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ancient architecture vs modern architecture?
i have to write an essay on architecture and public works "then and now" here's what i have to include: what are the similarities and differences btwn Roman building techniques and modern ones? what elements of roman construction are still in use today? a society can be evaluated based on the art and architecture it has produced, based on what you have deduced, what can you infer are the differences and similarities btwn Roman and American societies? does anyone have any ideas or anything that might help me pleaseeee answer thankss
Public Comments
- So.... what is perhaps the most beautiful and most perfect building yet standing in the world??? A candidate for this might be the Pantheon in Rome. It's got Hadrian's name on the front - that puts it after 300 AD - but a friend of mine who's been there said it's much earlier. Anyway, it's a concrete structure. The Romans didn't know how concrete worked, but they were able to make a very good concrete out of the volcanic ash which is plentiful in Italy. Concrete - or perhaps Portland Cement - is a substance which will "dry" or "set" under water. This makes it particularly useful in building bridges. And there are a few actual Roman bridges still standing in the world - 2000 years later. But the Pantheon is one amazing building - completely concrete. It is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The concrete was specifically made up to be lighter to keep the building from collapsing. And a couple thousand years later, there it still sits - still a religious building (owned now by the Catholic Church) - still used everyday. Get some pictures of it if you haven't seen it. It's astonishing. And concrete is what sticks our whole culture together as well. But we tend to put in steel reinforcing rod - something far too expensive for the Romans.
