Planning &

Design

CLASSICS 168 / ARCHLGY 118

11 April 2019
 What do we know about Vitruvius?

Reconstruction of
Vitruvius’ basilica at Fano
Architects: Cossutius (& later Cossutii)
Temple of Olympian Zeus,
Athens
 Architects: Hermodorus of Salamis

Porticus of Metellus, Rome

Temple of Jupitor the Sustainer
 Architects: Lucius Cornelius
“Lucius Cornelius, son of Lucius, of
the Voturia voting tribe [was] the
supervisor of building (praefectus
fabrum) of Quintus Catulus [as]
consul, and [his] architect
(architectus) [as] censor”

Tabularium,
Rome
Architects: Severus & Celer

Nero’s
Golden
House,
Rome
Architects: Rabirius
Domitian’s Palace,
Rome
Architects: Apollodorus
Trajan’s Bridge
across the
Danube
Architects: Apollodorus
Trajan’s Baths,
Rome
Architects: Apollodorus
Trajan’s Forum,
Basilica Ulpia & Markets
 Architects: Frontinus

Frontinus
“On Aqueducts”
Architects: Anthemius & Isodorus
Justinian’s “Church of the
Holy Wisdom”, Constantinople
Review: Background & Training

• Social status, cultural

background?
• Training, experience, paths
into the field? Private, army,
civil service careers?
• Vitruvius’ prescription for
architectural training? Why
and how practical is this?
Review: Duties & Methods
• What responsibilities did
architects/engineers have?
• Surveying, machinery,
harbors, town planning
• Keeping records, drawing
plans, managing contracts
& collegia
• Distinction between “idea
man”/designer vs.
engineer/building
manager/supervisor?
Review: Architects & Patrons
• How did patron-client
relationship work?
• Architects serve the needs
and message of patrons
• Independent architects on
commissions vs. personal
architects attached to
politicians/aristocrats
• From private patronage of
aristocracy to official state
patronage of emperors
 Questions
• What range of aids did Roman architects, engineers, and
patrons utilize to communicate and to visualize the
architectural process and product?
• What do the various plans and models tell us about the
architectural/engineering process? What specific purposes
did Roman models and plans serve?
• To what extent was Roman monumental architecture pre-
planned and pre-defined?
• How did Roman architects and builders progress from
various elements of 1:1 and scaled plans to full-scale
projects?
• How does the process evident in these plans and models
compare with Vitruvius’ conception of architectural design?
 Roman Design as an Iterative Process
“a dynamic interaction between concept and contingency,
between the generic and the specific; it evolves progressively
as multiple individual decisions are assimilated into the whole”
(Mark Wilson-Jones)

Forum of
Augustus,
Rome, 20-2 BC
 Speed Requires Planning

Forum of Trajan,
early 2nd c. AD,
~6-7 years

Baths of Caracalla,
early 3rd c. AD,
~5 years
Working with Architectural Depictions