Foundations Unit Summary

The foundation of a building is the base structure that supports the whole; it receives and disperses the loads above to ensure the building remains structurally sound and is an integral part in understanding the complexity of its parts. In relation to IARC 221, the Foundations Unit works to build a student’s awareness of the history of architecture. It begins the structure that assists in thoughtful contemplation while learning how to look at, discuss and compare a building to other structures throughout history or across oceans. It bears the load of the curriculum as a starting point; a place where all information from this point forward will flow back, find its support and origin.

The basic means of critically assessing and understanding an architectural design is in relation to its commodity, firmness and delight. Does the structure’s design fit its intended use, is it structurally sound to withstand nature’s trials through time and is it pleasing to the eye? (Roth, p.11) In addition to a building’s physicality is its ability to break down the landscape in relation to a human scale. “Architecture is the crystallization of ideas, a physical representation of human thought and aspiration, a record of the beliefs and values of the culture that produces it.” (Roth, p.159) Humans begin to organize the landscape to connect to the universe or afterlife and their buildings become the cultural artifacts that help us understand the stories of ancient times.

Egyptian architecture was based primarily on its temple and tomb forms and used scale as an integral means of symbolic representation. Structurally, the Egyptians invented post and lintel construction and used this, and exaggerated forms such as obelisks, columns and sculpture placed at the entrance to their temples, to inspire awe and admiration of the gods worshiped within. The pyramid form was used by pharaohs as a tomb structure that connected the pharaoh to the gods and the afterlife. In addition to housing the wealth and accompaniments for the pharaoh in the afterlife, the surface treatment of the pyramids created “beacons on the landscape” that stood out from the surrounding environment and visually represented the importance and power of the pharaoh to the common man. The slick surface, hidden entranceways and passages created an impassible façade to reiterate the boundaries that existed within Egyptian culture and society. The temples and tombs as a whole illustrate the order of society in their ability to create these great structures. (Roth, pp.193-203)

As Ancient Greece expanded its empire, Egypt was conquered but not lost. The Greek conquerors assimilated with Egyptian culture and their technology fed the expanding Greek society. Ancient Greece divided areas into city-states with local rule and Greek architecture became about logos, clarity and achieving the ideal. Building arrangement was ordered in relation to the porch, court and hearth and planned in such a way to offset optical illusions and present the perfect form to the observer. Greek architecture worked with the environment to order space using the post and lintel construction of Egyptian technology. The classical orders represent Ancient Greece’s progression toward the ideal form and relation of their architectural design to sculpture. “The role of the orders was significant in defining spaces of the Greek interior; not only did they divide spaces horizontally but they were also instrumental in creating visual interest by the attention drawn to them vertically through decorative detail in the capitals and in the entablature.” (Blakemore, p.28) Their architecture and planning becomes the archetype for Western architecture.

As the Roman Empire conquers lands from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caspian Sea around 200 CE, its ability to assimilate cultures within helps to create the city-centered empire with a mindset toward the future. “The focus on urban life and civic activities required the development of new building types in Roman architecture, buildings that enclosed space for the use of the public.” (Roth, p.255) Roman architecture is about the people, ensuring food and entertainment to all of society. Interior spaces become of prime importance and the Roman Empire is the first to organize the interior of buildings to promote community and civility. Technological advancement in the use of concrete allows for new forms to emerge and arch construction to become of primary importance. Concrete allows less emphasis on the structure and so provided space for surface decoration. Buildings are built without regard for the landscape and the Greek column is used as surface decoration instead of structural integrity as they were designed, implying an instant sense of history. Interior spaces and surface decoration become of primary importance and societal order is overwhelmingly similar to our society today.

Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire illustrate the progression of architectural design, technology and societal organization through ancient times. Egyptian culture began to organize space in relation to their gods and the afterlife with a societal gap between the pharaohs and commoners. Greece begins to organize space in relation to the community with the first use of the porch, court and hearth divisions that create an aedicule, community space and intimate room in which to inhabit. The Roman Empire finally begins to organize interior space and create interior environments in which to gather the community. Technological advances of ancient times are still in use today and design ideologies are present in current design decisions. From this point forward, technology advances and designs change, but the underlying ideals can be found in these ancient buildings and societies. Architects and designers must remember, as the Roman’s did not, that “Once a building is built, it becomes as much a part of the environment as a tree or a rock…It means that the architect needs to consider, at all steps of the design process, how the proposed building will affect its setting [and]…once completed, the building is subject to the same incessant impact of sun and rain, time and gravity.” (Roth, p.137)