EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E
Roman Architecture
Diana Kleiner, Yale University
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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Opus Caementicum and Opus Incertum Notes taken on January 23, 2014 by Edward Tanguay |
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concrete (Opus Caementicum [kigh-MENT-tee-kum]) changed the concept of architecture for the Romans
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a shift from tradition architecture to innovative
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tradition Roman architecture
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Temple of Portunus
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derivative that looked back at Greek and Etruscan religious architecture
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Etruscan
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tall podium
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deep porch
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single staircase
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Greek elements
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made of stone
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Ionic order on columns
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concrete
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concrete was used already in the Temple of Portunus (1 BC), but only in the podium, you can't see it
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can sustain great weights
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placed in the podium for support
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Romans at this time begin to see that concrete has an ability to transform Roman architecture
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Roman concrete was different than today's concrete
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composite of various natural elements that becomes a mass when mixed with water, and hardens into a very strong substance, much harder than any of its ingredients on its own
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components
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stone rubble
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liquid mortar
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lime, sand, and pozzolana, a volcanic substance
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used in the early 2nd century BC
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concrete is not cut or quarried, it is cast into molds
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can be cast in any shape, at least any shape that a carpenter can build with wood
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freed the Roman architect from the confines of a rectilinear architecture inherited from the Etruscans and the Greeks
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greatest concrete structure: Pantheon
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we can compare an Etruscan tomb which attempted to do the same thing, using stone
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wasn't terribly successful, even had to put a stone column in the middle for support
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two problems with concrete
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has to be protected from moisture
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is less attractive than stone
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solved these two problems in the same way
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when still wet, attached stone to it
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large blocks or small rocks pressed into the concrete
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Temple of Vesta at Tivoli
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Opus incertum (uncertain masterwork) [in-KAIR-tum] protected the concrete with small stones
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Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina
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Palestrina is south of Tivoli
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used a stone-facing Opus incertum
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used often in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC
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over time the choice of facing changed
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under the Roman emperor Nerva, there was a revolution in Roman architecture
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new facing material: brick
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the attractiveness of brick