Roman Building Greek elements Concrete (with marble or mosaic veneer) Arch (making possible aqueducts, colosseum, triumphal arches, sewers) Use of space – light and soaring structures Solid walls and roads (lava stone)

Domus

Basic Traditional Elements Atrium – initial room Compluvium – opening in the ceiling Impluvium – collection pool for water Alae – ‘wings’ off the atrium Tablinum – reception area, back of atrium Cubiculum – sleeping room Fauces – entrance hall Peristyle – open garden behind the atrium with colonade and rooms around it

Atrium

Domus, continued… Doors (Janua) opened inward – bolts and bars and doorkeepers. Furniture – lectus, or couch, used for sleeping, reading, writing, conversation, eating. Décor used mosaics and wall paintings

Domus Faced inward – light and air from the compluvium and peristyle No view out – windows are rare Usually a single floor Single purpose rooms (e.g. cubiculum, triclinium) Sometimes rooms on street opened out and were rented out out as shops (taberna)

Wealthy Domus

Thermae – Public hot baths Available to everyone – wealthy, poor, slaves Men and women bathed at different times or in different areas Open at noon, often signaled by a gong Participants usually alternated cold and hot baths, hot first Strigils (scrappers) used for cleaning, soda for soap, towels and slaves to assist. Shavers and depilators available at extra charge Busiest in the late afternoon – after work and before dinner

Baths could involve multiple ‘stations’ Apodyterium – changing room Frigidarium – cold bath Tepidarium – transit room between hot and cold Caldarium – hot bath

Additional features Palaestra – room for wrestling or gymnastics Unctorium – room for oiling down Natorium – open air swimming pool Laconicum – hot room for sweating Libraries

Bath design

Hypocaust system of heating

The closer to the fire, the warmer the room above and water piped in.

Public Latrines

Latrines provided with water circulating under the seating holes. Water also flowed in the trough in front of the seats for rinsing the cleansing sponges

Latrine drawing, cutout, and sponge model

Forum Forum – ‘open space’ Leveled oblong piece of ground surrounded by buildings – houses, temples, basilicas, or porticoes (markets or courts)

Basilica – State building used as public meeting place/hall of justice

A basilica used the arch in construction, of course. Basilica of Constantine

Pattern adapted to later Christian use Central great room often with curved ‘apse’ at end Columned side halls

Pantheon – ‘All Gods’ Built during period of the five ‘good’ emperors (Hadrian?) Huge domed structure Converted to a Christian church in 609

18 th century painting of interior Only light source is the oculus above.