Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque By 400 CE, Roman Empire had split into western and eastern empire Christianity took a dominant role Eastern Empire – Constantinople - Byzantine Western Empire – Italy – Medieval Europe - Romanesque Early Christian Design Christianity – official religion in 313 CE No more secret meetings Public gathering – mass and baptism Christian church – primarily an auditorium – Basilica – a public meeting hall used by the Romans as a courtroom History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Early Christian Design Basilican plan High central nave Altar at the apse – for the clergy to conduct the mass – east end Aisles Naves higher than the aisles provided clerestory windows Masonry walls, wooden roofs Closely spaced columns carried arches to support the nave wall – Corinthian columns – stone or marble columns Floors paved with coloured stones in geometric patterns and strong colours Half domes over the apse – painted with mosaics Bilateral symmetry History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Early Christian Design S. Maria in Cosmedin Partially enclosed area in front of the nave – choir and chancel – part of church buildings An alternative type – round or octagonal in plan to focus on the central baptismal font, altar or tomb Painted and mosaic decoration Radial symmetry History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Byzantine Design Developed in the east and flowed back to Italy St. Vitale, Ravenna Octagonal central plan with a domed roof built from pottery units Chancel extended from one face of the octagon Radial and bilateral symmetry History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Byzantine Design St. Vitale, Ravenna Richly decorated interior Wall surfaces covered in marble Mosaic images of figures from Bible Central space surrounded by an ambulatory passage with a gallery above Columned niches High clerestory windows History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Byzantine Design Constantinople Justinian provided water supplies to Roman palaces Columned and vaulted structure Underground cistern, Istanbul, Turkey 532 CE Byzantine church of SS Sergius and Bacchus, Istanbul, Turkey Red and green marble columns History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Byzantine Design Hagia Sophia, Constantinople Romans were not able to support a dome on a space other than round Byzantines – pendentives – a curving triangular wedge shaped structure to fill the space between the two arches The walls at floor and gallery levels are supported by columned arcades Front and back have half domes which in turn open to smaller domed niches called exedrae The mosaic decorations were altered when the building became a mosque History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Byzantine Design S. Marco, Venice Five domes on pendentives covering the four arms of a Greek cross plan and its central crossing Rich interior lining of mosaics Choir screen Chancel fittings Hagia Irene, Istanbul S. Marco, Venice History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Secular Buildings Great Baths and palaces were built but nothing remained intact Some houses in Venice were several stories in height Each floor laid with a broad central hall space lighted from front and back with smaller rooms on both sides History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Early Medieval: The Dark Ages The building of a sturdy wall around a house making it a castle or around a town or city made the occupants relatively secure Such development before 1000 AD – Romanesque style In Europe – collapse of Roman authority by the Visigoths in 410 CE A period of confusion followed – Dark Ages From 400-1200 – did not have any centralized government No organized systems of Roman law Divided into petty states – aristocrats Warfare always between feudal strong men Wood – usual building material for everyday structures Common material for floor construction in stone buildings History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque The Romanesque Style 771-814 – Charlemagne established a new empire in Europe Continued use of aspects of Roman design, the semi circular arch Charlemagne’s capital at Aachen – concepts of order and symmetry Only the chapel survives – a centrally planned octagon topped by an eight sided vault with surrounding passages at floor level and the two levels of galleries above Semicircular arches and barrel vaults Chapel at Aachen History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Long nave Barrel vault Dark spaces with no windows Chancel end Ambulatory Radiating small chapels Development of major spaces at the west end German Romanesque History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Transepts and towers placed symmetrically at each end of the basilican nave with aisles in St. Michel Church, Germany History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Classical Civilizations – Greece and Rome The church of St. Miniato in Florence has a wooden roof, but its interior is decorated with black and white marble in geometric pattern History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque The church of St. Foy in Conques in France Has gilded and jeweled statue Nave – high and narrow in relation to its width Topped by barrel vault Windows large enough to light the aisles Octagonal domed tower above the crossing History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque The French church in the Madelaine in Vezelay – roof vaulting is complex With groin vault History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque St. Andrews Church, Norway Durham cathedral, England Alternate columns of simple geometric form design History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Fortresses and castles Early castles were simply houses built on a raised mound, a natural hill Wood replaced by stone The house or Keep stands free within the wall or attached to it Made of several stories Tower houses – simply towers stacked up vertically inside with corner projections Wood, stone Walls of bare stone, floors of bare stone, or bare wooden boards, a structural wooden ceiling, tiny slit windows for protection (no glass available) History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Monasteries and Abbeys Institution inclined towards religion arts and learning Monasticism – members gave up secular world in exchange for protected isolation of the monastery Monastery of S. Martin du Canigou, France Small cluster of buildings built in a virtually inaccessible location high in the mountains Has dormitory, refectory (dining hall) , abbey (church) and other rooms serving various functions of the community History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Houses Wooden box like houses of one room topped with a gable roof No glass for windows, interiors were generally dark Fire place of some masonry material used for both heat and cooking Barn cum residence both for animals and people History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Houses French houses in the city of Cluny Row houses – shared side walls Small courtyard near the rear gives some light and ventilation to the back room Shop or workshop at the ground floor – front room Narrow stair at one end leads to an upper level with the living room. Behind the courtyard smaller spaces served as kitchen and bedroom Third level above was an attic or loft used by children or servants and storage Half timber construction – frame of wooden members with infill of plaster and rubble History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Furniture and other interior furnishings Storage furniture Chest-simple lift top box – to hold folded articles of clothing Carved ornamentation Gold and jeweled surface treatment Money collection container Located at the foot of a bed or wall Used for seating History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian

Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Furniture and other interior furnishings Bright colours used for apparel Bench or table covers In wall hangings and in curtains Windows not treated with drapery, but curtains used to give privacy to beds Candles and lamps for lighting History of Interior Design Sofia Sebastian