soul alive, enabling
them to transcend into the
heavens.
They make tombs to protect
these preserved bodies.
Pyramids for Pharaohs
represent a gigantic stairway
for the Pharaoh to climb to
join the sun god in the sky
Historical Background
Social Characteristics & Beliefs
Architectural Ideas
Tombs also have charms
to protect dead person
& her/his property
Dead buried in cities of
the dead, called
Necropolis located in
desert
Pyramids at Giza
Great Pyramid of Giza
(also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops)
Pyramid of Khafre
(also Pyramid of Chephren)
Pyramid of Menkaure
(also Pyramid of Mycerinus)
Karnak
(also Great Temple of Amun)
The most distinguishing characteristics of Babylons,
Chaldeans, and Assyrians is the ziggurat. This tower is built
at successive levels with one hump leading from platform to
the next.

The word 'Mesopotamia' is in origin a
Greek name (mesos `middle' and
'potamos' - 'river' so `land between the
rivers'). 'Mesopotamia' translated from
Old Persian Miyanrudan means "the
fertile cresent". The Aramaic name is
Beth-Nahrain meaning "House of Two
Rivers" and is a region of Southwest
Asia.
Mesopotamian art and architecture were
produced by the diverse peoples who
occupied the land between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers from about 3500 to 539 BC.
The earliest civilization of MESOPOTAMIA
was created by Sumerian-speaking people,
and although their Sumerian language was
preserved, the original inhabitants
eventually either died out or were absorbed
into the population of SEMITES who moved
into this area at various periods in history.
Most of our knowledge around Greek architecture comes
from temples. Temples were essentially storage places for
the artifacts (statues, helmets, candles) and symbolic
treasures that people associated with and dedicated to the
patron god or goddess of the temple. Temples were
either structured as a rectangle lined with two rows of
columns, of which there were three kinds: Ionic, Doric
and Corinthian.
The ancient Greeks invented three types of columns.
Doric architecture was traditionally austere and
formal, Ionic was more relaxed and ornamental, and
Corinthian was rare but by far the most decorative. We
can learn the most by studying the iconic columns that
characterize each order.


The Doric style is
the most plain.
The Ionic design is
famous for its scrolls.
The Corinthian
style is quite
fancy.
(from 600 BC to 500 AD)
After conquest of Greece by the Roman Empire, builders
took many examples from Greek architecture but gave their
structures more decorations. The invention of concrete helped the
Romans build arches (oblouky) and domes (kupole). The Roman
Coliseum is a famous example of Roman classical architecture.
The Pantheon in Rome is one of the most famous buildings in the world. It was
commissioned by Hadrian in 118 and completed in 128. At one time it had a
colonnaded court leading to the portico. The dome of the rotunda behind the portico
is 43.2 m (142 ft) in diameter. The oculus (a round opening) at the top is 8.5 m (28 ft)
in diameter and provides the only source of light for the interior.
The Parthenon
The Coliseum
PENDENTIVES
It is a curved support shaped
like an inverted triangle.
It is used to hold a dome.
Using pendentives, Byzantine
architects could build a higher
and wider dome.
SQUINCH
It is used to provide a
transition from square to
polygon.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the
word "Romanesque", meaning "descended from
Roman", was first used in English to designate
what are now called Romance languages (first
cited 1715). Architecturally, the term was first
applied in French by the archaeologist Charles de
Gerville or his associate Arcisse de Caumont, in
1818, to describe Western European architecture
from the 5th to the 13th centuries
(11 13
th
century)
This style was inspired by Roman architecture, continuing
the tradition of rounded arches and columns. Romanesque
buildings were monumental, supported by massive walls, and had
very small windows. Wooden roofs were replaced by ceilings
(stropy), which were constructed with barrel and cross vaulting
(valen a kov klenba). The most representative buildings are the
rotunda and basilica.
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style
of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-
circular arches.
It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic
style, characterised by pointed arches.
Combining features of Western Roman
and Byzantine buildings, Romanesque
architecture is known by its massive quality, its
thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin
vaults, large towers and decorative arcading.
The French Monastery in
Cluny
(12 15
th
century)
Gothic architecture began mainly in France, where
architects were inspired by Romanesque architecture and the
pointed arches (lomen oblouky) of Spanish Moorish architecture.
It's easy to recognise Gothic buildings because of their arches,
ribbed vaulting (ebrov klenba), flying buttresses (oprn pile),
elaborate sculptures (like gargoyles) and stained glass windows.
Gothic architecture was originally known as French
Style. During the period of Renaissance it fell out of fashion and
it was not respected by many artists. They marked it as Gothic
to suggest it was the crude work of German barbarians (Goths).
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Notre Dame de Paris
(15 17
th
century)
A return to classical ideas brought an age of awakening
to Italy, France and England. During the Renaissance, architects
were inspired by the symmetrical and well-balanced buildings of
Greece and Rome. The buildings lost the Gothic vertical
dimension but gained range. Other typical features were columns,
arches and domes as well as harmonious arrangements of doors
and windows. Characteristic building was the palace. St. Peter's
Basilica in Vatican and the Louvre in Paris are examples of
Renaissance architecture.
St. Peter's Basilica
Louvre
(17 19
th
century)
Elements of the Baroque architecture are complicated
decorations, paintings and contrasts between light and shadow.
The final effect of this style is tension and humility. Baroque
looks different in different countries. In Italy, where it started,
the style is reflected in dramatic churches with irregular shapes,
huge domes and extravagant ornamentation. In France is highly
decorated combined with classical features. Sacred buildings and
chateaux were typical for this style. Some examples of Baroque
architecture: Trevi Fountain in Rome, Palace of Versailles in
Paris and St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
1. SKELETON CONSTRUCTION- steel and Renaissance
concrete
2. CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTION- mostly seen in
bridges
3. GEODESIC DOMES- conjoined hexagon; theaters,
showrooms, markets, factories, offices
1. STRUCTURE- reaction of structure to calamities;
quality of design
2. TEXTURE- roughness and smoothness of material is
considered
3. ASPECT- colors and outside skin

Principles of Construction
1. POST-AND-LINTEL- post and beam
2. ARCH- wedge shaped blocks arranged in semi-circle
3. DOME- a roof hemispherical in form
4. TRUSS- strong framework that functions like a beam
5. CANTILEVER- beam extended horizontally
6. SKELETON CONSTRUCTION- strong foundation
Philippine Architecture
Philippine architecture is developed different colonial periods.

The architecture of the Philippines is a reflection of the
history and heritage of the country. The most prominent
historic constructions in the archipelago are from
the Spanish, Japanese, Malay, Hindu, Chinese, and American
cultures.