Neronian Architecture

"The background of Neronian architecture is a complicated one, but it can be summarized in a brief fashion. The Romans learned of the arch either from the Etruscans or, more probably, from Hellenistic builders who brought it to Italy early in the third century B.C.; they soon made it their own. Thier interest in the possibilities of its form and structure, and in those of its natural extension, the barrel vault, was stimulated by new methods of construction made possible in part by increasingly reliable mortars. For some two centuries, only the arch and the barrel vault were used." Reference - MacDonald, William Lloyd. Architecture of the Roman Empire. New Haven: Yale UP, 1982. Print.

By the late republican times, the repertory of curved shapes had been expanded to include such forms as the dome, the cloister vault, and the annular vault. Architecture was deeply affected by the modifications and adaptations of Roman society. The growth of the state and its resources and the changing direction and increasing challenges of Roman life caused a demand for new building types and encouraged the study and use of vaulted design.

The architects challenged tradition in multiple ways. Some of the early Neoronian vaulted structures included markets, warehouses, baths, and elaborate tombs. Some of the structures even included a variety of engineering principles in their designs.

Techniques of Neronian Architecture

There were two basic early techniques of vaulted construction. The first was something called false vaulting. Structures of this kind were usually corbeled: their stones were laid in horizontal courses, each edged out over the one below. These were all dependent on the mass of the material for stability. These buildings were very common in ancient Italy and were descended from the prehistoric tradition of “stone piling”. The second technique produced true arches and simple vaults from cut stone. Stone voussoir arches appear in the walls of Cosa, a Roman colony of the third century B.C. on the Tuscan coast, northwest of Rome. During the second and first centuries, stone arches were used in a number of structures, such as the massive bridges that encompassed the highways leading from the Roman capital city. Stone barrel vaults and arcades were also built.

Lasting Importance of Neronian Architecture

The main importance of these new structures included the initial range of shapes and procedures that were at hand when the Romans began to use concrete. Mortar wall facings were the vehicles of the evolution for this new typical Roman style of building. Older methods that were already acknowledged in Roman architecture included using lime, sand and water as structural adhesives. Specifically in the walls of Cosa, fitted stone facings that included rubble masonry, a random fill of stones and building debris more or less, surrounded by mortar. During the lasy centuries of the Republic, this technique of construction was gradually improved; the end product was artificial stone of great strength and durability. During the early second century B.C., it is believed that the Romans began using pozzolana to their mortar (pozzolana is a volcanic substance); this material combined with the lime and sand to create a fortified and waterproof aspect to the structure. For example, the pit sand of the volcano, Virtuvius, was a standard ingredient of imperial concrete in central Italy.

By the time of Nero, a sound practical knowledge of beamless structures, made from semiliquid substances and small tectonic units, had been acquired, and the human and economic resources of the imperial system had begun to bear powerfully and effectively upon the supply and use of these materials. The Romans now had a basic understanding of carpentry. This new process of mass-produced materials allowed for a logical and methodical way of assembly. This expanded the overall repretory of architectural shapes.

This new process of building allowed for walls and piers of concrete to be structurally continuous with large masses of masonry curving high overhead, and very large unobstructed spaces became possible. This new architectural procedure was not specific to vaulted construction. Masterpieces such as the Pantheon were above all expressions of immanent cultural forces and technology was instead a secondary factor in its development. Engineering was rarely considered architecture, however relevant new materials and methods of construction are to the fromation of a style. In the case of imperial architecture in Neoronian era, structural techniques were the mechanical servants of a new imagery.

Nero's Domus Aurea: Neronian Architecture fully realized

The new architecture of the Roman Empire first appeared fully characterized in Nero's Domus Aurea. Enough is known of Roman architecture to make it clear that Nero's architect was the first to design a building in which the major principles and effects of new style appeared. The new style included a new vaulted style of architecture. The architect of the Aurea inherited a considerable knowledge of vaulted design and construction that had been accumulating for more than two centuries, in a sense that the design for the Domus Aurea wing was not entirely a spontaneous creation.

References

MacDonald, William Lloyd. Architecture of the Roman Empire. New Haven: Yale UP, 1982. Print.