Block 2: UNIT 14: The Colosseum Tradition

:The Form of the Colosseum: Shapes and Patterns

:Structure of the Colosseum

Form: Plate 19 / Construction: Plate 52

Roman engineer, Vitruvius, in his book On Architecture,

(written barely a 100 years before the Colosseum was built), said
that architecture needed to provide three needs: -commodity,-
.firmness, and -delight
This means a building should function easily and effectively,
give the necessary shelter and other requirements, must be
securely built, so that it will not collapse and should give a
.pleasing look

Firmness depends on both the needs of a particular use and the

technology that is available. The needs of the Colosseum were a
lot of seating in rows( which was provided previously by wooden
seats or making piles of earth) for 50,000 people and a solid
weight to hold them up and give them a clear view of the arena
(which couldn't be done by wooden benches) and an earth bank
.couldn't be strong enough
So, brick and stone were used for the building in a honeycomb of
walls and pillars on the ground floor plan (Plates 50, 29, 72). The
.spaces are covered by Vaults supported on bricks and stone Piers

Plate 49) : Walls and piers are arranged in a pattern that comes(
out from the centre. Space between each wall is covered with a
vault(Plate 29). Ground level has four passages to allow people to
move around the building and enter straight into it (Plate 71).
Passages are covered by cross vaults in a circle around the
.building. This pattern is repeated on each successive floor

Roman concrete vaults are uncommonly strong because they

are built of layers of facing material which would hold the cement
in place till it was firm, filled with wet cement and rubble in
.layers and become a solid block, that would stay for a long time
Plate 67):vaults are piled up in layers, and shows the skills of(
the engineers, who built them 2000 years ago in a period of ten
years only with wooden frames to hold them and with a large
number of slaves doing the work. It's the planning and
organization of the workers that made it possible to build such a
.huge and amazing building

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:The Colosseum Scale, Articulation and Meaning

a. The size of the Colosseum impressed the later generations and

.the Romans

b. Scale of it is the short diameter of 156.5 meters enclosed by a

)wall of 48 meters. (Plates 19, 20, 67, 71, 30, 24

)c. Architectural analysis: (Plate 53, 73

d. The columns and cornices (projecting areas) gives the building

.richness to its huge size and the royal look

e. Articulation of the walls outer look gives the building the

.impressive look

f. The people inside the Colosseum had to see the games and be
able to get into the arena, so there were a number of arches built
.into the walls for people to enter the walkways and the stairs

:The articulation of the Colosseum

:A Language of Architecture

It was the design of the outside of the building which gave the
Colosseum its meaning as a great public monument of Imperial
.Rome

a. Each of the outside divisions is about 40 feet high which

.makes them very high for a floor

b. Each floor is marked out by a design of arches between

columns, which is called an arcade. The design here is very
.modern and progressive among classical architecture

c. Each arch is over the one under it with the piers rising one
.over the other

d. This gives an impression of strength (firmness) as it reflects

the structure of the inside, with its projecting series of walls and
.piers

e. The entablature or beam and cornice, the arches framed by

.pillars and their regularity in design is impressive

.f. The arches and columns are well proportioned

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g. The Greeks knew three orders of design, the Doric, Ionic and
the Corinthian. The Romans added two more to this, Tuscan and
.Composite

h. Each column has a base (except Greek Doric), a shaft, and a

capital and each entablature is divided into two parts, an
.architrave and a frieze

:Reusing the language

:Western Architecture in Later Centuries

The Romans made use of their one key system of articulation **

.in their architecture in many ways
Since this system was most effectively used in the important **
architecture of the Colosseum as many designers of later
.centuries, were influenced by it
.In the centuries after the break up of the Roman Empire **
The many fine buildings which were built later did not have **
.the precise traditional system of proportion as in the Colosseum

:The purpose of Reused language

Why did later Europeans copy a set of traditions or
styles of building developed in Greece and adapted by
??the Romans

a. Since the Roman Empire included most of Western Europe,

.There was some direct contact with the original tradition
b. The main emphasis was seen in the Renaissance, when the
Philosophical books of the Greeks and Romans were rediscovered
and the values and achievements of the ancient World was
thought of as the best models for the activities of the times
.which included the design and plans of buildings
.c. The classical systems were used for important buildings

:Planning and Function

:Function of the Colosseum

.a. To show the power and honor of the Emperor

:b. To work as an arena for shows
.To let the audience see properly **
.)To give shelter from sun and rain (velarium **
c. Seating arrangements were made to allow the Roman people to
sit comfortably and also have the access to leave the arena safely.
So, the arena was built with such a complex plan and honeycomb
.structure

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:Crowds and Architecture

:)Parallels (similar modern buildings, like Stadiums

Some stadiums are oval shaped and others are rectangular **
.shaped
The oval shape is close to the shape of the Colosseum which **
makes enough space for many people, and many different
.facilities and activities

:Today's Colosseum

.Wembley Stadium and its traditions

Comparison between the architecture of the Roman Colosseum

)and the Wembley stadium in England.(pages81-87

Good Luck
Mrs.Raina