Lecture 2
Byzantine and Romanesque
Architecture
(600 to 900 AD)
Gothic Architecture
(1000 to 1400 AD)
Sejarah Senibina Barat : BAEA 2115
Naziaty Mohd Yaacob
Around AD 0 to AD 1143
Byzantine Architecture
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The Pantheon,
Rome
Basilica
Construction of Walls and
Arches
Construction of vaults and
domes
The Pantheon,
Rome
Pendentives



How to fit a dome over a
square and not have
walls
B) Use a series of small
arches (squinches) until
an octagonal base is
formed.
C) Curved triangular
segments (pendentives)
inserted between the four
arches that form the
square
HAGIA SOPHIA 532 - 7 A.D.

HAGIA SOPHIA

Excellent
example of
creating a
unified series of
spaces based on
a centralised
dome,
surrounded by
semi-domes.
PLAN OF HAGIA SOPHIA

Hagia Sophia

About 100 ft in
diameter where the
central domed space
dominated the
architecture

Use of ‘Pendentives’
Mosaic
Marble
Solid /void
Light/dark
Mysterious -Screen
of Columns





The Byzantine Dome
SS. Sergius and Bacchus:
Constantinople
S. Vitale : Ravenna
Other Byzantine Churches
The Evolution of the Early Christian
Churches
Basilica : S. Peter’s Rome

Early Christian
churches adopted
the Roman Basilica
form which is
suitable to the needs
of the church rites
and rituals.

The Basilica form is
the prototype of the
earliest and simplest
Christian churches.
Basilican church type
Forms of Early Churches

Basilica shaped
Church of S
Sabina with
circumbulatory
spaces for the
processions of
pilgrimage along
the aisles and
the altar at the
apse end.
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Roman vault inspired medieval
architecture
Romanesque Architecture
The typical Romanesque church had;
 thick walls
 columns built close together
 heavy curved arches.
A tower rose from the roof over the point where the
transept crossed the nave. Four large supports called
piers held up the tower. An arcade separated the nave
from the side aisles. A gallery was built above the
arcade. The clerestory, made up of a row of windows
set in arches, topped the gallery
Durham cathedral
 Not yet gothic
Durham
Cathedral
Norman period
started in the
11th
Rounded
arches
century

Later introduction
of Gothic elements

12th century church St Clemente, Rome, built
over the remains of a 4th century basilica

Apart from the
nave and the
aisles, it has an
atrium or forecourt
with ablutionary
fountain and a
large narthex or
porch where the
penitents and the
unbaptized could
hear the services
Romanesque
 S Michele

Monastery of St
Gallen
 9th century

Durham cathedral
 Not yet gothic
Durham
Cathedral
Norman period
started in the
11th
Rounded
arches
century

Later introduction
of Gothic elements
Gothic Architecture






Key features of Gothic architecture were:
The pointed arch
The flying buttress
The vaulting rib
The moulding
Gothic builders used these key features to
perfect the system and built higher and higher
Every part depend upon every
part
What is Gothic Architecture?


Firstly, it was a system
whereby a fireproof roof of
stone had its outward thrust
resisted by external
buttresses.
Secondly, It was a carved
architecture because every
stone is carved for its
position with mouldings.
Every element – rib, mullion,
shaft, arch, jamb, thus
incorporating: function,
structure and decoration.

English Gothic
Architecture

Westminster Abbey

Different stages of
development best
shown here, typical of
manyGothic churches.
Pointed arches
 Ribbed vaults
 Flying buttresses

Pointed Arch
A) The round arch
requires a square vaulting
bay
 B) If rectangular bay,
round arch on shorter
side must be raised (a)
 C) All arches can be on
same level and get the
rectangular bay. Just
some more pointed than
others
 D) Additional ribs can be
added.

Evolution of Gothic Vaulting
Evolution of Gothic Vaulting
Peterborough
Cathedral
 Norman period
 Rounded arches

Types of Arches
Types of Arches
Piers, capitals
and bases

The size of the Gothic
structure such as
piers, capitals and
bases are reduced
more and more
throughout the
different periods:
norman, early english,
decorated and finally,
perpendicular.
Different periods
Gothic Cathedrals
Gothic Cathedrals
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60601. All rights reserved. World Book illustrations by Trevor Hill, Venner Artists Ltd.
Early churches were built, in most cases, on the oblong basilica plan or the round or many-sided centralized
plan. Old St. Peter's, left, which stood on the site of the present St. Peter's in Rome, was the best-known
early Christian basilica. It was begun about 330. San Vitale, right, is a centralized church in the Byzantine
style. It was built in Ravenna, Italy, in the mid-500's.
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan
Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved.
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