The Byzantine Empire

The word Byzantine means confusion or misunderstanding in which this time period modeled. The Byzantine Empire was a clash between east and west which turned into an architecture and design revelation. It was the longest, political time period staring back from 324 C.E. stretching until 1453 C. E. Byzantium was the named used by the Greeks and Romans; Byzantines themselves referred to themselves as the Roman Empire, as it was, a continuation of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire was the political entity that inherited pieces of the Roman Empire. This era were the founders of what is called pendentive construction. This invention was a dome ceiling yet had a square base.

Pendentive Construction

This new form of construction was represented in the famous Hagia Sophia in which consumes multiple pendentive constructions.

                                                           Hagia Sophia



As you can see the Hagia Sophia shows an excellent plethora of detail. Also, brings in a lot of natural light through the use of many windows.

A unique thing that I find interesting about The Byzantine Era is the artists used glass, semiprecious stones, and metals in their mosaics, which made them glisten in the light. In addition to their mosaics, their furniture was also amazing pieces of work like the one below. This was the famous Throne of Maximian.

Throne of Maximian 

Here are some applications of the Byzantine Empire that we might see today.

Student Discussion:

I really liked how Chanel showed a lot of geometric designs in her blog. This was one particular design the Byzantine's were fond of and I like how she made that clear. In addition, I like her modern applications for The Byzantine Empire. You would not think her applications were inspired by this era but the color of the rooms, tile flooring, chandelier, and furniture are all very good examples.


Looking at Lindsey's blog, I liked how she stressed how important the Hogia Sophia was and the structure of it. The Hogia Sophia really was the symbol for the Byzantine Empire. I also liked how she represented geometric Byzantine designs in fashion. It really showed that we can apply an era to almost anything.



Early Christian

Before the time of Christ, most people believed there were many gods but until the Early Christian period the Romans started to worship one god Jesus Christ. The believers of Christianity strive for new churches or temples to worship. Then Old St. Peter's Cathedral was built for the tomb of St. Peter the apostle  and was used worship.

 The structure of this cathedral was different than any other architecture before. Arches, domes, collumns, and marble flooring were used like we've seen in Ancient Greece and Rome.  The Early Christian's were known for their intricate mosiac's and fresca's like the one at Sant' Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna, Italy.

Today we see many designs like these in bathrooms or as a backsplash in a kitchen.

Student's Blogs

First, I looked at Margaret's blog and really liked how she discussed the death of Jesus and the birth of Christianity. She really showed the connection between the Early Christians with the two fish symbol.  I found it interesting how she represented today's furniture and how it was inspired by the Early Christians.

John's blog about the catacombs is really fascinating to me. I didn't know these were burial tunnels that led to fascinating places. He really showed how the great deal of how they were buried and how many people were buried there.

Rome

Dating back to 753 b.c.e Rome has brought superior architecture, design, and detail to the table. Although some of their designs were inspired by the Greeks but one thing the Romans were known for was the creation of concrete. They used concrete to produce their massive domes. The most famous one is the Pantheon.






The detail of the Pantheon is incredible. To the intricate, granite flooring to the great bronze doors the Romans really nailed it out of the park. Not to mention, the squared cutouts in the ceiling have never been done before, leads your eye up to the skylight, bringing in natural light. Arches, domes, marble flooring and columns we have seen in previous architecture but the Romans have improved the way citizens used them in ways we have never seen before.  We see the dome structure in many cathedrals and temples of worship like the one below in Paris, France.





Today we see Roman inspired homes, like the one above, everyday yet we may not have realized. The massive columns and the cutout you see in the ceiling of this home is very interesting. In this Roman inspired home, below, we noticed they used a lot of gold designs as well as very intricate detail in their cabinetry. Also, marble flooring as well as luxurious tapestry.

 Other student's blogs

Looking into Hannah's blog I loved how she talked about the Roman artwork. The Romans were obviously skilled for their time period. Their artwork was amazing in detail and structure. The famous Lacoon and his Sons is a phenomenal example of their detailed artwork and also represented movement. Also, I liked how Hannah incorporated the Colosseum into her blog. The Colosseum has really shaped architecture in the entertainment world.

I also looked at Katrina's blog for this discussion. I liked how she talked about Insulas and how we use them today. It's something different to talk about and is very interesting. Insulas were used for residential housing and the first floor consisted of restaurants, shops, or office spaces. This is one thing I did not know until reading her blog and how the Romans lived their everyday life.