Roman Influence On Architecture

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Roman Influence On Architecture

Roman Influence on Architecture
The world of architecture has been greatly influenced and affected by Roman architectural design and development. Their innovative designs and influential developments developed centuries ago have provided a basis for architectural masterpieces found across the planet and, what's more, have remained relevant into the 21st Century. While the Romans borrowed many architectural designs from the Greeks and Etruscans, the additions that they did make to the world of architecture changed that world forever. Their invention of cement, their new use of arches and vaults, the development in aqueducts, and the development of road systems brought about change that affected not only the Roman Empire but also the many peoples that that great culture touched in its many travels and conquests.
“With the Roman invention of concrete in the first century BC and their growing understanding of the architectural principles of stress and counter-stress, Roman architects were able to experiment with new and elaborate forms of building, many of which were to pass
in to the western architectural tradition. (Cunningham and Reich 156).” Until this innovative development, architectural progress had been severely limited and restricted. Building designs, using traditional Grecian models within the post and lintel system, had allowed for limited change. With the development of concrete and the increased understanding of its uses and applications, Romans were able to erect structures that would have previously been impossible using the Grecian post and lintel system. It was also the Roman use of concrete that led the way to many other Roman innovations in architecture, most especially the use of arches and vaults.
Prior to the use of arches, Greek and republican Roman temples had been relatively small, partly because of the difficulties involved in putting a roof on a large space, without the use of supports. The Romans found and developed a way to use internal arches (“a curved structure that forms the upper edge of an open space, or the space between a bridge's supports” (Arch)) and vaults (“an arch-shaped structure, usually of masonry, used as the ceiling of a room or other enclosed space, as the roof of a building, or as the support for a ceiling or roof” (Arch and Vault)) to provide roofs for structures of increasing size and
complexity. This new innovative style was adopted by the Romans ...

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