ARC 110 History of Architecture I

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ARC 110History of Architecture I

• Module 5
• Aegean Architecture

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Module 5 Outline

• Lecture 15
• Historical Background
• Location and period
• Social characteristics and beliefs
• Architecture of the Civilization
• Cretan architecture
• Lecture 16
• Mycenaean architecture
• Architectural Characteristics
• Buildings and other architectural elements
• Building materials, construction and technologies
• Principles of Architectural Organization
• Comparison with Previous civilizations

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Learning Outcomes

• We should expect to learn the following about the
  Aegean civilization
• The influence of location on architecture
• Architecture of Palaces, tombs and citadels
• Stone construction and fortifications

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Module 5 Lecture 15Aegean Architecture
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Outline of Lecture

• Lecture 15
• Historical Background
• Location and period
• Social characteristics and beliefs
• Architecture of the Civilization
• Cretan architecture

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Historical Background
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Historical BackgroundLocation

• The Aegean civilization was the first major
  civilization in Europe
• The civilization also marks the beginning of
  western civilization
• The civilization occurred around the areas of the
  Aegean sea

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Historical BackgroundLocation

• It was centered at two locations the island of
  Crete and the Greek mainland around Mycenae
• The civilization was only discovered in the 18th
  century following archeological work

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Historical Background Period

• The Aegean civilization occurred during the
  period 2000 B.C. to 1100 B.C.
• Two cultures flourished during the period Cretan
  and Mycenaean
• The two cultures though related in detail, were
  not contemporary
• The Cretan civilization, also known as Minoan
  civilization after its most famous king Minos of
  Knossos, occurred first, starting around 2000 B.
  C.
• It flourished until the period 1400 B.C. to 1100
  B. C. when it was completed obliterated

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Historical Background Period

• It is believed that Cretan civilization was
  obliterated by some natural disaster, either
  earthquake or floods
• The fall of Crete was paralleled by the rise of
  the Mycenaean civilization centered at Mycenae
  around 1400 B. C.
• The Mycenaean civilization lasted until 1100 B.
  C.
• The whole Aegean civilization died out after 1100
  B. C. following a period of invasions by
  outsiders

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Historical Background Social Characteristics
Beliefs

• Not much is known about Aegean culture and
  societies
• The cultures is believed to be founded on trade
  around the Mediterranean sea
• The Aegean people were a religious people with
  religion focused on nature worship
• Divinities were conceived in human form and
  represented by small idols, rocks and stone
  pillars
• They did not have the concept of a supreme
  powerful God
• All sorts of trees and animals were respected and
  treated as sacred
• The Aegean people were ruled by powerful kings
• The kings built large and visible palaces
• Location played an important role in the society,
  social life and architecture of the Aegean
  civilizations

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Historical Background Social Characteristics
Beliefs

• Crete
• Crete was located on an island
• It was protected from attack by the sea and its
  naval power
• The Mediterranean yielded great wealth to the
  Cretan through trade with the cities by the river
  
• Cretan culture was unique
• Their way of life was peaceful, relaxed and
  luxurious
• Their paintings depicted joyous hunts, and dances
  with sacred bulls and sea creatures
• In architecture, they consciously rejected formal
  principles such as axiality, symmetry and
  abstracts
• They rather adopted an organic and informal
  approach to space organization and building form

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Historical Background Social Characteristics
Beliefs

• Mycenaea
• The character of Mycenae was quite different from
  that of Crete
• Mycenae was neither sustained nor protected by
  the sea
• Mainland Mycenae was open to attacks from the
  north
• The society was more a society of warriors than
  of traders
• Their architecture emphasized defense
• They built fortified citadels as royal living
  areas rather than the pleasure palaces of the
  Cretans
• The citadels were enclosed by high walls of large
  stone blocks with difficult and highly defensible
  entrance ways
• A common general characteristics of Aegean
  architecture was the arrangement of rooms around
  courtyards
• This was probably adopted from practices in the
  Ancient Near East

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Architecture of the Civilization
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Architecture of the Civilization

• Sequence of Treatment
• Cretan Architecture 2000 1400 BC
• Mycenaean Architecture 1400 1100 BC

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Cretan Architecture Introduction

• Cretan civilization was the first to flourish
  among the Aegean civilizations
• It flourished between 2000 and 1400 B.C.

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Cretan Architecture Introduction

• The Cretan people were traders and seafarers.
• The society can be thought of as being made up of
  near divine kings presiding over an
  administration largely concerned with commerce
• The Cretans were a very rich and prosperous
  society
• The wealth of the society was reflected in the
  building of palaces as the residences of the
  powerful rulers who controlled the town in which
  they were built
• Cretan cities did not have city walls, which
  suggest that they were a relaxed, peaceful and
  easy going society

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Cretan Architecture Introduction- Palaces

• Introduction- Palaces
• The palaces are the best known of Cretan
  buildings
• Palaces were more than just residence
• They also function as religious focal point,
  administrative center, and place of manufacture
  and storage
• The palaces were recently discovered following
  archeological work by Sir Evans in the early part
  of the 20th century
• The palace of Knossos was the first to be
  discovered and thereafter other palaces including
  Phaistas, Mallia and Zakro
• Archeological work suggests that all palaces date
  from around 1900 B.C.
• Their history appears to be uniform.
• They were built at the same time, but were
  destroyed around 1625 B. C. by a series of
  natural disasters, probably earthquakes.
• They were then rebuilt in a more sumptuous manner
  but were all destroyed in the mid 1500 BC.
• Only the palace of Knossos has survived
• The palace of Knossos is also the best known
  example of a Cretan palace

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Cretan Architecture Introduction- Palaces

• Introduction- Palaces
• Archeological excavations essentially discovered
  how the buildings were arranged in plan at the
  ground level
• There is no concrete knowledge of how the upper
  floors of the buildings are organized
• In design the palaces resemble each other.
• They were multi-storey buildings
• Function rather than form appears to predominate
  in their organization
• The most striking feature of the palace is the
  extraordinary number of rooms they contain.
• There were rooms of different types, sizes and
  functions organized around a central courtyard
• The courtyards were aligned north-south, the
  reason for which is not clear
• All the palaces have multiple entrances, most of
  which led to the courtyard
• The palaces do not also suggest the application
  of any formal principles of planning or design
• Their organization is more or less organic in
  nature, suggesting gradually growth

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Cretan Architecture Introduction- Other Buildings

• Apart from palaces, Cretans also built many small
  country houses scattered over the country side
  and several towns of which the one attached to
  the palace of Knossos achieved considerable size.

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos-
Introduction

• It was the palace of the legendary king Minos
• It was the largest and most elaborate of the
  Cretan palaces
• It was the first palace to be discovered and
  excavated by the British archeologist Sir Arthur
  Evans
• Only the ground floor of a large palace of
  several stories has partially survived

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos-
Introduction

• The site is complicated and there are
  controversies about its functions as the upper
  floors have remained impossible to reconstruct
  with certainty.
• It was a residence, a religious and an
  administrative center The King was Cretes high
  priest
• The plan suggests it evolved organically around
  the central courtyard.

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- layout

• The palace covered and area of 122 square meters
• The building of the palace was at least two
  stories high
• The various functions of the palace were not
  distributed in distinct areas
• Functions were gathered in chambers and
  apartments spread around the central courtyard

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- layout

• The palace had two prominent entrances, one on
  the north face and another on the west side.
• The north entrance appears to be the main
  entrance and is defended by a guard house
• The western entrance was indirect and dog-leg in
  form

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- East Wing

• The bulk of the northern part of the East wing
  was used for industrial activity
• Industrial activities included jewelry and
  pottery making and other light industries
• Towards the southern part of the East wing is
  found the Queens suit

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- East Wing

• The queens suit boasted a bathroom room with a
  sophisticated drainage system of earthenware pots
  fitted together
• A staircase and a ramp lead from the ground floor
  of the east wing to the upper floors
• Archeological evidence suggest that the main
  living apartments were on the upper levels of the
  east wing

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• Most of the western wing was devoted to storage

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• The storages were in long and narrow magazines
  found against the western wall
• The storages were for oil jars and probably
  granaries

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• The most important room in the western wing at
  the ground level was the throne room
• This was entered from an ante room at a level
  lower than the court.

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• The throne room was dark and mysterious the
  stone throne was against the north wall, flanked
  by benches
• The walls were decorated with paintings of sea
  animals
• The decorations appear to have a religious
  purpose rather than royal one

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• A magnificent staircase in the west wing led to
  staterooms on the upper floors.
• Rooms were generally approached through rows of
  double doors so that they could be opened, or
  totally or partially shut off

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos- West Wing

• Everything was designed to permit the circulation
  of cool air, to counteract the intense heat of
  the Cretan summer.
• Staircases also designed to have light wells
  These were opening in the roof that admits light
  into the staircase

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos

• Construction and Design Ideas
• The palace did not embody any idea of
  monumentality or conceptual order
• Rather it was picturesque, colorful with an
  atmosphere of comfort and informality
• The building materials of the palace were rich
  Wood and gypsum were extensively used to achieve
  fine bright surfaces

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos

• Construction and Design Ideas
• Wood was used to erect widely space columns to
  support light weight wooden roof
• The columns taper upward and had round capitals
• The perishable nature of the materials have made
  materials not to survive to the present
• None of their columns have survived. All the
  information on it is derived from paintings on
  walls

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Cretan Architecture Palace of Knossos

• Construction and Design Ideas
• Cretans loved color.
• They painted their walls and adorned them with
  relief, mostly of sea animals suggesting that
  they probably worship nature.
• The stairways light wells, colonnades of
  downward tapering wood columns were typically
  Minoan,
• So also were the elaborate and developed
  sanitation and drainage, example of which is
  found in the Queens suit

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End of Module 5 Lecture 15
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Module 5 Lecture 16Aegean Architecture
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Outline of Lecture

• Lecture 16
• Mycenaean architecture
• Architectural Characteristics
• Buildings and other architectural elements
• Building materials, construction and technologies
• Principles of Architectural Organization

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Mycenaean Architecture
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Mycenaean Architecture Introduction

• Mycenae rose around 1400 following the decline of
  Crete
• The Mycenaean people were Greek by race.
• The Mycenaean kingdom was small and lacked
  protection and buffer zones to protect the
  capital
• The people of Mycenae were also more of a society
  of warriors than traders, which the Cretans were.
  
• Their architecture focused on defense on a grand
  scale

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Mycenaean Architecture Introduction

• The Mycenaean people built fortified kingly
  palaces located within Citadels instead of the
  pleasure palaces of the Cretans
• The citadels were usually built along the edge of
  sharp change in elevation, on hilltops to make
  them difficult for would-be-attackers
• The citadels were organized royal living areas
  enclosed by huge cyclopean walls or rough hewn
  immense stone blocks

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Mycenaean ArchitectureIntroduction

• Citadel walls were constructed of huge unworked
  limestone boulders roughly fitted together
• Small chunks of limestones are used to fill the
  gaps between the boulders
• The exterior face of the boulders may be roughly
  dressed but the stones are never carefully cut
• They ensure difficulty of access and were highly
  defensible
• The palaces located within the citadels acted as
  centers of administration

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Mycenaean ArchitectureIntroduction

• The highest degree of sophistication in citadel
  construction was achieved at Mycenae and Tiryns
• Of the two sites, Tiryns is better preserved.
• The two palaces were essentially similar and
  might have been constructed by the same workmen
• We will examine the citadel at Tiryns to learn
  about the organization of the Mycenaean citadels

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• The royal residence at Tiryns is one of the best
  preserved Mycenaean fortifications
• Tiryns was located on the coast and was in effect
  a castle, guarding the beachhead that served as
  the port of Mycenae
• The citadel at Tiryns is located on a low rocky
  citadel hill.
• It was guarded by an immensely thick wall 36feet
  thick

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• Casemates, or covered galleries, protected and
  concealed troops within the wall
• There were also tunnels within the walls that
  provided access to water sources beneath the hill
• The tunnels were cunningly camouflaged where they
  extended beyond the area enclosed within the
  fortification walls

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• Tiryns citadel also had large galleries to the
  south and east that is used for storing a large
  quantity of agricultural produce
• All the water and food arrangements ensured that
  the city can withstand attacks by its enemies for
  a long time without running out of supplies

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• The fortification walls were constructed in the
  irregular style of masonry construction termed
  cyclopean
• The citadel had a long narrow approach on the
  east side with two gates which could be barred.
• The palace of Tyrins is located within the
  citadel to the south
• Additional vacant land is enclosed on the north
  side

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• Although one royalty resided in the citadel, in
  times of war the vacant land served as a refuge
  for the community living in the city below
• The living quarter and lifestyle of the ruler is
  not much different from that of the other feudal
  barons.
• All the principal apartments were located on a
  single floor
• They were made up of a simple rectangular box
  with a single door called megaron

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• The Rectangular house of the ruler is called the
  chief megaron
• The chief megaron consists of a veranda, entrance
  hall and throne room
• The throne room is entered from the entrance
  hall, through a door placed axially
• In the center of the throne room is a large
  circular fire place
• Four columns are arranged in a square around the
  fire place

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Mycenaean ArchitectureCitadel at Tiryns

• A throne is located against the middle of the
  right-hand wall in the throne room
• The floors and walls are all painted and
  decorated
• A large court lies directly in front of the chief
  megaron.
• The Megaron courtyard is entered from the citadel
  gate through a series of corridors, entrance
  portals and other courtyards.

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Mycenaean ArchitectureLion Gate

• Mycenaean citadels usually had massive trabeated
  portals that served as gates
• The gates were designed to complement the
  defensive nature of the citadels
• In approaching the gate, attackers would normally
  present the side on which he would carry his
  weapons
• The famous and best surviving example of the
  gates is the lion gate at Mycenae

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Mycenaean ArchitectureLion Gate

• Mycenae, inaccessible, easily defended, stands
  midway between Cornth and Argos on the eastern
  shoulder of the Peloponnese.
• The gate consists of great upright stones 3.1
  meter high supporting an immense lintel 4.9
  meters long and 1.6 meters high
• The lintel defined a gate 2.4 meters deep with an
  opening of 3m wide.

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Mycenaean ArchitectureLion Gate

• Above the lintel is a triangular shaped corbelled
  opening filed with a stone panel bearing a carved
  relief depicting two rampant lions facing a
  central column of the downward tapering type
• The column was the sacred symbol of the earth
  that the lions supposedly protected.
• The triangular relief carving over the front is
  to herald the temple front of the Greek
  civilization

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Mycenaean ArchitectureMycenean Tomb-Tholos

• The monumentality of the Mycenaean citadels was
  rivaled by that of their tombs.
• The most important of the tombs was the beehive
  or tholos tombs.
• This consists of circular chambers cut into the
  hill side approached by an open passage called
  dromos which is lined with masonry
• Between the chamber and the dromos a thick portal
  façade structure was built.
• The portal was topped by a lintel

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Mycenaean ArchitectureMycenean Tomb-Tholos

• The chambers were corbelled vaulted structures
  shaped like beehives.
• Their upper part emerged above ground and was
  covered with a mound of earth.
• The dead person was placed in pits below the
  ground or in adjoining rectangular chambers.
• After burial, the tomb was permanently sealed and
  the dromos blocked by a massive wall.
• The tholos was thus not used as a funerary chapel
  but remained curiously empty- a pure invisible
  monument to the deceased.

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Mycenaean ArchitectureMycenean Tomb-Tholos

• In the tholos, the Mycenaean people recognize
  that the key to monumentality was geometry and
  proportions.
• The clear geometry of the tholos was stressed by
  proportions in which the diameter equals the
  height.
• It structure was also gradually perfected by
  making the upper levels of corbelling into
  uninterrupted rings of stone.

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Mycenaean Architecture Tholos Treasury of
Atreus

• The most splendid of the tholos in Mycenae is the
  so called Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon
• It was built around between 1350 and 1250 BC.
• The dromos is about 6meters wide and 36m long.
• Its side walls rise to 13.7m high.

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Mycenaean Architecture Tholos Treasury of
Atreus

• The chamber is 14.5m in diameter and 13.2m high
• It is made up of 34 circular courses of masonry
• A lateral chamber 8.2m square by 5.8m high was
  the actual place of burial
• The treasury of Atreus exhibited the best masonry
  and most careful and ambitious construction to be
  found at Mycenae

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Architectural Characteristics
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Buildings Other Arch Elements
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Buildings Other Arch. Elements Building Types

• Three significant elements dominated our
  examination of Aegean architecture palaces,
  citadels and tombs
• In both Crete and Mycenae, palaces were important
  architectural elements
• The organization and form of the palaces however
  differs between the two locations

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Buildings Other Arch. Elements Building Types

• In Crete, palaces were complex multifunctional,
  multi-story buildings
• They were designed to be colorful, relaxed and
  joyous in nature, reflecting the peaceful
  lifestyle of the people
• In Mycenae, palaces were single story, organized
  around a simple rectangular kingly residence, the
  megaron that is accessed through a series of
  courtyards
• The palaces were located within fortified
  citadels, pointing to the defensive orientation
  of the people

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Buildings Other Arch. Elements Building Types

• Citadels and Tholos were restricted to the
  Mycenaean civilization
• Citadels were built on hilltops to fortify and
  protect kingly residences
• They also provided a refuge for the common people
  during periods of attack
• The citadels incorporated systems of defense and
  access to water in case of siege

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Buildings Other Arch. Elements Building Types

• Tholos were the outstanding tombs of the
  Mycenaean people
• The tholos were round beehive structures that
  were covered with a dome roof
• They were accessed by a long causeway called a
  dromos
• Once a person is buried, the tholos is sealed
• They did not function as a funerary chapel in
  contrast with practices that we examined during
  the Egyptian periods
• The Cretans also introduced a unique column form
• The Cretan column tapered up rather than down

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Materials, Const. Tech.
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Materials, Construction Tech. Materials

• Gypsum, cut stone and Timber were the principal
  building materials of the Aegean.
• Gypsum was common in Crete, while limestone was
  common in Mycenaea
• Timber was not very common in both locations
• In Crete, gypsum was preferred for wall and
  frescoed decoration, while timber is used for
  columns and roofs
• In Mycenae, cut stone was the most common
  material.
• This was used with wooden frame for houses or in
  cyclopean construction for citadels.

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Materials, Construction Tech. Construction

• Construction systems differ between the two
  locations.
• In Crete, Island location makes it impossible to
  use large stone construction
• Buildings were made up of small stones with
  gypsum or other carbonate or sulphate material as
  bonding material

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Materials, Construction Tech. Construction

• Gypsum based alabaster was also used as a vaneer
  layer on walls, which is further painted for
  decoration to create the unique colorful looks of
  Cretean buildings
• In Mycenae, cyclopean construction for walls, and
  stone on wooden frame for megarons was used
• In cyclopean construction, the large stones are
  arranged one on the other without shaping and the
  gaps between them is filled with smaller stones

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Materials, Construction Tech. Technology

• Crete introduced technologies of toilet and
  drainage
• Example of this was found in the Queens suit with
  its bathroom and intricate drainage system of
  earthen clay pots
• The Cretans also introduced the concept of light
  wells in their palaces
• They also introduced the idea of using double
  doors to create comfortable interiors and control
  humid summer environments

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Principles of Arch. Organization
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Principles of Arch. Organization Principles

• A general observation of the Aegean architecture
  reveals the following character
• A focus on palaces
• In Crete palace design is informal and almost
  inorganic
• In Mycenae, design is focused on defense, with
  large stone walls and intricate access paths

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Principles of Arch. Organization Principles

• Two forces appear to account for organization of
  architectural form
• Geographical location
• Social symbolism
• Location played an important in the form of the
  palaces in the two civilizations

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Principles of Arch. Organization Crete

• In Crete, the location was secure, and so
  architecture evolved to be relaxed and joyous
• The architecture of the Cretans did not display
  any formal princples
• It appears that organization is practical,
  stemming from a desire to achieve efficiency in
  arrangement in the absence of any imminent threat

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Principles of Arch. Organization Crete

• Variety seems also to be a consideration in
  organization
• Minoan palaces are centrifugal, meaning that they
  distribute people to different activities
• They did not provide a building with unity by
  their uniformity, but rather attracted attention
  to distinct parts of a structure by their variety
  either alone or in particular combinations

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Principles of Arch. Organization Mycenae

• In Mycenae, the location was open to attack and
  architectural form responded by emphasizing
  defense
• The emphasis on defense meant that movement in
  the citadels is directed through a maze to the
  megaron to ensure optimal protection

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Principles of Arch. Organization Mycenae

• The focus in both locations on palaces stems from
  the power and authority of the king in both
  civilizations, which is expressed in palace
  construction
• In Mycenae there is also evidence of some
  conscious application of aesthetic principles in
  the design of the tholos
• The geometrical relationships between the
  diameter and height of the tholos points to some
  conscious formal organization of form

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End of Module 5