What is travertine? History of Architecture
Is travertine marble? No. The travertine is the white stone in between the bricks (This is from the Colosseum in Rome) Is travertine marble? Travertine is a kind of sedimentary [...]
25
05, 2017
24
05, 2017
Why do people plaster walls? History of Architecture
A bit of plaster left on the wall of a Punic house from Carthage People used plaster to cover the bare stone or mudbrick on the walls of houses, both [...]
24
05, 2017
What is a nave? History of Architecture
Nave of Abbaye aux Dames (Caen, 1050 AD) The nave is the long narrow part of a Roman basilica or a Christian church - the part where people sit in a [...]
24
05, 2017
Greek and Roman houses – History of Architecture
A peristyle of a Roman house at Ostia - 200s AD In classical Athens around 500 BC, and throughout the Greek world, people built courtyard houses, like earlier ones in Egypt [...]
24
05, 2017
Houses – History of Architecture
History of houses: Sibudu Cave, South Africa, from the Stone Age Living in caves The first people lived without any kind of shelter, huddling under trees when it rained. They [...]
24
05, 2017
Why are there double aisles? History of architecture
Looking into the side aisles of the Pisa Duomo (Italy, 1064 AD) What are double aisles? Some big basilicas and churches had two aisles instead of one: double aisles. The [...]
24
05, 2017
What is a dome? History of Architecture
Dome history: the Pantheon (Rome, ca. 120 AD) Okay, you've learned how to build an arch. Now suppose you want to make a dome. How would you do that using [...]
24
05, 2017
What’s a buttress? History of Architecture
Buttress of St. Germain des Pres (Paris, 1100s AD) A buttress holds up a wall A buttress is a big pile of stone that keeps a building's walls from falling down. [...]
24
05, 2017
What is basalt? Geology and Grindstones
A Roman road paved in basalt (This is from Trajan's Market in Rome) Basalt and volcanoes Basalt (bu-SALT) is a volcanic stone - it forms from the lava that volcanoes [...]
24
05, 2017
What is an arch? History of Architecture
Arches of the Medieval Baptistry at Pisa How do you hold up the roof? People building houses or any other kind of people have always had this one big problem, [...]
