What makes roman architecture

A low podium leads to a porch that is entered through Corinthian columns. The only oddity is the height of the pediment in relation to its width; most pediments are much lower. The height is to conceal the circular building to the rear, a whopping 43 meters in diameter. Above the circular space is a dome, also 43 meters high. To carry the weight of the dome, which is entirely self-supporting, the building materials become progressively lighter. The lower sections are made of stone, the middle sections of brick, and the top section of concrete.

The whole building is a masterpiece of Roman engineering. At the same time, it represents a perfect blend between traditional Greek architectural forms and Roman inventiveness. In general, few names can be attached to even the most important Roman buildings, which suggests that architects did not enjoy high status in the Roman world. The design of the Pantheon has been copied repeatedly, notably in the Capitol building in Washington, DC, and in most other state capitol buildings all over the United States.

Learn more about why Lucius Licinius Lucullus may be the most important yet underrated figure in the history of palace creation. The Romans used architecture in a manner and on a scale that was foreign to the Greeks in many ways. First, whereas the classical and Hellenistic Greek state, by and large, did not see one of its principal functions to provide basic amenities for the public, the Romans emphatically did.

Second, the Romans placed much more emphasis upon secular and utilitarian buildings than did the Greeks, who devoted most of their resources and ingenuity toward the construction of temples. Third, the Romans used architecture to serve the needs of, and often to accommodate inside, vast numbers of people. The chief exception to this rule was aqueducts, which the Greeks did regard as essential.

One of the most striking examples is a rock-hewn tunnel three-quarters of a mile in length that was cut into a hill on the island of Samos. Most of the largest architectural structures in the Greek world were theaters, some of which could hold 20, to 40, people, depending on whether you counted the people who sat on the grassy slopes above the level where there was permanent seating.

It allows the creative process to thrive and to stimulate the imagination. Besides this freedom, it is a good opportunity to take up new challenges with different people. Learning from their way of thinking allows the sharpening your own vision.

As students we do not have enough time to gain experience during our studies apart from during one semester when we have to do at mandatory 6-month internship. Therefore, we do try to participate in international architecture competitions to gain more practice. Resolving complex contextual and programmatic issues pushes creativity and generates robust discussion.

In this case, unique visions are always a final product of long talks, tons of sketches, different attempts and sometimes failures. There is probably more knowledge to be gained out of conclusions when feedback surprises us then when everything is correct.

A competition is an opportunity to sharpen the blade, explore and experiment with a different typology and to challenge myself to test my ideas amongst others with a similar drive. Craig Nener from Australia! We participate in vision competitions when we find extra time in our office work, as it gives us the opportunity to think in design issues more than in our daily work.

In addition, it also provides an opportunity to learn how to create and present a coherent narrative around your idea. Artur Chyra and Malwina Wojcik from Poland! The architecture competition can make this possible. Christian Kamp and Adrian Hildrum from Denmark! This way also improves our creative mind to always find new ideas and possibilities.

Garry Novianto and Rudy Hermanto from Indonesia! We participate in these competitions because we see them as opportunities to research new topics, experiment with design, and challenge ourselves. They also push you to think outside of the box and do research into how you can make your vision possible.

Competitions also give you the opportunity to design spaces that can be different from what you usually design. Eric Weber from United States! I see it as a tool for learning and an opportunity to be creative and experiment with new ideas. Architecture vision competitions offer a freedom of expression that is otherwise restricted when you work for an office or a client.

Raina Kanari from Sweden! The basic and fair answer stands behind our personalities and is linked with our passion about architecture and the chance to challenge yourself. Architectural competitions are a great chance to improve many of your skills, to widen your knowledge and express your creativity. You can also learn how to work as part of a team and how to use your unique qualities to complete one project.

Bilyana Apostolova and Slavena Todorova from Bulgaria! The process of working on a competition is rigorous and demanding, and helps us to keep an open mind, aiding our design and critical-thinking skills as they apply to real world projects. Jerry Liu and Jesse Basran from Canada! I love to design, and the existence of many competitions allows me the freedom to choose to work on projects that interest me.

Noah Cai from Canada! By pursuing competitions with the hopes of the possible construction of the results, our partnership gathers more authorship in the architectural realm. Mattias Dahlberg and Annapaola Busnardo from Sweden! This type of competition gives us creative freedom — not being limited by loads of rules.

It keeps my mind constantly alert and open. It also allows me to confront new topics and specific contexts. It is an opportunity to be able to express myself freely and to perfect my architectural style.

Marwan Hamama from France! I also believe that the competition will bring the opportunity to grow ideas and develop human resources and skills.

Competitions encourage a dynamic working environment as the working team will do brainstorming to come up with the best design. Nuttapol Techopitch of Looklen Architects in Thailand! Eric Gonzales from United States! I find clarity from the ideas that inform the aspects of reality I want to represent. Catalina Edey from Australia! Vision in architecture is critical to design and building better for people and generations from now on.

It pushes the boundary that defines us and our world, which can be better and will be better. Xinyi Wang from Australia! And this is the key to what architecture vision competitions are about.

Not to mention that they make me want to acquire more knowledge in a fun way! Davor Robitschko from Hungary! A small task which felt refreshing outside of daily jobs. This supports the spreading of knowledge and expertise outside of the home, university or workplace. We believe it is a great opportunity to show to the world what we think and what we love to do.

It is the challenge and fantasy that is the driving force. Mikkel Vadstrup Schmidt from Denmark! The architecture competition makes it possible to develop radical ideas that can lead to changes. Without the constraints of conservatism and sometimes budget , we enjoy a level of freedom to question and often mock the ideas that we assume are a given. Noam Hazan from Canada! Participating in competitions allows me to continue indulge in learning and thinking like a student.

This competition is especially personal because it was based on my final year student project. It gave me a chance to rework the project and synthesize what was essential to carry it further. Mujung Ryan Chiu from the United States! We conducted in-depth research and discussion on the position of those who actually needed affordable housing in Paris. In other words, we envisioned a new space that would satisfy their innate fantasy by utilizing Paris underutilized rooftop and we would like to consider how a new pattern of life could be realized there.

Not only do you get to exercise your way of thinking, you also get an insight into how other people approached the same problem. Neno Videnovic from United States! Most often they invite you to engage in something new and can serve to generate growth in your own work and thinking.

I like to participate in competitions so I can feel engaged in the work of other designers around the globe after spending time, focus, and energy on a design. Plus you are your own boss. The fun of it is that design for competitions need not exist in exact reality.

They are a chance to take risks and to work with different people in different ways. Ultimately, embracing this freedom allows for discovery and inspiration that provides invaluable insight for larger scale, commissioned design work. In addition, participating in competitions allows us to express ourselves freely, without any judgement and with an experienced jury. It is an experience we enjoy returning to after a long, dull day of constraints.

As a startup, we also find architecture competitions an efficient way to build up our experience while revamping our portfolio. Wenhao Nie from China! Exploring other ways of approaching a project with a diversified team, discussing specific themes that are often neglected by my school, investigating other scales.

However, there is always a common reason, to think outside the box. Renata Wuerkert from Brazil! Participating in architectural ideas competitions allows our ideas to be heard and this could hopefully spark a critical debate among people of various disciplines regarding our interests to achieve a consensus in designing great cities.

Much of this development is left behind as soon as one graduates and enters the workforce. This allows the mind to develop beyond the regimentation of monotony and extend into the discourse that promotes change in the practice.

Jonathan L. Ong from United States! It is a great opportunity to criticize its weaknesses, turn up the volume on its threats and freely express our own perceiving of possible improvement. With this approach we always develop ourselves as well. Architects who work in the field have limited time to think about diverse ideas.

Participating in architecture vision competitions does have a lot of value in terms of studying and learning different perspectives, getting away from the frame of reality, and also providing examples for others.

San Yoon and Minjae Koo from Korea! It also allows us to learn more about particular cultures and local materials.

All in all, we believe competitions to be an opportunity to broaden our horizons as architects. The challenge that such competitions create, aids in keeping the problem solving mind alert. So we think of them as brain training for architects. I like to participate in architectural competitions from time to time, especially when an exciting subject comes up. The freedom of creativity are given, the ideas can be fully realized. Bianka Varga from Hungary! It allows me to be creative through the thinking steps and also to work rigorously on every step of the project.

Mathieu Cardinal from France! Lisa Gaudin and Sophie Charier from France! And it connects how we perceive and want to be involved in architecture. A design competition like this is where the most special and unusual results are achieved. They allow us to follow freely our creativity and to find inspiration. They are also good opportunities to test the strength and the efficiency of our team.

We believe it is a good way to push ideas and abilities beyond the standard architectural practice, therefore increasing the freedom of thinking widely. Virginia Pozzi and Alessandro Minotti from Italy! It is also a unique platform that allows young architects to express themselves.

Johann Evin from New Zealand! It is an incredible chance to step away from the conventional means of execution, and present a different perspective to a broader audience. We believe competitions are a great venue for experimentation, and a laboratory to unpack and test design philosophies. It is also an opportunity to think about more global challenges, to go beyond student design.

Daria Studneva and Julia Studneva from Belarus! We believe that vision competitions offer a space free from too many constraints where some of the most excitingly fantastical ideas can emerge. Ideas are flowing freely and nothing is filtered. In this specific competition we were especially interested about the site, the city of Rome, a historical and cultural environment where Camilla and Rafaela had lived.

It creates a platform upon which to develop new narratives in hand with provocative designs. George Guida from Italy! When participating, one is pushed into thorough research, clear communication as well as questioning and refining the material produced. I am trained in the mechanics and engineering of structural engineer system, but I have not received the orthodox study of architecture.

I try to study bridge architectural aesthetics through self-study, investigation and project practice. I want to discuss and communicate with architects all over the world through this competition, and express a reasonable and beautiful understanding of bridge scheme as a bridge engineer through my work. Wang Fan from China! Zhong Cai from Canada!

They are great opportunities as well to launch your career and establish yourself on global markets. Giorgi Maisuradze from Italy! There really is no better way to hone your skills than to be shut away in a room with collaborators discussing brazen ideas and acting on them. A completed competition entry will often exemplify the soul of an architectural idea untarnished by the decision committees of the real world. They also give us an opportunity to playfully exercise our design skills and develop effective methods of collaboration and communication.

I like to believe they improve my employability. Inness Yeoman from United Kingdom! We also work in industrial design and have developed the organic design bark for the Italian firm Alessi, and also for our office house "casa boucquillon" bathed in the heart of Tuscan nature. We could not have imagined a better integration into nature this organic motif that represents the tree bark in Gauja National Park. Michel Boucquillon and Donia Maaoui from Italy!

Paul Kaloustian from Lebanon! Abraham Fung from Australia! In all fields of design, when working for clients, ideas can get lost in translation or dismissed all together. It comes with the territory. With competitions, we gain a therapeutic sense of freedom to create on our own terms.

This type of work should be a constant in the work of architects, as they enhance their creativity and quick problem-solving. Within the framework given by the brief, one has the opportunity of constructing a narrative that is true to their beliefs and to test it.

Alexandra Berdan and Ancuta Costandache from Romania! I considered this experience as a chance to put myself out there, no matter the result, while unleashing my creativity. I find these competitions a great way to have a nice confrontation with other experts while having fun. Davide Franchi from Italy! We find participating in these competitions is also a great way to contribute to the design culture on an international scale and connects us with designers worldwide.

Rachel Fay and Liv Green from Australia! Marianne Ventre and Anthony Spennato from France! The challenge is to get together and create something that is engaging and appreciated by our peers and architectural enthusiasts alike.

The necessity to get involved in the cultural, geographical, climatic and other aspects of designing competitive objects in different parts of the world - is the best way to develop the professional level. Julia Shemchuk from Ukraine! You have little chance to implement what you imagine. In this respect, competitions are a platform which set the designers free. In this ambiance, the designer could show his own style easily and force his limitations. Firstly, it is a rare opportunity for me to think in different ways from the normal work in school.

Secondly, I am pretty interested in designing the flamingo observation tower. Min Liu from China! Participating in conceptual architecture competitions offers the opportunity to escape from the strict limitations that a real commission carries and allow for exploring freely new ideas. Furthermore, they often give architects the opportunity to expand their experience and portfolio on non-conventional projects that extend internationally beyond the regions of a country.

Panagiotis Dimakidis and Rafail Gkaidatzis from Netherlands! We target specific subjects that help us expand our portfolios and where we can implement our research in complex geometries and sustainable design. Bryan Fan and Shelley Xu from Australia! Hiroyuki Gondo from Japan! It is a perfect opportunity to let our imagination go, and to do research about cultures, architecture, materials, and so much more.

We probably want to be challenged a bit and feel the adrenaline of a short-term project. Moreover, vision competitions allow us to imagine a poetic vision for a project and gives us the opportunity to develop more theoretical ideas, which is mostly neglected in traditional competitions. They force you to explore different concepts and cultures and simply are an amazing experience in themselves. Agata Mila from Poland!

They are driven by concepts and vision, providing the freedom to experiment. They are refreshing, motivating and remind me why I started studying architecture. Margaux Loubser from South Africa! Taking part in this competition was a great opportunity for us to explore a new typology, context and approach. Katharina Kocol and Olga Bialczak from Germany! It is a way for us to practice agile thinking, a chance to play, a way of developing a collective thinking and of connecting to a larger international architecture community.

We always enter with the goal of winning. It is also an excellent opportunity to re-evaluate yourself and compare your ideas with architects from all over the world with a much larger variety of design strategies and ideas than you could ever find in a single university or work environment.

Daniel Brigginshaw from United Kingdom! The work produced in these competitions is a good way to explore new ideas in a public forum which may go on to inspire others in their own design work.

Joseph Watkins from United Kingdom! For instance, Mandira has wanted to design and build a meditation cabin for a very long time. A prospective client with a site, a program of requirements with room for change, and a deadline challenges her out of her comfort zone to do it. Mandira Sareen from United States! Nicholas Horvath from United States! Competitions are to architecture as peer review is to other fields; a competition can be a testing ground for design ideas before they are implemented.

Andrii Koval and Olha Laktionova from Ukraine! In general, it is a good way to present your new ideas about the topical issues on architecture to a broader public. They provide the freedom for testing alternative ideas. David Florez and Stefani Zlateva from Austria! It not only allows us to see other approaches to one single topic but also gives us a chance to work purely on our terms without any limit to creativity, which we find extremely stimulating as thriving architecture students.

A simple question posed to a room of creatives will bring an abundance of different responses, all correct in their own interpretation. By truly including nature and society in the question, projects can only be improved. And we discovered, the sky is our limit.

It has always been important to me to participate. I treat myself with a competition praline once in a while. It makes me happy! It is not just about to solve the task. Malin Persson from Sweden! Architectural design takes a long time. However, in the realm of competitions, our creative spirit can manifest much quicker. The competition challenges us to test ideas and rethink convention.

In most cases the topics are very interesting and most of the time there are no limits for your ideas and thoughts. So you can do nearly whatever you like and try the concept of your dreams. And of course because we like doing it. It is also a challenge to engage with a subject rarely encountered in everyday practice.

Likewise, we believe that being participants of this exchange of different points of view enriches the professional formation of those who dare to do so. The matter was interesting so we thought we should give it a try. Additionally it was a great opportunity to practice the design process. Learning by doing, right? Jinsoo Kim and Dalya Ortak from Germany!

Aleksandra Kubiak and Marta Buchner from Poland! This particular mindset challenges your ability to develop conceptual approaches and strengthen your ability to communicate your proposal.

Florent Sauvineau from France! In our day-to-day practice, we miss having the freedom to have a complete control over the vision. Competitions are a chance to show that we care about it and we want to show what our vision is. We also find it essential as a learning tool to look at how other architects face, and resolve the same problems. Brent Winburn and Lachlan Joseph from Australia!

Vision competitions are the perfect place to test and build a conceptual model of organic design ideas that can influence research and real projects in future. With utopia as a connecting line, it allows us to develop a discourse which is not dependent on time, allowing us to discuss pure shapes and spaces. Bastiaan Muilwijk and Paul Ouwerkerk from Netherlands! I love the freedom to push the boundaries of design and to explore futuristic concepts of form, space and technology.

The majority of us will lose that vision when leaving school and entering the workforce, but these competitions allow us to rekindle why we wanted to be an architect in the first place.

Jon Carag from United States! This is a unique opportunity to question programmatic and contextual issues that are often complex. The variety of proposals put forward by the various candidates also allows them to see their own approach to the project in perspective, and learn from it. Alessandro Pupillo from United States! It educates designers to deal with different ecological and social problems through architecture.

It is a learning process of framing complications and devising good solutions. Experience from competitions help us grow as designers, in the words of Frank Lloyd Wright "talent is good, practice is better, passion is best. Shahrzad Nasiri and Ben Chang from Canada! We are always open for discussion and are ready to share our vision and experience with others. This particular one provoked us to answer questions such as: what is a shelter nowadays?

What is the minimal area for living? What does it mean to share a space with others? Architecture idea and vision competitions provide a unique opportunity to explore concepts between building and landscape in a more speculative context, and they can be a very effective way to allow younger architects and interns the chance to immediately impact the design process.

It is a way to pick a different architectural program or object, and try something you really wanted to do but you just never did before. Ana Rita Gomes from Portugal! We spend free time with a common passion, we do not only enjoy our time but also develop crucial skills like creative thinking.

Weronika Kogut and Karolina Toporkiewicz from Poland! Competitions allow you to work freely. Christian Schunke and Anna Bugoslavska from Germany! A place where we can try our creativity and brains to put together a powerful concept. A liberation of the constraints and time consuming day-to-day tasks. They offer possibility to challenge yourself, compete with others, familiarise yourself with different sites and communities, analyse other points of view on the same subject, while working together with your colleagues.

Also we like to have an area where we can express our interest in parametric design techniques. While daily practice is incredibly rewarding, competitions such as this offer a chance to exercise my mind and explore design problems that I might not otherwise have the opportunity to delve into. They provide me the opportunity to research and explore a place and context that I may not otherwise have explored. I enjoy that. And I enjoy seeing other solutions to the same problem.

Jeffrey Clancy from USA! To achieve this, each new project must be faced with accuracy, curiosity and the will to surprise and be surprised. It is a possibility for young architects to find our positions and communicate through well-articulated projects.

James Mak from United Kingdom! These competitions stress the importance of conceptual design and research that challenges the profession to create more dialogue.

It's a journey through which we give our best, hopefully to contribute on the subject, and at the same time, it gives back to us. We improve ourselves, and we get even more motivated and passionate to prepare for the next journey. I also firmly believe that each competition I have submitted to date somehow represents at least a step towards a learning curve, affecting my practice and teaching deeply. On another level, I do so in order to join conversations about what is possible through architecture and learn from the international architectural community.

Tien Chen from United States! Schools are training us for the professional world, so we will have a very certain theme and specific requirements which can be constraining sometimes. Competitions give me more freedom and control to think about architecture problems and it is fun. Zihao Wei from Canada! This can be both small design tasks, and large conceptual works, for example, the concept of territory development.

Participating in contests brings up such important qualities for the architect, such as the ability to quickly switch from one task to another and the ability to complete work on time. Gabdrakhmanova Ilsiyar from Russian Federation! It is an incredible chance to step away from conventional means of execution, and channel a different point of view to a broader audience.

It facilitates the change in the profession through exposure and discussion, as well as one's professional growth. Competitions are the chance to take a pure functional or architectural thought and extrude, develop and test it in isolation from forces of the market place, community expectation and client requirements. To exercise our creativity. To explore our creative identity in a space that is free of the constraints that we usually have to contend with.

Competitions are where we have the freedom to implement what we believe without too many constraints. Besides, it give us the opportunities to expand our professional network and potential collaboration. Kevin Pham and Alex Hoang from Australia! We appreciate the democratic nature of competitions and the platform it offers to express ourselves and make us better architects.

Our designs are informed by research and the concerns of the context. However, we enjoy the flexibility vision competitions offer in flexing the creative muscle.

The great fire in Rome from 64 A. Only the concrete neighborhoods survived the incredibly powerful firestorm. Whether it was accidental or caused by the Emperor — it is uncertain, both theses have their supporters and it is still debatable to this day. The fire had managed to destroy an old, chaotic city, and through the ashes, a new one was rebuilt.

Rome was rebuilt in measured lines of streets, with broad thoroughfares, buildings with restricted height, and larger open spaces. The narrow streets were widened, wooden buildings were banned from construction, a new market, and an amphitheater rose from the ashes. The Antonine Wall is situated almost km further north of the Hadrian Wall. Almost 20 forts were built along the length of the wall to house around Roman soldiers. It was constructed around AD by Apollodorus of Damascus with plans for it to be the largest complex with more than warehouses, shops, and offices, where Romans would gather to purchase goods and make business.

The upper levels of the market were mainly used for administrative and management purposes, while the business was conducted on the lower levels. All levels were connected with internal and external stairs and pedestrian streets in-between.

Today, high-rise buildings make up most of the buildings modern people live in. The question of dealing with demographic growth dates back to ancient Roman architecture. How did the Romans deal with the growing population? Romans also built high-rise blocks called Insula.

The insula in Ancient Roman cities provided housing for the majority of the poorer population. All sorts of people lived in the insula at the time, but most often the poor, or as they called them in ancient times — the plebs.

Tens of thousands of buildings of this type have been constructed to house many people. Most of the insula in ancient Rome were typically around two or three floors, but some even reached five floors. This fact demonstrates the pragmatism and innovation of Roman architects and underlines how important it was for the authorities to maintain a larger population within a smaller radius and thus have a better quality of life. The Roman public baths played a key role in Roman life from around the 3rd century B.

They served as a health club more than just a place to take a bath. During the early days of Rome, the baths were a luxury for the majority of the population, but during the days of the Late Republic, going to a public bath was considered a necessity. Public baths were considered a place not only to bathe, but they also served a key role to meet and socialize with people, a place to make a workout, and a place to get warm in the winter as baths were some of the only buildings to have furnace heating.

In addition, the baths often had built-in latrines that recycled bathwater to carry away the waste. Unlike in medieval Europe, where sewerage was not considered a priority and this led to a reduction of public health, Rome felt the need for a comprehensive system to provide them with access to clean water.