Roman Empire Architecture

Roman Kingdom Period

753 BCE - 509 BCE

Roman Republic Period

509 BCE - 27 BCE

Roman Empire Period

27 BCE - 476 CE

Five Classical Orders

Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite.

Tuscan Order

Simplistic and undecorated architectural order adopted from the Etruscans.

Vitruvius's Three Qualities of Architecture

Firmitas (strength), Utilitas (functionality), and Venustas (beauty).

Vitruvian Man

Representation of classical ideals of proportion and symmetry relating the human body to architecture.

Hypocausts

An elaborate Roman heating system with furnaces operating below floors using hollow tubes.

Caldarium

The hot room in a Roman bath facility.

Frigidarium

The cool, unheated room in a Roman bath facility.

Original Purpose of Roman Basilicas

Meeting and judgement hall.

Pseudoperipteral

A temple plan where the cella fills the width, leaving only attached half-columns on the sides.

Concrete Alteration under Caligula

Stone rubble aggregate was replaced with lightweight aggregates like porous yellow tuff and pumice.

Domus Aurea

Nero's lavish Golden House built after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE.

Pantheon

Temple to all the gods built during Emperor Hadrian's reign, famous for its massive dome and oculus.

Oculus

The circular opening at the apex of the Pantheon dome providing a direct connection to the sky.

Coffers

Decorative recessed panels in a dome that reduce weight and distribute loads.

Colosseum Construction

Started under Vespasian and completed by his sons Titus and Domitian.

Velarium

The retractable canvas awning used to protect the Colosseum audience from the sun.

Insulae

Multi-storied tenement apartment houses used as lower-class housing in Rome.

Domus

A private Roman house featuring an axial arrangement, vestibule, atrium, and impluvium.

Impluvium

A sunken area in the pavement of a Roman atrium that collected rainwater.

Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli

A sprawling imperial residence featuring fluid porticos and the Teatro Marittimo.