Sunday 5 July 2009

The Pantheon, Rome

Yesterday I got back from Rome. I know the brief for this project specifically states that this blog shouldn’t be ‘a collection of summer holiday snaps’ but in terms of creative and cultural inspiration, Rome just can’t be beaten.

The first thing I want to write about is something that came up in Professor Hann’s architecture lecture in second year Design Theory: The Pantheon. The Pantheon was built in 25AD by the Romans and is famous for its incredible dome. The dome is 43 meters in diameter with a 9 meter wide hole, or oculus, in the centre which is the building’s only source of light. I read that a sphere would fit perfectly inside the dome – the dimensions are accurate to the millimetre.

The reason I find this building so great is thinking about the engineering feat that was achieved over 2000 years ago. The dome is made of concrete (a material that Prof Hann told us the Romans worked out how to make and then mankind forgot how to make) and tapers from 6 meters thick at the base to 1 meter thick at the top. The weight bearing supports are hidden inside the walls. It is still is the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world. I think the level of technology achieved so long ago is pretty amazing. When it rains though, the floor under the oculus gets wet. Is that bad planning?

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