Romanesque Period

During the Romanesque Period,  Charles the Great (aka Emperor Charlemagne) was the crowded emperor. He encouraged the use of architecture and established hundreds and hundreds of schools and monasteries.

The churches during this time period shared similar characteristics. Some of these characteristics were that the churches had the Early Christian Basilica layout, had multiple different isles that accommodated to the much larger crowd. Also, it is during this time that a choir was added to the service to add additional ways for a bigger population of people to worship. The churches were made from stone, with rounded doorways, baluster windows, and wall painted with rich colors.

Some examples of some of the churches from this design period are;

The Fontenay Abbey...

     

The Pisa Baptistery...
       

And, The Cluny Abbey..
     


Some current applications of the Romanesque design period include these similar characteristics, like stone ornamentation, rounded doorways, and richly colored walls.

(This is a staircase inside a courthouse...)


(This is an Romanesque inspired kitchen...)



I reviewed Megan S's blog for the Romanesque period and from her blog I learned that the reason that it was so unique and great that emperor Charlemagne encouraged architecture and schools and churches was because prior to this time, there was little architecture built because it was "millennium of the apocalypse".  

I also reviewed Megan D's blog and from her blog I learned that this time period was a really strong period and the churches that were constructed were separated into three categories; Urban pilgrimage sites, rural monasteries, and small parish churches.

Pompeii

Pompeii was a city near ancient Rome that was completely buried and destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The remains of architecture and human culture were well-preserved beneath the ashes. 

 

Because the city of Pompeii was well-preserved, when it was discovered we were able to study and learn about the architecture of the existing homes that these people lived in before this horrible tragedy occurred.



The video below is a very vague and short video talking about "The Lost City of Pompeii" and I wanted to share it because the camera shows the actual city today after being uncovered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeB5N_bH7E8

I reviewed Lindsey's blog for Pompeii and it was really interesting to see the pictures that she used because they were picture she took when she visited Pompeii. From her blog, I learned that along with the architecture of the city and civilians in the city, that there were frescos that remained intact.

I also looked at Hannah's blog and I learned the particular layout of the Roman-styled homes that were completely buried under the ashes. And how these homes remained intact and preserved.

Below are current applications of design inspired by Pompeii...

Byzantine Period

The Byzantine Empire was the longest political entity in European history (324-1453).  This period was influenced by the Greeks and was associated with eastern culture.

One of the things that was most important about this design period was the use of pendentive construction.  Pendentive construction is a domed structure with a square base, instead of a circular one. The best example of this is the Hagia Sophia (church of holy wisdom).  This church was absolutely beautifully built and had a lot details with elaborate materials and ornamentations.

The pictures below are pictures of the Hagia Sophia, showing this pendentive construction...

 

The Byzantine architecture characteristics included a lot of arches and domes, which were built using the pendentive construction. The materials they used were brick and stone, but was predominantly bricks. The Byzantine architecture also used a lot of mosaic tile for flooring/ceilings/walls and art work. The mosaic tiling usually had a gold background and gave a luxurious appearance to the buildings and architecture.

In the picture you can see the use of these characteristics in the Byzantine architectures...


The Byzantine period was really important because it was very influential to other design periods. The Romanesque, Islamic, and Gothic design periods were all based off of the Byzantine Era.





In the pictures below, you will see current examples of the Byzantine design period...

(The West Virginia Capitol Building, which I used because it has a domed top but it has a square building under it which relates to this pendentive construction that was used during the Byzantine period, and also because the dome is gold and it looks luxurious and important which was also used in this design period.)






(This picture is a picture of a modern bathroom that used one wall of mosaic tile to create a focal point and adds an unique feature to the room. I used this picture because the Byzantine period had walls of artwork made from mosaic tile similar to this. )



One of the blogs that I reviewed for the Byzantine period was Katrina's. From her blog, I learned that the Early Christian Basilica church concepts changed into a more centralized space for worshiping. The other blog that I reviewed for this period was Kristina's. From her blog, I learned that they used alabaster (a texture made from gypsum) and that it was an important design texture of the eastern cultures and was used because it was so easy to work with.

Early Christian

Early Christianity began with the death of Jesus, and Christianity was frowned upon and Christians were prosecuted. Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan and this completely altered this time period. New facilities were needed for a large population of people to gather for worship. The architecture from this time period was centrally planned, had clerestory windows, and the main goal was to glorify God.

 

St. Peter's Cathedral is the chief monument of Christianity and stood 700 feet tall.
(pictured below)

The next two pictures are current applications of the Early Christian time period... 

I looked at Hannah's blog and it was beautifully done. Her blog is filled with pictures and organization and knowledge. You can really tell that she put in the extra effort in her blog, everything is well thought-out and thoroughly explained.

I looked at a few different blogs but not everyone has posted about Early Christianity yet. So I will reflect on other's blogs in later chapters.

Classical Civilization: Rome

Learning about Rome was really interesting for me because I have always been interested in Rome. I find the architecture from Rome to be the some of the most beautiful buildings and I really enjoyed learning about two buildings especially.

First, the Coliseum which was built for gladiator fights, and cultural events. The most amazing thing about the Coliseum is that it was made from stone and concrete and it seats 50,000 people. That is so amazing that with their limited resources and materials that they were able to construct a building this large and detailed, and it has lasted for so many years. Its amazing, to me, that its possible for man to construct this building.

Second, the Pantheon which is a rounded temple with domed ceiling. The Pantheon is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome of the world. Again, it is absolutely amazing to me that people from this time period were able to construct this dome with concrete and it is still standing today and they didn't have the technology that we have available today.

The next two pictures are current applications of this time period...

I looked at Emily P's blog and I loved how she discussed the slanted roofs, compluvium (opening in the roof). She gave a modern application of this system which I think is really clever. Especially with the growth of "green design" in today's design world; I think a system like this would be beneficial to reintroduce into design with slight modifications (like, no opening in the main roof of the home).

I also looked at Flor's blog and I really like that she included the main colors that Roman's used for their walls. Red, Black, and White all dramatic and contrasting colors that beautifully decorate the interiors of these homes.

Classical Civilization: Greece

Greek civilization was the beginning of western ideas and culture, there was a lot of competition between communities, and trading becomes more and more popular.

The most important building in Greek history is the Parthenon. The Parthenon was an ancient temple that was dedicated to the Greek goddess, Athena. The one thing that I learned about the Parthenon were the different types of columns on the Parthenon and other Ancient Greek buildings.

The three classical orders of architecture that we learned about were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Doric is the oldest of the three. It is the simplest style with no base or crown molding. Has a "masculine form". Ionic is the second style and more decorative/detailed than Doric. This style has more of a feminine form and has a base to the column. Corinthian is the most complex of the
three and are very decorative. These columns have bases, leafs, and talented designs.

The domestic homes weren't as impressive as the public buildings. These homes were centered around a courtyard, and had rooms branching off of it. The homes were made from mud bricks and had decorative touches like brightly painted walls, and mosaic tiled floors, and coffered ceilings.

The Grecians used a lot of decorative ornamentation throughout the interiors of the buildings and homes. The flooring/walls/ceilings had motifs that were detailed and added to the beauty of all the architecture from this period.

 

 

The next to pictures are current applications used today....

 



I looked at Dana's blog for this chapter and I was thoroughly impressed with the organization of her blog. It looks amazing! I love how she compared the Parthenon to the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C.

I also looked at Emily N's blog and I liked her blog a lot . And I really loved the examples she gave for current applications, especially because she used an ancient motif (the Greek key) it was unique and original and I like it because we forget about the motifs and focus on more of the architectural features (like columns).

Ancient Civilization

We start to see the beginning of larger towns and cities appear in Egypt, where shelters/homes were secured and civilizations weren't mobile and following a food source around. The hot climate, minimal rainfall, and intense sunlight in Egypt really benefitted us when looking for clues about the lives that they lived.
When thinking about the history of interior design, I never thought to learn about ancient civilizations like Egypt. I was very wrong though, because as I am learning more an more about ancient Egypt. Interior design actually began with different influences from this time period.

Egypt had limited materials to use when building and creating homes, monuments, temples, and pyramids. The materials they had were mud, bricks, stones, and timber (which they had imported from Lebanon). The amazing thing is what the Egyptians were able to create with these supplies.

The ornamentation in the buildings are what makes these legendary and inspirational interiors. The walls and the floors were made from mud plaster or bricks, but the Egyptians added color, pattern, and fresco (paintings on the wet plaster) to make the interiors intricate and unique. The paintings on the walls and floors weren't the 


These two pictures are examples of the intricate designs of the interiors of Egyptian palace...

This picture is an example of the paintings on the interior walls...

 

The next two photos are current applications of ancient civilization design...

I looked at Ali's blog for Ancient Egypt Civilizations. I really really love how she laid out her blog, and I think she did a great job of summarizing what was learned in class. One thing on her blog that really caught my attention is when she mentioned that all the  art, "designs", and interiors from this time period are highly ornamented and incredibly detailed and that is something that isn't common in design today.

II also looked at Ariana's blog and I loved the layout of her blog as well, and in her blog she pointed out that the Egyptians incorporated natural elements into their designs which is a really well made point. It is more than the materials, its the actual design, the motifs, the curvature of the furniture, and even the painting and murals on the walls, ceiling, and floor.