Architectural History Final Exam
Chapters 10 (227-241), 12, 13, 14
India
o Dravidian (Harappan)
o Siddhartha’s 4 trips:
1) suffering man
2) frail man
3) funeral procession
4) holy man
o Vastuvidya/vastu-purushna - Indian understanding of architecture/science of
architecture
o mandala- pattern associated with God, an unseen, unknown force…selected by
priests as the basis of a temple design or the layout of a city
o pada- a section of the mandala
o stupa- Buddhist monument…freestanding or rock-cut burial mound
-anda/egg- the mound itself
-mehdi- the base (usually square)
-chattra- royal umbrella on top
-harmika- fence enclosure around the chattra
-astronomers told them when to build them
o Borabudur- 6 square levels and 3 circular levels
o Buddhist monasteries:
-chaitya- assembly hall for communal activities, often combined w/ stupa
-vihra- large rectangular space entered from the outside along one side &
lined on the remaining three sides with dormitory cells
o A whole series of the monasteries can be seen at Ajanta
o At Sanchi, a monastery near Vidisha, there are three stupas
-the largest had four cardinal gateways, or toranas, carved with guardian
spirits and the miracles of Buddha
o Brahman is the Hindu equivalent of God or allah (3 forms):
-Brahma- the creator
-Vishnu- the protector
-Shiva- the destroyer
o Pillars of Ashoka- tall wooden tower depicting Buddha…obelisks…lion’s heads
o Freestanding Temples had a single chamber for worship (dark, thick walls) and a
second cell called the garbha griha (brighter, thin walls)
o The stupa complex of Borobudur (present day Indonesia) was built by rulers of
o the Shailandra Dynasty & contained 9 levels with flat terraces
o Angkor Wat (Cambodia): Khmer Dynasty…building surrounded by lakes…rural
society based on agriculture and water…didactic buildings, laid out according to
the mandala…Angkor Thom- monument later added, horizontal & vertical axis
China
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Japan
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Qin Dynasty
Xian Yangs Army: terracotta soldiers
fang- neighborhood
ming- porched, central room
Roof types:
-Ying-shan- without overhanging gables
-Hsuan-shan- with overhanging gables
-Wu-tien/Wu-chi- with five spines and four slopes
-Hsieh-shan/Chiu-chi- nine spines
-Tsan-chien- the pinnacle type (can be on a round structure)
-Ch’ung-yen- with double eaves, an elaboration of Wu-tien/Wu-chi
Toukung- system entailing both bracketing and cantaliever action via members
that extended parallel to the rafters directly under the roof
Ming-Tan- where the emperor performed pious ceremonies for the state
Ch’ang-an- in the very center of a circular moat that enclosed a square platform
was a four-winged structure around a court set on its own circular terrace. The
Han emperor adjusted his behavior to nature’s cycles, moving from hall to hall as
the seasons changed and completing a revolution in the course of the year…city
without a plan…destroyed by internal rebellion
Great Wall built to protect; encloses best farmland
Hang tu- method of rammed earth construction: build frame, pack with earth, strip
away support
Li Chien standardized weights and measures
Confucius:
-jin- courtyard for the family
-jian- planning system, architectural design
Beijing- forbidden city, emperor’s city
Pagoda- stacked stupa
Jomon=primative, Yayoi=houses on platforms
Shintoism- God is in everything
Ise Naiku- on mountainside…irregular path to main site…20 year cycle
The Americas
o North America: Iriquois= longhouses, Adena= moundbuilders
-palisading- stripping bark off trees & putting them in the ground to make
walls
o South America:
-Incans: “great road builders”
-Tiahuanaco: very religious
-Nazca lines- markings carved into soil to reveal chalk below it
-Cuzco was the Incan capital
-typical Incan towns were laid out in a grid system (castrum)
-Machu Pichu
o Central America:
-the Olmec
-Jaguar baby= religious figure
-Cuicuilco in the Pedregal- circular pyramid with four conical stages
-La Venta- religious & civic center…surrounded by swamps…pyramids
were rounded and fluted…two adjacent courts to the north: 1st was framed
by parallel mounds on the east & west sides, 2nd was a sunken rectangle
paved with colored clays and edged with columns of basalt…further north
another circular mound rose over a tomb & beyond this three heads of
basalt faced north like guardian figures…manmade rectangular hill, pits
lined with stone, flat-topped altars
-Mayans:
*Tikal: ceremonial center
*Coba: (Yucatan Peninsula) limestone plain with 6000 buildings
buried under the jungle
*Teotihuacan: greatest city of its day…”Avenue of the Dead”=
main axis/road…public forum/square at one end & pyramids of the
sun & moon at the other…made up of about 4000 smaller
pyramids…roadways & raised areas for agriculture…made of local
materials (plaster)…axis does not run true north (1- oriented
towards Cerro Gordo, which provided water or 2- the heavens
shifted)… “The Great Compound”= marketplace & administrative
center…tableros- a rectangular framed panel cantilevered over a
sloping wall
*each resident had their own pyramid
-Itza (Toltecs from Mexico): City of Chichen Itza… “the Nunnery”= stone
building…ball courts
-Aztecs: Tenochtilan…used to be located on a lake (floating city, houses
built on stilts)…steep pyramid forms…renewing cycle: rebuilt everything
at the end of each cycle (every 50-something years or
so)…Quetzalcoatl=god
-Cortes wipes out the Incans and Aztecs
Europe
o Rome falls…no supreme rule of law…church steps in…St. Benedict’s rule
o Guilds: localized accountability
o The Franks
-defenders of Christianity
-seen as Barbarians
-Charles Martel
-Charlemagne attempts to recreate the Roman Empire
-Palatine Chapel at Aachen, Germany: by Odo of Metz…large
complex…westwork= the aggrandized end of the Church…rose
window…towers
o Abbey at Cluny- Abbot Berno…decorations (frescoes)…monks went “crazy with
power”…relics are important
-Criticism: Bernard of Clairaux- Cistercian monk who wanted to create a
simple city of god
Romanesque
o wanted to recreate the scale of Roman buildings
o Santiago de Compostella
o St. Sernin
o St. Foi
o Earl’s Barton, England- “shortwork”
o “Double Ender” Church
o Speyer Cathedral, Germany
o Church of the Holy Apostles @ Cologne
o St. Michael’s @ Hildesheim
o Italy
-Pisa
-St. Ambrogio @ Milan
o Bastide- launching points for crusders…resembles Roman castrum…towns form
outside walls…Aigues Morte
o St. Denis- royal monastery (burial place of Frankish kings) built by Abbot Suger
-refractive, light filled effects: precious stones, stained glass
-double ambulatory with complex rib vaulting
-rose window (round)
-transitional building (defensive, fortified aspects)
o Conversi- lower class of monks
o Cluny- principal abbey of the Cluniac order built by Gunzo
o Lynch Gate- a door in the north transept arm which was used when bodies were
carried to the graveyard after a funeral
Castles
o Fortified buildings to protect from Islam invaders… “Residential
Romanesque”…monasteries were subject to battle as well
o LeKrak des Chevaliers- outer wall, inner wall, upper ward, lower ward
o Crenellations- device from which you can wage war: shoot and then step behind
for protection
o Machicolation- area at the top of the wall, bottom could open & things could be
dropped (rocks, arrows)
o Bailey- open area inside the castle
o Keep/motte/dojon- tower…at the center (last resort, innermost building, most
protection)…built all the way down to bedrock so that no one could dig in
o “Motte & Bailey” type of layout with an open area and tower
o Thick walls so that the people inside can have the best view of who is outside
o Tower of London
Gothic
o A sophisticated mutation of the familiar
o God the great architect
o All about light
o Barrel vaults exert side thrusts
o Rib vaulting
o Cross vaulting
o Durham Cathedral