Opus Entry Quatre

Greek orders were comprised of Tuscan, Doric, ionic, Corinthian, and composite evolutions. The five orders listed go from simple to complex designs. Each previous order was a prototype for the next order. I feel that the Doric order represented a masculine form. Like in the comparison between Khufu and Hatshepsut, the emphasis on the surface or the appearance of the design was more so evident in the temple for Hatshepsut. The pyramids for Khufu were strong in appearance, however simple to the eye. I feel that as the representation or ornament as depicting wealth, it would make sense for the masculine forms to also become more elaborate; however, I feel the first intentions were the Doric order as masculine form and the Ionic as a feminine form. When it comes down to the appearance as well, the Ionic form could be viewed as a symbol for female breast at the top with the addition of the two spiral forms. The Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis was made of ionic orders, which would be well represented as a feminine form of order for a feminine goddess. Orders became what formed the actual structure of a temple or building for the Greeks. The Roman’s continued the use of orders, however they made them more so part of the surface as opposed to the structure or firmness of the piece of architecture itself.





Hierarchy was expressed in civic manors along with exterior manors. The position in society in which one held was important (to the high class). In order for others to understand their importance, a visual representation was given to the common man, reminding them of who had power. No longer was the emphasis only expressed in temples, reaching to the gods, but now hierarchy expressed personal wellbeing in society. The higher, the better; the more elaborate, the more you had; the more massive the scale, the more massive the ego. In Egypt, the pharaohs built the pyramids in order to show how worthy they were. The Greek society did built massive scale for temple purposes, but it was also to show non-Greeks their ability and the power of their empire and it was done out of competition between city states. The Parthenon was built for Athena; however, it also showed the technology of the Grecians. The Romans became all about the surface of a building; they valued surface over system. The massive scale of the buildings expressed Roman hierarchy among their own peoples as well as those outside of the Roman Empire. The interior of a place also determined the wealth of a person, or their domination over others.

Archetype: Prototype: Hybrid
The best way to explain the three are when discussing orders. The archetype, or the basic form which other forms evolve from, would be the concept of an order in and of itself. This captivated the idea of a vertical column. The tuscan/Doric would then become the prototype to the ionic form. A prototype would be a precedent to a further evolution to a general archetype. This would also mean the ionic was a prototype to the Corinthian, and the Corinthian a prototype to the Composite. I like the name for the final order, because it’s composed of the previous first orders. This would then make the Composite order a hybrid because it was compiled of the preceding orders.
Also, in the Greek temple there were prototypes and hybrids. The concept of a temple would be the archetype. The earliest form found in Temple of Hera I, involved walls, and a single row of orders down the center, and a series of orders surrounding the temple. The temple also had a porch, court, and hearth, which stuck around as a prototype for all temples, as well as a prototype for architectural structures themselves. There then was the development of two single rows of orders in the Temple of Hera II with the court down the middle. This showed the Grecians were realizing that the orders were also creating a direction for the people to be going in. This concept still lasts today. The double rows of orders were also used in the Temple of Zeus (Roth, pg. 232). This was then a prototype to the Grecians structures for more eccentric temples such as that for Athena. After having discovered the general structures which stood with orders in a certain way, the Grecians developed more complicated hybrids, most of which continued the concept of surrounding the building with orders; and all of them keeping the concept of porch, court, and hearth.






SIDE BAR:
I analyzed my apartment. The porch is my den. The court, my hallway. The hearth, my bed. It makes sense that the kitchen is the hearth in many homes, but to me, my bed is my focal point. No, people don’t gather there, I am not that kind of girl, but it’s the place of most importance to me.

Moving to Rome…
Two summers ago I went to Rome, which is very exciting to hear about once again.

The Trappings of Rome:
Extravagant Pleasure- modern city
A lot like our civilization- modern looking
Horizontal expression opposed to vertical
Lived with Greek ruins
Assimilation + Adaptation (of Greek structures and ideals)
Bread + Circuses (entertainment, keeping others from political awareness)

Roman Architectural Achievements:
Widespread use of concrete and vaulting
Went from single system to more options (bath, market, forum, basilica, coliseum, arch, temple, aqueduct, villa, road, dome)
Technological breakthrough through arch construction
Columns went from structural to decorative
All about surface versus system

The arch system demonstrated their power.
The decoration was an ostentatious display of wealth.
This then showed the hierarchy of the Roman Empire as a whole in comparison to other empires.

VAULT: series of arches along one direction
GROIN VAULT: intersecting vaults (a new way of enclosing space)

The Roman’s developed the idea that “size matters” and unlike any civilization before, the Roman peoples ignored nature. They defied nature because of their desire for straight lines; they would manipulate the natural curves and build over them to get what they wanted.

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE:

The Coliseum.
The Coliseum was modeled after the Greek theater, it was considered an ampitheater because it was not going with nature, it defied nature while entertaining the populous. It was created through a series of arches in circles, and has orders on the surface as decoration as opposed to its structure. The coliseum shows the Roman’s emphasis on surface because it’s a combination of Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic orders (however only half an order). I think this is the Romans way at somewhat sending a stab toward the previous Greek Empire, it’s almost as if the Romans were summing up the Grecian achievements in one building emphasizing how much more this new empire has developed. It is somewhat disrespectful in my eyes, however, it goes to show that the Romans were technologically intelligent and they were capable of much more that the Grecian peoples.
I got to go see the Coliseum; it was an amazing experience for me to see the massive scale of the building. Of course, my mind wasn’t able to grasp all of the history of the figure and understand it but now that I look back on it, I feel even more honored to have gotten to be there and see the inside of what so long ago people regularly used.





The Pantheon.
The Pantheon had a Greek facing temple front as the porch, however not a whole temple, and the back part of it was the prototype to the dome. After seeing how much tho0ugh had to go into the structure in order for it to have firmness, I was astounded. This prototype has effect on cultures even today; the White House follows this prototype in the United States. The Romans viewed the dome as a small “version of the universe.” The universe was created through light, geometry, and statuary. Concentric squares at the roof of the dome lighted the weight of the structure. The oculus at the top allowed a two way communication you could say between the gods and the holy ones on earth. It inspired a connection to the gods.




The Wu-Wu.
A vertical, single column. A “male form” dotting the landscape and was a marker of territory. These represented a political act, military might, and masculine strength. Always found in an open space, which made the wu-wu appear even larger. Ironic.
Having traveled to Europe and then hearing about the wu-wu, I realized how many I had seen and in fact taken pictures of. Because there was little around them, it did seem as though they had more emphasis and were important, so I have a nice collection of wu-wu pictures. Along with the arch, I feel the wu-wu is a sculpture more so than a piece of architecture because of the lack of commodity to the pieces. Also, the wu-wu related to the style of the Doric order, it has a larger base and comes to a more slender point, however lacking much intricacy at the top, which also makes me think the Doric order may in fact have been a masculine form of order.






The Arch.
Composed of a large middle arch and two smaller side arches. The arch was a ceremonial gateway which was rarely used, therefore creating a questionable commodity and therefore prompting me to view these arches as a sculpture NOT a piece of architecture. Often from a distance, a masculine wu-wu can be seen intersecting an arch.




Source can be taken in many ways. For the Greeks, and Romans, water was the main source for them. Water provided a place for civilization to survive and maintain. The city states were near water and water was the main source of transportation. The structural forms of the Parthenon could only have been exchanged through oral transportation by a water source or by coming there oneself to see the building, also from water. Also, source can be taken as materials; the source in which Greeks build was stone and wood, resembling stone. As time went on to the Romans, the source or material used still embodied some stone usage, however it began to focus heavily on cement. It could/should be said that the source of the Roman architectural successes belonged to the introduction and use of cement.
Greek and Roman architecture in and of itself could be considered a source. The Greeks prototype for the order is still around today, as well as the idea of porch, court, and hearth. The Romans introduced to the world the use of arches, and domes, which domes are still used today and still portray the same message of unity. Also the Romans developed the modern city, and modern civilization which many countries have adapted today as well.

***All of the pictures of the pieces of architecture are my own, taken from my trip summer of 2007***