Chapter 14: Organization in Architecture

building
- practical thing which must be measured by the
standards of its own era

Egyptian Architecture (4000 2280 B.C.)

ka or vital force
- dependent upon the body for its life
- pyramids were built to preserve the body to keep ka
safe
- w/o body, ka ceased to exist
- pyramids of Giza: Khufu, Khafre, Menkure
- did not protect their dead from robbers and marauders
- temple adjoined each tomb
- as the tombs were made more inaccessible, these
temples developed independently
- great temples: Karnak, Edfu, Luxor
- same basic plan:
- great temples: Karnak, Edfu, Luxor
- same basic plan:
o pylon: huge gateway covering the entire front
of the building
o series of halls: adaptation of plan to function
o in one of these halls the roof was supported by
rows of columns (hypostyle)
o center columns are higher at the center than
those next to the wall, making a clerestory for
light
o Egyptian columns:
flower
makes a wide, bell-shaped
capital
bud
uppermost part of the capital
is smaller than the lower
o (1) model of the hypostyle hall at Karnak
- size; due to nature of the country desert

Mesopotamian Architecture

- Mesopotamians, Chaldeans, Babylonians, Assyrians
- brick
o unbaked or partially baked has crumbled away
- ziggurat or tower
o at successive levels, ramps leading from one
platform to the next
o like modern building with setbacks
- Assyrains: brick to develop arch and its multiple, the
canopy-shaped vault

Greek Architecture (1100 100 B.C.)

- temple
o low building of post-and-lintel construction
o like Egyptian temple
o posts, 2 upright pieces, are surmounted by the
lintel, a horizontal piece
o simplest and earliest type of construction
o well adapted to wood:
strong and uphold weight of the roof
long
burn, rot, eaten by insects
o stone
enduring but not in great lengths
stand much less weight than wood
distance between posts must be small
(2) Temple of Apollo, Old Corinth
o columns in front and often at the back
o entire building surrounded by row of columns,
with a double row of columns in the front and
back of the building and a single row at the
side
o (3) Parthenon
o all columns are fluted
- styles of Greek architecture
o Doric (2,3)
Doric column has no base
the bottom of the column rests on the
top step
capital is very plain
flat block or slab is joined to the
column by a simple curve looking
something like a cushion
frieze is divided into
triglyphs
o square slab having
two vertical grooves
or glyphs in the
middle and a half
groove at each end
metopes
o alternates with the
triglyphs
o is also square
o often carved
o Ionic
taller, slender than Doric
it has a base, the capital is
ornamented with scrolls or volutes on
each side
frieze is continuous
architrave below the frieze is stepped
divided horizontally into 3
parts
(4) Erechtheum
unfinished, irregular in shape
great elegance and grace
(5) temple of Athena Nike at Athens
o Corinthian
greater height compared to Ionic
capital: 2 rows of acanthus leaves with
volutes rising from them
last to be developed
(6) Temple of Zeus at Athens

Roman Architecture (1000 BC 400 AD)

- civic buildings, baths, law courts, amphitheaters,
aqueducts, bridges
- arch
o most important innovation, did not invent
o next to the post and lintel
o wedge-shaped stones that are arranged with
the small side of the wedge turned down
toward the opening
o put in place by scaffolding or centering, shape
keeps them from falling
o (7) Aqueduct of Segovia
o each stone, by its weight, exerts constant
pressure in the stones on each side of it
o held in position only by an exact balancing of
these pressures
o An arch never sleeps.
collapsed: cathedral of Beauvais in
France (too high), dome of St. Sophia
in Istanbul
o flat round dome that covers the entire building
o (8) Pantheon
o Roman columns are taller and thinner, not
fluted (8)
o Corinthian column used extensively, as was
the composite column, invention of the
Romans: combining Ionic volutes with the
Corinthian acanthus-circled bell
o orders were not kept separate, but were
stacked or superimposed
(9) Colloseum
1
st
floor: Doric
2
nd
floor: Ionic
3
rd
floor: Corinthian
columns between the arches and
entablature above them are not
essential to the structure of the
building
o elements from Greek as ornaments whereas
Greeks used them structurally

Byzantine Architecture

- church and cathedral
- Eastern or Byzantine from Byzantium later called
Constantinople now Istanbul
o great central dome with half domes grouped
around it
o dome, rather flat, like Pantheon but is fitted to
the building in a different way
Pantheon: covers the building
Byzantine: dome has to be fitted to a
square area, the space between the
arches and the dome is filled by
curved triangles (pendentives) on
which the dome rests
gives greater height, interior
more spacious and inspiring
a dome supported in this way
is called dome in
pendentives
o (10) St. Sophia or Church of the Divine
Wisdom in Istanbul
o churches in Russia, Mohammedan mosques,
Jewish synagogues

Western Architecture in the Middle Ages

- 3 stages of development
o Early Christian
o Romanesque
o Gothic
- 3 styles developed one out of the another
- no sharp line to be drawn between styles
- in basic plan, the 3 follow the general type of the
Roman basilica, a long rectangular building divided by
pillars into a central nave and aisles.
o sometimes there is one aisle on each side id
the nave, sometimes there are two
o nave is higher than the aisles for clerestory
lighting
o between the clerestory windows and the
columns there is necessarily a space in which
there can be no windows because of the roof
over the aisles
o this space is used form triforium
o at one end was a semicircular apse, used for
the altar
traditionally at the east
part of the church known as choir
- early churches building was one simple rectangle with
an apse
- later, the plan was adapted to the shape of a cross by
the addition of cross aisles between the nave and the
choir
o arms made: transepts
- directly opposite the high altar or the west was the
main entrance

Early Christian Architecture
- (11) St. Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna
o no transepts, clerestory is heavy and windows
are small
o columns separating the nave from the aisles
follow Roman orders with flat linters or round
arches between
o interiors: decorated with mosaics

Romanesque Architecture
- extension and development of the Early Christian
basilica (11)
- (12) Notre Dame la Grande at Poitiers
- (13) Abbaye-aux-Dames at Caen, France
- Early Christian style
o structurally light, simple, lightweight, flat,
wooden roof
- Romanesque
o very heavy walls with small window opening
and a heavy stone arched or vaulted roof
inside
o resembles the Roman style Roman-ish
o plan is still that of the basilica, with a wide
nave and narrower and lower side aisles
o does not have transepts partway down the
nave
crossings offer additional entranced on
the north and south sides of the
building
oriented west to east, from the setting
to the rising of the sun
o ornamented with sculptured portals unlike
Early Christain
o France, Germany, Spain, Europe except Italy
o (13) Romanesque style is seen in all its force
in the interior
stone vaulting covers the nave
o (12) simple continuous canopy of stone made
up of a succession of individual round arches,
but here the nave is divided into sections or
bays, each one covered with a groin vault
o groin vault: 2 short barrel vaults at right angles
to each other
short side facing the side aisle and
raising the vault to let in light
wider side facing the axes of the nave
itself
o diagonal arches or ribs could be built that
would support the entire weight of the roof
o space between the ribs could then be filled in
with lighter material
ribbed vaulting
chief characteristic of Romanesque
and Gothic
change in columns; ribs of the ceiling
had to be supported at the base and
were carried down to the floor
number of these ribs made a pier or
column
- Italy
o lighter style based on the basilica
o persisted throughout the Romanesque and
Gothic period
o (14) Cathedral at Pisa
earlier flat wooden rood rather than
the heavy stone canopy or vault of a
typical Romanesque

Gothic Architecture
- buildings became larger and taller , change made
possible by using pointed arch
- thrust of an arch changes with its shape
o flatter the arch, the greater the thrust
o steeper the arch, the more nearly the thrust is
absorbed in the vertical wall
- new type of buttress
- gen. shape of the exterior of a cathedral can be clearly
seen in the basilica with central nave rising above the
aisles on each side
- Early Christian no need for support
- solid buttress it would cut off the aisles below
- making a buttress at the aisle wall form which a half
arch was stretched out over the aisle to support the
vault of the nave
o sometimes, one arch was sufficient
o (15) Amiens, two were used, one above the
other
flying buttresses
lower buttress: leans against the point
where the vault springs inward and
needs additional support
upper buttress: leans against the point
where the vaulting curves inward and
where it would tend to burst outward if
its weight were not counterbalanced
by the higher buttress
- Romanesque cathedral: several small windows were
combined in a compound arch
o faade had one doorway, sometimes 3
o multiple orders
o decorations: simple moldings, with or w/o
carvings of conventional design, fruits,
animals, figures
- Gothic: until the arches appeared only as stone tracery
o windows became so large, walls ceased to
have function as walls
o rood was supported by the huge buttresses
and the entire wall space was filled with small
arches
o the rose window became large and important
o doorways changed too
o faade regularly has 3 doorways
each made with multiple orders
pointed arch
o decorations more elaborate
o human figure became the characteristic
decoration, a recessed doorway being filled
with rows of saints or kings
- (16) west or royal, portal of Chartres Cathedral
o transitional work
o Gothic, 3 doorways, lintel and tympanum over
each
o sculpture forms the only decoration
o three portals are treated as a single unit
proclaiming the majesty and omnipotence of
Christ
o tympanum above the central doorway
shown in the second coming of Chirst
right hand raised: blessing
left hand: book
around him: 4 evangelists by symbol
lintel below: 12 Apostles
o tympanum and the lintels over the right door
celebrate the birth of Christ
first (lower) represented the
Annunciation, Visitation, birth of Jesus
second: presentation in the temple
o tympanum on the doorway on the left is shown
the Ascension
lower lintel: Apostles
o either side of doorways are rows of king and
queens
ancestors of Christ Royal for this
portal
elongated
stiff, arms close to blody and never
projecting beyond that contour
They grow from the columns they rest
on
use the human as a column, not lose
the feeling of the column
- general shaped of faade of Gothic: rectangle resting
on the short side, great height is emphasized by the 2
towers that are usually complete the design
o Notre Dame in Paris: towers are square and
relatively short
o Chartres and many others: towers are tall and
pointed
- Gothic known for cathedrals and churches
- palaces in Venice: light tracery is reflected in the water
of the canals

Renaissance Architecture
- cathedral or temple is no longer the typical building
- secular architecture comes to the fore
- return to the ideals of the Greeks and Romans , not
imitation, free use of materials found in classic
architecture
o Medici-Riccardi Palace at Florence designed
by Michelozzo
round arches of Romans
1
st
floor: single arch occupies the
space of two arches on the 2
nd
and 3
rd

floors
upper floors: window space is filled
with the compound arch of the
Romanesque
top of this building is a large cornice,
heavy enough to crown the whole
mass of the building
molding or stringcourse that
separates one story from the other
o Palace of the Senate, Rome by Michelangelo
stringcourse and cornice, surmounted
by a balustrade
each large window has its own post
and lintel system
windows decorated with pediments,
some are triangular, some are
rounded
classical rule would have been only
one pediment for one building, and the
pediment would have been in scale
with the building
between the windows are flat columns
called pilasters
- characteristic of Renaissance style
o overhanging cornice, stringcourse, pilaster,
ornamental pediment
o dome on a drum
o Roman dome: so low that it could hardly be
seen from the outside
o Renaissance: dome was made small, raised
high on a circular drum and surmounted with a
lantern
o curve of dome was changed, much steeper,
sides were ribbed
dome of St. Peters
o smaller building; residence, church, store
type of symmetrical structure of great
sunplicity and beauty
England: Gregorian style
US: American colonial

Baroque Architecture
- period of elaborate sculptural ornamentation
- architectural framework remained close to
Renaissance but far more spacious
- profusion of carved decoration
- columns and entablatures were decorated with
garlands of flowers and fruit, shells and waves.
- acloves were built into the wall to receive statues,
making a pattern in light and dark
- surfaces were frequently carved
- no longer use Gothic nave and aisles, area is filled
with chapels which take the place of the aisles
- often have domes or cupolas, they may or may not
have spires
- St. Carlo alle Quattro Fontante
- St. Peters
o apse by Michelangelo
solid, unified whole
symbol of power of the church
o faade by Maderna
crowded, covers the drum and not
stylistic harmony with it
spirit of Baroque in the massed
columns which are doubled for
ornament, decorative pediments
- Palace of the Senate

19
th
Century Architecture
- period of eclecticism, freedom of choice
- art: freedom to choose from the styles of the past
- from the Greek onward
- Gothic for churches
- Baroque for theaters
- Renaissance for government buildings
- objection philosophical
o to go back to the style of a previous age is
essentially false

Modern Architecture

Skeleton construction
- development of modern times
- structural steel and reinforced concrete
- structural steel invented by Bessemer
o superseded cast iron
o advantages: resilience, strength, reliability
- concrete: sand, crushed stone or gravel, water and
cement
o mixed: semifluid, dries into a hard, stone-like
o forms are in exactly the size and shaped
desired
o fluid concrete is poured
o very strong, stand great weight, will not stand
strain or tension
o + steel rods = tensile strength, withstand strain
o reinforced concrete = cement + steel
cheaper than steel, lighter in weight
- strong but slender beams of steel or reinforced
concrete form the framework of a building, and on it all
the other parts are placed or hung
o tall buildings : skeletons are strong and light
o building may be set up off the ground on posts
so that the ground floor may be used for
outdoor living or for a garage or driveway
o opening of any size may be spanned
o freedom in shape of the house
wood, brick stone: rectangular
circular, round, square
Guggenheim Museum: spiral
State Fair Arena at Raleigh, North
Carolina walls are opposing
parabolas of glass and concrete, open
ends joined on the ground and their
arches rising outward from each other

Cantilever Concstruction
- special form of steel and reinforced concrete
construction
- cantilever: any member or unit of an architectural
design which projects beyond its support
- bridges, airplane wings
- essentials
o material used to be able to stand the strain
have the necessary tensile strength, etc
o fastened securely at the side where it is
supported
- American Frank Lloyd Wright
o cantilever in veranda: roof projects over the
porch with no columns or pillars to hold it up
o balconies: waterfalls
o research building of Johnson Wax Company:
tall building all floors are cantilevered from one
central column
o floors are alternately square and round
o whole is enclosed in glass

20
th
century styles

International style
- modern style by its severe horizontal and vertical lines,
reinforced concrete, white walls and flat roofs
- directness and simplicity in its use of materials and
avoidance of ornament
- design planned with modula or measure to determine
the exact proportions
- Seagram Building, NY
- spare, aristocratic, chilly
- cold and forbidding
- UN Secretariat Building
- Inland Steel Building

Organic Style
- Frank Llotyd Wright
- organic in unity in planning, structure, materials and
site
- natural architecture: the architecture of nature, for
nature
- Administration Building skill and beauty
o interior: columns are made to flare at the top,
some not reaching the ceiling
- eclectic architecture: primarily decorative
- organic: all are designed to meet exact needs
- Stephens Collage chapel by Eero Saarinen
o nondenominational
o all symbols were to be general
o square, foursquare, close to the earth
o walls and roof make one unit, clinging to the
ground and at the same time pointing up and
ending in the central steeple
o walls are not interrupted by windows
o entrance in the center of each side is a portico
of stained glass
o interior: simple and direct
o 4 equal triangles
1: organ and choir
3: audience
center: alter, plain, square block
light from the base of the spire and
falls directly onto the altar
o ambulatory around the auditorium is separated
form chapel by interlaced brick
o organ and choir: behind screen of wooden
pieces, light brown and black
o ceiling: wood in a square design
- simplicity and greatness
- place is small but vistas of vast spaces
- room is intimate, many vistas are conducive to
thoughts of the distant and the far away
- Trans World Airlines terminal, Kennedy Airport, NY