The roman colosseum functioned as a large "audience hall"--a place for governmental meetings.

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7Form in ArchitectureRita Tekippe, Jeffrey LeMieux, and Pamela J. Sachant 7.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing this chapter, you should be able to: • Understand the differences between function and form in architecture • Understand how form and function work together in architecture created for different

purposes • Understand different types and uses of architecture

7.2 INTRODUCTION So far, we have given very little consideration to architecture, yet it is one of the most cultur-

ally significant forms of art. Often, with structures that were built for group activities, they reflect the culture, its values, style, purposes, and preferences in the time and place more broadly and deeply than settings where individual choices might predominate. And decoration of such archi- tectural settings, even if individual needs and ideals have been expressed through painting or sculptural themes, generally reflects the greater permanence of a structure expected to serve the group’s purposes and needs.

The earliest buildings were likely designed to shelter a family or small group that lived together. Soon group needs came into play, and the community may have wanted to provide for joint activities of several types such as ritual/worship, group protection, government, markets, and other commercial needs. The types expanded as the societies grew, diversified, specialized, and sought ways to meet needs for both individuals and communities. The specific purposes led to diverse designs, and cultural values influenced both practical and stylistic choices. We will survey a small sample of landmark types from across the centuries from several different viewpoints, depending upon the significance of features for the individual examples. Our focus will sometimes be on the plan or layout of the structure, materials used in its creation, or spatial considerations as they relate to purposes and use. At other times, we will look at how the building is situated within a community, or

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how patrons, owners, and community members influence its construction and use. We will examine in greater detail the ritual uses, meanings, and significance of architectural settings and their decoration, in Chapter 10 Art and Ritual Life: Symbolism of Space and Ritual Objects.

Before we start our discussion, you should familiarize yourself with the basics of building, that is, how you might create walls and place openings in the walls while supporting the parts of the structure above. The most basic method is the post-and-lintel design in which two upright beams support a horizontal one to create a rectangular opening. (Figure 7.1) Before long, builders also devised a variety of arches, a curved or pointed structure spanning an opening and supporting the weight above, and then created further modifications of these techniques to develop barrel vaults, a series of circular arches that form a ceiling or roof, and domes, spherical-shaped ceiling or roof. (Diagram of Roman Arches: https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/520/flashcards/1154520/jpg/untitled- 13EF5EB39821CEF88AF.jpg; Domes: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jbiaW24DTZI/TVxCBDxxoTI/ AAAAAAAAACk/VytZNRg0UK0/s1600/40-typology-dome.jpg) They also made variations that served decorative purposes. Over time, these have been imaginatively used for a tremendous variety of structural and decorative purposes, and you should keep them in mind as we investigate an array of buildings that reflect cultural concerns and human needs of all sorts. We will classify these buildings into several groups, although noting that a great number of them were multi- purpose: residential/housing, community needs, commercial buildings and centers, governmental structures, and those designed for worship.

7.3 RESIDENTIAL NEEDS The earliest types of shelters were likely caves found by humans as they wandered to hunt and

gather food and to find refuge from bad weather or pursuing creatures. The first independently standing structures were made of materials that were impermanent, that is, those found in na- ture—sticks, bones, animal pelts—and fashioned to create a covered space apparently as a protec- tion from the elements. We have little evidence left for us to know fully how they were built and used, but some vestiges do remain that have enabled scholars to make reconstructions. (Figure 7.2)

Figure 7.1 | Diagram Showing Lintel and Posts Author: Corey Parson Source: Original Work License: CC BY-SA 4.0

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As people became more settled, domesticated animals, and cultivated crops, they developed such construction techniques as wattle-and-daub (sticks covered with mud), rammed earth (moist dirt and sand or gravel compressed into a temporary frame), and clay bricks (unfired and fired that developed alongside their evolving techniques for creating pottery vessels). (Drawing depicting architectural structure of Chinese round houses: http://arthistoryworlds.org/wp- includes/images/nhatau.jpg) (Figure 7.3)

They used these methods for communal living centers such as the village of Catalhöyük in mod- ern Turkey (7,500-5,700 BCE), including common walls so that the clustered houses supported one

another. (Figure 7.4) Such building methods addressed security issues by confining entry into living spaces to openings in the roofs, with ladders that could be retracted to foil trespass- ers. All of these types had certain com- mon features to meet such everyday needs as warmth, cooking, sleeping, and storage, and were usually cen- tered around a hearth with provision for smoke ventilation. Catalhöyük al- so included rooms that may have been for other common purposes, varying from shrines to serving as bakeries.

The use of stone for building structures began in prehistoric times,

Figure 7.2 | Reconstructed Jōmon period (3000 BC) houses. Author: User “Qurren” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.3 | Recreation of a Celtic Roundhouse Author: User “FruitMonkey” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

Figure 7.4 | Çatalhöyük at the Time of the First Excavations Author: User “Omar hoftun” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

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and an example of such a structure can be seen the Scottish village of Skara Brae (3,180-2,500 BCE). The walls were made of stacked stone while entryways and some of the furniture were created using the post-and-lintel method. (Figure 7.5) Because of the harsh northern climate, the structures were partially underground for protection from the elements. Additionally, covered walkways were created to facilitate movement among its eight units. Seven of these units apparently accommodated a family or small group, while the eighth was a common room, perhaps a workshop. In addition

Figure 7.5 | Old settlement Sjara Brae in Orkney Island, Scotland Author: User “Chmee2” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.6 | Inside a house at Skara Brae Author: User “John Allan” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 2.0

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to cultivating crops, these villagers likely herded, fished, and hunted for food. Stone furnishing such as seating, beds, storage spaces, and other items within the single-room units were around a central fire pit. (Figure 7.6)

With these basic methods, the humble shelter types of the Neolithic Age (c. 7,000-c. 1,700 BCE) and overlapping Chalcolithic (Copper) Age (c. 5,500-c. 1,700 BCE) provided a foundation for buildings of every sort used throughout history (with considerable elaboration of residential structures for the powerful and wealthy). Material choices eventually expanded to include first wood, brick, and stone, and later concrete and metal.

Residential palaces appeared by the time of the two great early civilizations of the Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as those of the Aegean Sea: Crete, Cyclades, and mainland Greece prior to the development of the Greek Empire. The Palace at Knossos on the island of Crete was a grand residence for rulers of the Minoan civilization; the palace was built c. 1,700 BCE, after an earlier structure was destroyed by an earthquake, and abandoned between 1,380 and 1,100 BCE. (Drawing of Knossos: http:// res.cloudinary.com/hrscywv4p/ i m a g e / u p l o a d / c _ l i m i t , f _ auto,h_900,q_80,w_1200/ v1/245626/Palace_Complex_ of_Knossos_vsyfng.jpg) The sprawling complex included residential areas, throne rooms, a central courtyard, and food storage magazines for crops and seafood used in the commercial trading, an important industry and mainstay in sustaining the people. (Floorplan of Residential Palace: https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/16/ flashcards/3907016/jpg/aafxpid0-1419F6BAD180C1BB19F.jpg) An island civilization, the Minoans were in the rare position of not having to protect themselves from enemies. The Palace at Knossos and similar structures on Crete were not fortified, that is, built behind solid walls and gates to hold off invaders. The palaces were instead built with windows and colonnades, or covered rows of columns, on their exteriors, allowing free circulation of light and air.

Another palace complex, that of Neo-Assyrian King Sargon II (ruled 722-705 BCE) at Dur- Sharrukin, today Khorsabad in Iran, was clearly much more militaristic in character, evident by the surrounding defensive walls that strictly controlled access to the royal precincts. (Figure 7.7) Even after passage through a complex and imposing gateway, one had to cross guarded courtyards and passageways to approach the king’s throne room. The structural presence was one of imposing

Figure 7.7 | Model of Palace of Sargon at Khosrabad Author: Internet Archive Book Images Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

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power, as you can see from the enormous towered main portal. (Figure 7.8) To intimidate the visitor, interior decorations further asserted the mighty and ferocious nature of Sargon II with wall carvings depicting victorious battles. The complex also included temples for worship of the deities as well as quarters for high-ranking officials and servants.

Later developments for residences include apartment buildings for urban dwellers; such multi-family dwellings have taken many forms over time, and we can view an early type, from the second-century CE Roman port town of Ostia Antica, called an insula, which is Latin for “island.”

(Figure 7.9) In middle-class “apartments” such as these, there were stores and vendors’ stalls on the ground floor facing the street. In some versions, the lower floors were for the wealthier people, while upper floors decreased in cost and desirability. The basic ideas of how to accommodate multi-family living were established by this time and have remained similar since. What has changed over time are the material and decorations used, styles adopted, provisions for electricity, water, and sewage management, and eventually zoning policies that would dictate locations, sizes,

Figure 7.8 | Palace of Dur-Sharrukin Author: Encyclopedia Britannica Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

Figure 7.9 | Ostian Insula Author: User “Nashvilleneighbor” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

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required provisions for safety, and density of occupation.

Private homes existed for the middle class and wealthy in towns and in the countryside; the latter were called villas whether they were primary residences or vacation homes. A private home in town might also have shops around its perimeter, but the accommodations for family life, entertainment, and conducting the owner’s business were generally contained in a single floor layout. (Diagram of Roman Villa: http://michellemoran.com/CD/Roman- Villa.jpg) After passing through an entry from the street, one entered the atrium, a courtyard with a peristyle, a row of columns within a building often supporting a porch, left open to the sky with a pool in the center to catch rainwater. A private garden was in a second area open to the elements. The mild climate led to provisions for a good measure of outdoor living as well as fresh air and sunlight during much of the year, even including indoor and outdoor dining rooms. There were rooms for sleeping, storage, and household work off the atrium and garden, as well as a space for worship, known as the lararium. (Figure 7.10) Here, two Lares, or household gods, flank an ancestor figure; the snake below symbolizes fertility and prosperity.

Roman royalty had grand palaces, and we have good evidence of such from the retirement compound created for the Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305 CE) in Split set on the Bay of Aspalathos in the Roman province of Dalmatia, today Croatia. (Figure 7.11) The walled precincts with defensive watchtowers and fortified gateways included housing for his military garrison, a central peristyle courtyard, three temples, and his mausoleum, the building housing his tomb. The design, perhaps fitting for the aggressive persecutor of Christians and retired general, was quite militaristic in

Figure 7.10 | Scene from Lararium, House of the Vettii, Pompeii Author: User “Patricio.lorente” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 2.5

Figure 7.11 | Diocletian’s Palace Artist: Ernest Hébrard Author: User “DIREKTOR” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

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many ways, resembling a Roman military encampment, or castrum. The private and public imperial areas were luxurious by contrast. Like most palace complexes, provisions were made to house soldiers and servants, and it was lavishly decorated throughout with frescos, sculptures, and mosaics, images or designs created on a wall or floor made up of small pieces of stone, tile, or glass.

While the locations for palaces were always strategically selected, the rationale was not always defensive in

character. When Charlemagne selected Aachen, Germany, as the site for his main palace (he had sev- eral), among the attractions were its centralized site within his growing empire and the healing waters of the natural spa there. In examining the reconstruc- tion of his complex, you will notice the baths, shown to the left of the palace complex, are an important feature, as they had been in Roman society. (Figure 7.12) He had a large audience hall, a grand portal, courtyards, hous- ing, and an impressive palace chapel, which is the major structure still standing. (see Figures 3.13 and 7.64)

The church was an important statement for this model Christian ruler, and although it has been en- larged from its original central-plan design, the struc- ture still carries notable features that were both im- pressive and influential for later medieval church architecture. Charlemagne’s throne was positioned on the gallery level, an upper level overlooking the floor below. (Figure 7.13) The throne was above the entrance to the church, with an enormous “window of appearance” above the portal facing out into the atri- um courtyard, where Charlemagne could address his Christian subjects gathered there. This emphasis on the western entryway was developed into the grand western facades of Romanesque and Gothic churches.

The Doge’s (Duke’s) Palace in Venice is another impressive statement of rulership wed to Christian leadership. (Figure 7.14) With its façade on the wa- terfront, the church of San Marco sitting directly be-

Figure 7.12 | Palace of Aachen Author: User “Aliesin” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.13 | The throne of Charlemagne and the subsequent German Kings in Aachen Cathedral. Author: Bojin Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

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hind it, state offices located across from it, and the com- munal, open-ended piazza, or courtyard, between them, the palace literally connects the secular, religious, social, and political realms of Vene- tian life. (Figure 7.15) Public courtyards at the heart of cities became typical during the Italian Renaissance, as did private, interior court- yards in the center of Italian homes for rulers, wealthy aristocrats, and high church officials. As an official gov- ernmental center and resi- dence, this Venetian palace included private quarters for the Doge along with meeting

Figure 7.14 | Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Tower, Venice Author: User “Rambling Traveler” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.15 | Courtyard of Doge’s Palace Author: User “Benh LIEU SONG” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0

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rooms and council chambers, all richly decorated with marble, stuc- co, and fresco and including icono- graphic themes related to Venice, its history, and civic identity.

In Japan, the fourteenth-cen- tury Himeji Castle, built as a fort by the samurai Akamatsu Norim- ura, was situated dramatically atop Himeyana Hill. (Figure 7.16) Though a defensive posture was its primary motive, the great beauty and lyrical appearance of its curved walls and rooflines are its predom- inant effects. It has been called the “white heron” in response to the impression it gives of a great bird about to take flight. The complex, again, has many purposes and comprises eighty-three different structures. The grounds include huge warehouses, lush gardens, and intricate mazes. Despite its fairytale looks, its defensive systems are complex and effective, including moats, keeps, gates, towers, turrets, and mounts and brackets for a variety of weapons. It has withstood numerous attacks and natural disasters over the centuries.

The final such royal complex we will explore is the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, established in 1645 by the fifth Dalai Lama; the palace functioned as the spiritual and governmental center for Tibetan Buddhism until the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), fled for political refuge in 1959. (Figure 7.17) The basic purpose of the palace was that of a Buddhist monastery; its original foundation was centered on two chapels of historical and spiritual significance to the order of monks. The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and the paradisiac implications are meaningful to devotees.

Figure 7.16 | Himeji Castle, Japan Author: User “Bernard Gagnon” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.17 | The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Author: User “Xiquinho” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

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As at Himeji, the hillside is a striking component of its appearance, and the enormous complex makes a very dramat- ic presentation. Indeed, whether intended for defensive purposes or not, its impos- ing appearance is often a very important feature for royal architecture. The impres- sion of this palace’s organic relationship to the mountain is enhanced by its sloping walls, flat roofs, and numerous stairways that lead to its various structures. The complex includes living quarters for the Dalai Lama and the monks as well as gov- ernmental offices, a seminary, assembly halls, shrines, libraries, storage rooms,

and numerous chapels. It includes statues and portraits of historical and spiritual leaders and many devotional and didactic depictions painted on walls and banners, and works for meditation and prayer. Burial mounds and tombs contain the remains of lamas and important scriptures.

The residential structures of the wealthy of previous eras have often been lost to us; however, we can examine some of the aristocratic family homes of the last several centuries to gain insight into some of the additional trends for creating dwellings that go far beyond the need for simple shelter and that show some of the design ideas devised by artists and architects. The house created for Lord Burlington in 1729 in Chiswick, England, is a good example of the Neo-Palladian style of architecture. (Figure 7.18) Andrea Palladio (1508-1580, Italy), a Venetian Renaissance architect, deeply studied ancient Greek and Roman architecture and architectural theory and developed new designs based on those but better fit to the means, methods, and needs of his day. His ideas were popular and have remained widely influential throughout the West to this day.

Lord Burlington created his neo-Palladian villa design under the influence of Palladio’s ideas and those of other related designers. The basic idea here derives from a combination of a Greek temple front and a Roman dome, here supported by an octagonal drum, or circular or multi-sid- ed base. Lord Burlington planned the house to showcase his fine collection of pictures and fur- niture and his architectural library as well as to provide comfort for his family living there. Great attention was paid to the surrounding gardens, and their design was very much a part of the overall scheme. Inspired by Roman gardens, they were designed by his friend William Kent (c. 1685-1748, England), an architect and early landscape architect, and included classicizing statues and miniature temples of a sort that were popular in English gardens of the day, thereby providing interesting and restful stopping points to a refreshing stroll outdoors. The logic and order of the layout of the building and grounds as well as the villa’s sense of grandeur led to its admiration and emulation by other builders who sought a similar elegance.

The Neo-Palladian style was carried to the United States by Thomas Jefferson for the cam- pus of the University of Virginia, the state capitol of Virginia, and his own home of Monticello,

Figure 7.18 | Chiswick House, London Author: User “Patche99z” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

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near Charlottesville, Virginia. (Fig- ure 7.19) Jefferson adapted ideas he gathered while U.S. Ambassador to France by using humbler materials such as the red brick made from lo- cal clay that he considered a better choice for a less pretentious state- ment than marble or limestone. At Monticello, he also brought the structure lower to the ground and added a wooden balustrade, a rail- ing supported by upright supports, to the roofline. Nonetheless, its Pal- ladian design origins are clear. The interior of the house is full of provi- sions for Jefferson’s notable intel- lectual and work habits such as his bedroom that opened into his office, his workrooms, and his collections

of American artifacts. In the United States of the late nineteenth-century Gilded Age (c. 1870-1900), a time of rapid

technological, commercial, and economic expansion, wealthy industrialists built enormous

Figure 7.19 | Monticello, Charlottesville, VA Photographer: Matt Kozlowski Author: User “Moofpocket” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.20 | The Breakers, Vanderbilt’s mansion in Newport, RI Author: User “Menuett” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

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mansions in cities and at the seaside resorts or mountain retreats they favored. Among these, the Vanderbilt family (whose wealth came from shipping and railroads) commissioned several notable residences, mostly in the French-inspired Beaux Arts style, a period and style known in the U.S. as the American Renaissance (1876-1917).

One of these residences was The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, a lavish resort area replete with such structures. (Figure 7.20) The oceanfront house, designed by Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895, USA), has seventy rooms on five floors and covers nearly an acre of

land on a thirteen-acre lot with elaborate gardens. It was built with the most lavish material such as mar- ble and wood from around the world and was dec- orated with rich and sumptuous furniture, fittings, and valuable artwork, as can be seen here in the li- brary. (Figure 7.21) Clearly a residential structure of this type went far beyond the simple needs of hous- ing to shelter a family from the elements and served to make a very grand and ostentatious statement of wealth and power.

By contrast to design ideas of the architects who catered to the wealthiest Americans, a new conception for providing living space came into being in the early twentieth century with Frank Lloyd Wright, who de- veloped what he called the Prairie Style. He sought to counter the blocky forms that had become the stan- dard for American homes with a structural sweep that hugged the ground, echoed the landscape, and fos- tered communication between the spaces in the house and the natural elements around it.

Perhaps the epitome of this thinking was real- ized in Wright’s design for Falling Water, a western

Figure 7.21 | The library at The Breakers Photographer: Matt Wade Author: User “UpstateNYer” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.22 | Fallingwater, Pennsylvania Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright Author: User “Daderot” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC0 Public Domain

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Pennsylvania mountain home he created for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh. (Figure 7.22) At their request, he incorporated elements of their favorite recreation spot into the design: the rocky outcrop where they held picnics is in the living room, and the adjacent Bear Run waterfall pours out beneath the house’s cantilevered terraces, self-supporting rigid structure projecting from the wall. Like most of Wright’s houses, the place has flowing interior space, a great number of windows, and abundant natural light, as well as carefully coordinated use of stone and wood to incorporate the structure into the natural setting.

7.4 COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT Clearly, many of the pal-

aces and complexes we have explored included accommo- dation of community govern- ment needs. There were oth- ers throughout history that had somewhat more pointed community needs in mind for their creation but were often combined with other purpos- es as well. From the time of the rise of the earliest civili- zations, the needs for govern- ment and religious expression often coalesced.

In the Mesopotamian Val- ley of the ancient Near East, today Iraq and Iran, we see this exemplified in the struc- ture of the Ziggurat of Ur. (Figures 7.23 and 7.24) With the idea that the deities resided in the heavens, the ziggurat was conceived as a man-made mountain that served as a base for the temple, raising it closer to the celestial regions where the deities were. The pathways to the temple at the summit were steep and the approach to the gods was appropriately aggrandized and formalized. At the same time, the basic platform structure was part of a complex that included the provisions for a variety of other community services, record keeping, and commercial and governmental functions. The compact complex was located at the center of the community and in many aspects became the hub of life.

The people of the ancient Near East built with mud brick, sometimes baked, that has not proven to be durable, so the remains of these structures, constructed from around 2,400 BCE until the sixth century BCE, are generally not well preserved. Still, there are sufficient clues in

Figure 7.23 | Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq Author: User “Hardnfast” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY 3.0

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the ruins to reconstruct the ways they were built and used.

The Romans generally made provisions for community functions in the forum, an open public space at the center of each city; the cities were often laid out in a grid plan organized with areas dedicated to various types of industrial, commercial, communal, and residential needs. (The Master Plan of Verbonia: https://classconnection. s 3 . a m a z o n a w s . c o m / 8 6 4 / flashcards/4000864/jpg/roman_ city_plan-141E58EF1FF4A4DE1CC. jpg) The number and types of buildings varied, but they often included temples, libraries, markets, public baths (thermae), and judicial structures. The Forum at the heart of Rome was the site of numerous architectural statements and additions for the public good that were created by successive rulers.

One of the most influential of the buildings in the Forum of Trajan in Rome was the Basilica Ulpia, a center for law courts, business, and public gatherings. (Figure 7.25) The basilica includ- ed a long and broad open center space, a nave, flanked by aisles that fluidly expanded the area.

Figure 7.24 | Digital Rendering of the Ziggurat of Ur Author: User “wikiwikiyarou” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

Figure 7.25 | Drawing depicting the Basilica Ulpia, Rome Artist: Julien Guadet Author: User “Joris” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

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(Figure 7.26) This design provided a readily adaptable concept for other purposes, most notably perhaps the congregational space needed for Christian churches that would arise in later centu- ries as the Christian populace grew.

Significant community spaces sometimes have as their boundaries adjoining but separate architectural structures. These spaces are nonetheless important gathering places that need to be considered as such and in connection with the surrounding architecture that defines them. The National Mall in Washington, D.C., is one such place. (Figure 7.27) We identify it by its location within the capitol city and by its placement among all the government and other public/community buildings that line and define it. One only has to see it as a site for a presidential inauguration celebration or other large public gatherings to realize its significance as a community center.

Figure 7.26 | Illustration Depicting the Basilica Ulpia Author: Encyclopedia Britannica Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

Figure 7.27 | National Mall and Washington Monument, Washington, DC Author: User “Christoph Radtke” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.28 | Theatre of Epidaurus Author: User “Olecorre” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.29 | Colosseum in Rome Author: User “Andreas Tille” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0

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Community needs for ceremony and en- tertainment have been addressed with spe- cifically purposed architectural works since antiquity as well. Both the Greek and the Ro- mans designed and built theaters, outdoor structures for dramatic performances, and amphitheaters, round or oval buildings with a central space for events, that provided models for such structures to this day. (Fig- ures 7.28 and 7.29) While the basic concepts were devised by the Greeks to present reli-

gious festivals and ritual dramas, the Romans with their great ingenuity in engineering and material development added considerably to the potential for these designs to cater to changing needs and broader applications.

One of the most important contributions to the history of architecture was the Roman develop- ment of concrete for use as building material. Its greater strength, flexibility, and potential for adap- tation made concrete far superior to the cut stone used to that point. These advances enabled the Ro- mans to create new architectural forms by expand- ing the types of vaulting and means of spanning space they had previously used. Both of these im- portant community structures, the theater and the amphitheater, were enlarged and put to new uses because of the Roman architectural contributions.

Pacific Island cultures, as do those of Native Americans, particularly venerate tribal heritage and so celebrate the communal events related to their heritage. Native North Americans of the Kwakiutl Nation created the clan totems, objects or animals that hold significance for a group of

Figure 7.32 | Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand Author: Phil Whitehouse Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY 2.0

Figure 7.31 | Whare at Waitangi Treaty House site Author: User “Andy king50” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Figure 7.30 | Wawadit’la, also known as Mungo Martin House, a Kwakwaka’wakw “big house”, with heraldic pole. Artist: Chief Mungo Martin Author: Ryan Bushby Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 2.5

CHAPTER SEVEN: FORM IN ARCHITECTURE

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people, at the Wawadit’la, also known as the Mungo Martin House in honor of the chief and artist who built it in Victoria, British Columbia. (Figure 7.30) The recognition and celebration of their shared culture is expressed, as well, in the Meeting House of the Maori people at Waitangi, New Zealand, with its deep front porch and big open hall for group events. (Figures 7.31 and 7.32) Additionally, the carved and painted decorations inside and out have specific iconographic and symbolic significance for the individuals who gather together at such communal sites.

7.5 COMMERCE Buildings for commerce

have appeared over time. Early systems of trade and barter in some places eventually became formalized in ways that required marketplaces and commercial establishments with temporary or permanent housing. While open-air markets with vendor stalls continue to be used in many places, in others shops or full buildings evolved for commercial and service transactions.

An early example appeared in ancient Athens, Greece, in the area where the open market or agora, was also located. The Stoa of Attalos, built by King Attalos II of Pergamon (r. 159-133 BCE), was comprised of a two-story covered walkway made of marble and limestone with columns on one side and a closed wall on the other. (Figure 7.33) Along the closed wall, there were twenty-one rooms on each level with each room providing space for a shop. These rooms were similar in character and purpose to those we noted on the ground floors of Roman villas and apartment buildings, but they provided for a more concentrated shopping area.

Our modern provisions for shopping centers and department stores were designed with different ideas about merchandising, sales, and consumerism but, as we have seen

Figure 7.33 | Church of the Holy Apostles and Museum of Ancient Agora Author: User “A.Savin” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Figure 7.34 | Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, Chicago, IL Author: User “Beyond My Ken” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0