Early Christianity Response

The first blog post on Early Christianity I read was Margaret's. She did a great job of explaining each attribute early Christianity had on design. She discusses the background of the Christian religion first, then continues to discuss the architectural elements, as well as design motifs and furniture. The second post on early Christianity was Natalie's blog. I really liked her furniture examples of current applications of early Christianity design . She also discusses the architectural attributes of early Christianity. The pictures she used are great examples of a typical cathedral layout of that time.

Early Christianity

In the beginning, Christianity was more of a underground religion in Rome, and those who followed Christianity was punished. In 313 C.E., Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, recognizing it as an official religion. At first Christianity was practiced out of homes in small groups. Once legalized, the number of people coming to services grew causing a need for a bigger space. One attribute Christianity brought to architecture is their version of the Roman Basilica, where they added transepts to each side of the north/front apse. Overall, the churches had a central building plan with the entrance opposite of the apse. They also had separate rooms for baptisteries. Many of the churches also utilized clerestory windows, which are windows aligned in a row along the top of the wall. these windows allowed direct light to pass through onto the Nave. One of the most famous churches of this time was the old St. Peter's Cathedral. The exterior was very plain, but the interior was very elaborate; containing biblical frescoes on the walls.

Old St. Peter's Cathedral 330 C.E. 

painting of interior view of Old St. Peter's Cathedral

An example of Clerestory Windows used in a Cathedral.

An example of a contemporary use of clerestory windows in a home.

Pompeii Response

I viewed Desiree's blog post on Pompeii. she posted a video that gave a lot of history on Pompeii. She discusses specifically about the artifacts that were found. many bronze statues and ancient scrolls were found. I am interested in finding out what the scrolls contain after they had been deciphered. I also viewed Emily N's blog post on Pompeii. She discuss some history of Pompeii as well. she also shared examples of the different styles of frescoes used in Pompeii. The current application pictures she provided are great examples of the Pompeii style with a more modern twist.  

Pompeii

Highly decorated homes in Pompeii, Italy during the ancient Roman period were filled with paintings. The paintings were typically done on wet plaster.  The paintings style was divided up into four different styles. The first style describes the style of the paintings around 300 to 100 B.C. Many wall paintings mimicked other materials/finishes, like marble. 

First Style 

 The Second Style emerged within the time period of 100 B.C.E. to 20 B.C.E. This style portrays architectural elements, like columns and archways. decorative elements such as moldings were also copied during this style. The use of color, especially red, is displayed during this style.

Second Style

The third style contained more architectural elements and some pictorials. A lot of the architectural elements copied were very detailed and could never be physically built. The pictorials were typically of landscapes. The colors red, white, and black were primarily used in the paintings. Green was also used, but not as much since it was a more expensive pigment. This style flourished between 20 C.E. and 50 C.E.

Third Style

The Fourth style was popular during the reign of Claudius; 40 to 79 C.E. This style contained a lot of ornamentation and movement. Many paintings of this style contained hanging picture within the paintings. The style had luxurious details and resembles theatre sets 

Fourth Style

Classical Civilization: Rome Responses

I view Kristina P's and Megan's blogs. Kristina gave a great overview of the ancient Rome design period. She discusses the culture of the time and how it impacted architecture. One of her strongest points of this was the Colosseum, and how it was the home of gladiator fights. She also discusses the Domus, which was a typical home for the wealthy Romans. She discusses the lifestyle of the homeowners and shared that the man ran the home. Megan discusses how the ancient Rome design has an influence on modern design. She shared examples of both ancient Roman and modern Insulas, which is the use of dwellings built on top of commerical building (i.e. a store at ground level with apartments/condos above.). I would highly recommend checking out her blog for more ways on how Ancient Rome inspired modern designs.

Classical Civilization: Rome

The Roman Empire culture had a huge influence on design during this time. With the creation of roadways, the Roman Empire used the grid layout for the city. The civilians had more time to engage in recreational activities, politics, religion, and commerce. these daily activities had a huge impact on the architecture of that time. Buildings were created with the purpose to house gathering places for these activities. One of the most famous recreational buildings built during this time is the Colosseum. It was the home for cultural activities like gladiator fights, and could seat up to 5,000 people. The Roman Empire was one of the first to use concrete in architecture, which was used to build the Colosseum. The Colosseum also incorporated another important Roman architectural feature; the arch and vault. The Colosseum was also the prototype for sports arenas.

The Colosseum, 80 A.D.

Current application of the Arch

Current application of the use of arches in a sports arena. 

Ancient Greece Response

I reviewed Ali's and Chanel's blogs. Ali gave great information on what influenced ancient Greek designs and how they incorporated the designs and concepts into their furniture and architecture. What I liked about Chanel's blog is that she discussed the many materials used when making furniture during this time period. She also discuss the how the designer gave furniture multiple purposes; making everything functional.