URBAN DESIGN – I
URBAN SPACES IN HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE- ROME
SUBMITTED BY-
SUBMITTED TO- POOJA BHARDWAJ-13044
Ar. SUMIT KAUR ISHITA SHARMA-13026
Ar. SWATI BEHL ABHIGYAN MAINDOLA-13004
SUNITA KUMARI-13056
NAVDEEP KAUR-13042
ROMAN TOWN
In italy the earliest towns grew with little or no planning, and many of the Italian
towns and cities, including Rome itself, were also unplanned and grew without
restriction
Especially where the ground was uneven, their streets had no clear pattern and
were often very narrow, lined by tall buildings, with scalae (flights of steps) on the
slopes.
The foundation ceremony of new roman towns originated in Etruscan times
Greek & Etruscan town plans were influential in evolution of roman town plans.
This type of town plan influenced the development of roman town planning, which
used a similar grid pattern of streets but had two major streets intersecting at right
angles to provide a crossroads as a focal point in the town center.
The defensive circuit of the fortress marked the
edges of the new town
A new forum was laid out to one side of the central
axis of the town and its basilica was constructed on
top of the remains of the legionary bathhouse.
The towns public baths were placed on the sloping
ground.
On the surrounding insulae (islands of land) timber
buildings grew up, some of which were evidently
shops.
Outside the fortress defences were some of the Plan of the Rome c.
industries set up to supply the fortress continued into AD 75-150
the early civil period
By the late 2nd century the town had
grown beyond the area of the old fortress
Around the year ad 180 a considerably
larger defensive circuit was laid out,
following the natural defences of the site
and therefore irregular in plan.
Within this area stone buildings replaced
the older timber ones
Some of the streets were extended or
changed to serve this larger area, but it is
far from certain that a regular grid of
streets covered the entire walled area.
Plan of the Romec.
AD 150-400
VIEW OF ROMAN TOWN IN THE EARLY 4TH CENTURY
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF A ROMAN TOWN
Roman colonial or camp plans were
especially developed for the millitary
engineers.
Such plans had necessarily to be simple to
set out & the building blocks easy to measure.
In this case the grid iron plan proved to be
successful.
The roman displayed crude symmetry &
artistic rigidity in practise of levelling a hill to
make the site confirm to the plan.
Roman planning was like the chess board
system having the principal streets rounding
across the length & breadth of town & the
middle ones slightly shifted.
THE URBAN PLAN
The typical Roman city had more public places and a more
obviously public character than other cities.
The Forum was the epicenter of intense religious, economic
political and social activity
The urban layout of Pompeii and Herculaneum reflect , not
only its historical development but the central role played by
the Forum and the towns relationship with the hinterland
ELEMENTS OF STREETSCAPES
Streetscapes
represent the VIA DELL’ ABBONDANZA
interrelationship
between buildings, Elevated
landscape and open sidewalks Crosswalks
spaces in the street
scene.
Elements of
streetscape are Street
Street curve
sidewalks, benches, width
fountains, street
paving, crosswalks ,
public art and Street Street ruts
plantings. paving
DRAINAGE
On either side of the principal streets there were raised
pavements or sidewalks
As the streets contained running water and garbage, large
stepping stones were placed to enable pedestrians to cross.
Ancient wagons were usually high enough to clear the stones.
Stepping stones were made from volcanic tufa Since they
were intended to make the pedestrian's life easier, they tell
something about the expected or customary flow of traffic
and perhaps reveal the extent or status of that traffic
STREET FOUNTAINS
• At many of the street intersection
, public fountains, with sculptured
headstones over rectangular
stone troughs, provided water for
the inhabitants. These were fed
by lead pipes running beneath the
sidewalks from two huge cisterns,
one at the Vesuvius Gate( high up
in the town) and the other near
the Forum Baths. The water to
these cisterns was via an
aquaduct which fed Neopolis and
MisenumSo far 42 public
fountains have been excavated at
Pompeii and 3 at Herculaneum
STANDPIPES
A high vertical pipe or reservoir that is used to secure a uniform
pressure in a water-supply system
SCULPTURED HEAD, AND POTRUDING PIPE.
PLANTING IN POMPEII
The Temple of Venus at
Pompeii
The fact that much of the courtyard at the temple of Venus appears
to have been paved certainly would not be a hindrance to the
planting of vegetation. A number of later public squares and
courtyards associated with temples in Rome were paved, but they
had cuttings or spaces left in the paving to accommodate trees,
bushes, planting beds and water features.
Excavation in the north-west part of the courtyard, however, shows
that at least along the tufa water channel in front of the northern
colonnade there was no paving. Instead, plantings were inserted
here. Evidence for a row of such plantings, perhaps myrtle bushes
sacred to Venus, are the complete and fragmentary terracotta
planting pots inserted into pits, the root cavities of bushes or small
trees, and the voids left by wooden stakes to prop up whatever was
growing in this planting bed . It is not known at the present time
where the boundary between the mortar-paved area and the
planting bed lay.
HOUSES: INSULAE
There are urban houses
In order to take advantage from the
room in cities, buildings up to four
floors were constructed.
The ground floor was for shops -
tabernae- and the others for
apartments of different sizes.
Every room was communicated
through a central communitarian
patio decorated with flowers or
gardens.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A ROMAN CITY
Based on the Grid System
Central “Forum” for markets
and political gathering, and
encircled by a defensive wall
The typical Roman city of the
later Republic and empire had
a rectangular plan and
resembled a Roman military
camp with two main streets—
the cardo (north-south) and
the decumanus (east-west)—a
grid of smaller streets dividing
the town into blocks, and a
wall circuit with gates.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A ROMAN CITY
Older cities, such as Rome itself, founded before the adoption of
regularized city planning, could, however, consist of a maze of
crooked streets. The focal point of the city was its forum, usually
situated at the center of the city at the intersection of the cardo
and the decumanus.
In Ancient Roman towns and cities streets were narrow and
space was limited so houses were usually small.
They tried to make a limit to how high a building could be, and
how much space there was between buildings. Roofs had to be
flat and go between buildings to help when fire fighting.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A ROMAN
CITY
Towns in Rome were made up of streets and
blocks - called insulae - which contained
houses, shops, workshops and bars.
Bath houses were another type of building
important to the life of town dwellers.
Most Roman towns were smaller than modern
cities, with populations ranging between a few
thousand people to perhaps 30,000. Only
great trading cities and capitals of the Empire
were bigger than this. Rome was home to a
million or more.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A ROMAN CITY
At the centre of the town there was usually a forum,
or market place, where people went to conduct
business and gossip. Next to the forum was the
basilica or town hall, dedicated to the old Roman
Gods. Other temples around the town were
dedicated to a variety of Gods.
By the time of Augustus, Rome had grown from a
tiny settlement on the Tiber River to a metropolis at
the center of an expanding empire. Under the
republic Rome became the political capital of the
Mediterranean and a symbol of Roman power and
wealth.
PATTERN OF STREETS
The interior of the town was divided by
streets into a chess-board pattern of small
square house-blocks; from north to south
Bordered by everything important:
temples, offices, jails, butcher shops
Public processions and ceremonies took
place there
For a mainly pedestrian population, the
surrounding colonnade was a very
important urban design feature
Main forum in Rome
senate
public records chambers
temples law courts
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology
forum
The Forum
was their
version of the
agora
(this one is in
Pompeii, a city
preserved in volcanic
ash of Mt. Vesuvius
from the 1st century
BC)
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology
PLANNING FACTORS
Modern Rome has been shaped by its past dating back centuries. Planning
factors were decided long ago, beginning with Rome’s establishment near the
Tiber River and Alban Hills around 753 BC. This site offered many benefits as
the river was a natural border, it flowed through the city offering water,
transport, and sewage disposal, and the hills gave a safe defensive
position. The site was also located on an intersection between two principal
roads leading to the sea coming from Sabinum in the Northeast and Etruria in
the Northwest.
The Ancient Romans used a specific scheme for city planning that centered
around military defense and civil convenience.
The basic city plan consisted of a central forum with city services, surrounded
by a compact grid of streets and wrapped in a wall for defense. The wall was
also used to mark the city limits and was covered by a Portcullis, or fortified
gate at the front of the city.
The collapse of Roman civilization saw the end of
Roman urban planning. The Ancient Roman city
planning style is still very clear in Modern Rome
and it has influenced many towns across Europe
and the world.
They would lay out the streets at right angles, in
the form of a square grid. All roads were equal in
width and length, except for two diagonal ones
that intersected in the middle to form the center of
the grid.
Each square marked by four roads was called an
insula, the Roman equivalent of a modern city
block. Each main road held a gateway with
watchtowers.
VIEW OF ROMAN TOWN IN THE EARLY 4TH CENTURY
• Followed the classical layout of
Greek towns.
• Narrow, Straight streets
dividing the town into blocks
(insulae).
• Less Traffic on the Roads.
• Better drainage and Sewarage
systems
BUILDING MATERIALS AND TOOLS
The Romans used many materials to create everything from masonry
pastes to walls and flooring.
These are a few of the materials used:
Chalk •Wood
Sand •Terracotta
Pozzolanic concrete •Ceramics
•Tin
Broken pottery •Iron
Pumice stone
Lime
Sandstone
Marble
Granite
FLOORS AND ROOFS
In ancient Rome floors were normally
constructed out of wooden structures
and boards.
The floor boards were laid over cross
beams that rested on supports from
the surrounding walls.
For extra comfort wooden floors were
often covered in straw and then
covered over in mortar. When this is
done the floors can even be tiled.
Roofs were made out of wooden
trusses supported by the walls and
covered in tiles.
CONSTRUCTING WALLS
In ancient Rome there were a series of
techniques that could be used to create
walls.
Opus reticulatum- a form of brickwork that
consists of diamond shaped tufa blocks
and applied with mortar.
Opus incertum- constructing technique
that uses irregular shaped uncut rocks that
are applied with mortar.
Opus mixtum- application of diamond
shaped tufa blocks and bricks that are
applied with mortar.
Material combinations in walls:
Columns
The column was very popular in ancient Roman
architecture.
It was mostly used for structural and at times
decorative manners.
Columns were often constructed in sections and then
stack on top of each other.
The basic column was made out of wood or stone and
mortar, while more decorative ones were hand
carved.
http://discoveryouritaly.com
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content/blogs.dir/1/files/ess
ence-of-italy/roman-
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Arch
The arch was said to be invented by
the Romans, however the arch has
been around since prehistoric times.
Modified by the Romans, the arch
during this times could support large
amounts of weight.
The arch was used to provide extra
structure for a building and was
constructed out of brick, stone, or
concrete.
Thermae of Caracalla
Constructed between 212-216 AD.
Public bath house that later added a public
library to its complex.
Covered approximately 33 acres; 750 feet
long, 380 feet wide, 125 feet in height.
Capable of holding 1,600 people.
The Thermae of Caracalla was destroyed
during the Gothic war demolishing the
hydraulic installations, but the remains are a
very popular tourist attraction today.
THE IMAGE OF THE CITY:
Based on of individuals images, lynch drives five
key physical elements of the city :
1. Paths
2. Edges
3. Nodes
4. Districts
5. Landmarks
PATH
VIA DELL’ ABBONDANZA
APPIAN WAY
APPIAN WAY
An expanding network of
roads helped to link Rome's
distant territories. One of the
most important paved military
roads was the Appian Way,
commissioned by the Roman
official Appius Claudius
Caecus. It became the major
route from Rome to Greece.
VIAE
The Romans became adept at constructing
roads, which they called viae. They were
intended for carrying material from one
location to another. It was permitted to
walk or pass and drive cattle, vehicles, or
traffic of any description along the path.
The viae differed from the many other
smaller or rougher roads, bridle-paths,
drifts, and tracks. To make the roads the
Romans used stones, broken stones mixed
with cement and sand, cement mixed with
broken tiles, curving stones - so the water
could drain, and on the top they used
tightly packed paving stones.
VAIE
The Roman road networks were important both in maintaining the stability of
the empire and for its expansion. The legions made good time on them, and
some are still used millennia later. In later antiquity, these roads played an
important part in Roman military reverses by offering avenues of invasion to
the barbarians.
Streets varied in width, reflecting the relative volume
of pedestrian and wheeled traffic
OTHER PATHS
Other famous roads in Italy were the
Via Flaminia which went from Rome
to Fanum (Fano), the Via Aemilia
from Placentia to Augusta Praetoria
(Aosta), the Via Postumia
from Aquileia to Genua (Genoa), the
Via Popillia from Ariminum (Rimini)
to Padova in the north and from
Capua to Rheghium (Reggio
Calabria) in the south, and many
more besides, all with extensions
made over time.
PAVING IN POMPEII
The center of the road is raised to allow
water to run off into the gutters. The small
white stones, ingeniously inserted randomly
between the large stones, allowed people
and animals to see the road after dark.
Sidewalks, provided on each side of the road
for pedestrians, also often contained some
white tiles or small white stones to aid
nighttime visibility.
The closer one moves to the Forum, the
more frequent the white stones.
Note the shape and size of the paving stones.
The stones were particularly well fitted
together, with gaps less than 3mm.
ROAD DESIGN & MATERIALS
Major roads were around a standard 4.2 m wide, which
was enough space for two wheeled-vehicles to pass each
other. Roads were finished with a gravel surface
sometimes mixed with lime or, for more prestigious
sections such as near towns, with dressed stone blocks of
volcanic tuff, cobbles, or paving stones of basalt (silice) or
limestone. First a trench was dug and a foundation
(rudus) was laid using rough gravel, crushed brick, clay
materials or even wooden piles in marshy areas, and set
between curb stones. On top of this a layer of finer gravel
was added (nucleus) and the road was then surfaced with
blocks or slabs (summum dorsum). Mountain roads might
also have ridges running across the surface to give
people and animals better traction and have ruts cut into
the stone to guide wheeled vehicles.
SCALAE
A type of path where a FLIGHT OF STEPS ON SLOPING GROUND is
constructed.
EDGES
COLLONADE
ARCHED
ASHLAR WALLS
COLLANADE
COLLANADES
They define edges
by using collanades.
WALLS OF ASHLAR
ARCADE
COLLANADE
NODES
FORUM
PUBLIC BATHS
BASILICA
CIRCUS
AMPHITHEATRE
THEATRE
THE FORUM:
•THE FOCAL POINT OF THE CITY
WAS ITS FORUM.
•AN OPEN AREA BORDERED BY
COLONNADES WITH SHOPS.
• FUNCTIONED AS THE CHIEF
MEETING PLACE OF THE TOWN.
USUALLY SITUATED IN THE
CENTRE OF THE CITY AT THE
INTERSECTION OF THE CARDO
AND THE DECUMANUS.
THE BASILICA:
•A roofed hall with a wide central
area—the nave—flanked by side
aisles, and it often had two or more
storeys.
• In roman times business
transactions and legal proceedings
took place in the basilica, but the
building type was adapted in christian
times as the standard form of western
church.
•The first basilicas were erected in the
early 2nd century bc in rome's own
forum, but the earliest well-preserved
example of a basilica (c. 120 bc) is
found at pompeii. Pompeii, basilica
CIVIL BUILDINGS: BATHS
The public bath occupied an important place in social life of
romans.
Some of the houses were equipped with bathing facilities.
Construction was of stone, brick, wood & window glass.
There were spaces for public life
They consisted of different
rooms:
Changing rooms
Different temperature
rooms:
Frigidarium (cold) Swimming pool
Gymnasium
Tepidarium (warm) Library
Caldarium (hot)
Spectacles: Theatre
It is similar to the Greek but it
is not located in a mountain
but it is completely built
It has a semicircular scenery
The doors to facilitate
peoples’ movement are
called vomitoria
It does not have the orchestra
because in Roman plays was
not a chorus
The rest of the parts are
similar to those of the Greek
theatre
AMPHITHEATER SPECTACLES
Spectacles such as gladiatorial combats and exotic animal slaughters were
a highlight of social life in ancient Rome. They were prototypically Roman,
not borrowed from Greek examples. The amphitheater also presented
public executions as entertainment. Gladiators may have originated in
Rome as early as the fourth century B.C. As with Roman theatricals, early
gladiator games were held in makeshift structures. The first permanent
amphitheater in Rome was built in 29 B.C. Destroyed by fire in the first
century A.D., it was replaced by the Colosseum, which remains one of the
city's most recognizable landmarks. In 325 A.D., the emperor Constantine
outlawed gladiatorial combat, declaring that it was too bloodthirsty.
Evidence shows, however, that the sport continued for at least another
hundred years.
SPECTACLES: AMPHITHEATRE
It comes from the
fusion of two theatres
It was the place for
spectacles with
animals and fights
(gladiators)
There could be filled
with water for naval
battles.
SPECTACLES: CIRCUS
It was a building for horse races and cuadriga
competitions.
It has the cavea, the area and a central element to turn
around, the spina.
PORTA MARINA
The Porta Marina gate was
originally gate to the sea .
There were two arches one for
pedestrians and the other one
for pack animals.
VESUVIAN GATE
PORTA DE NOLA
• MADE UP OF STONE
• AT THE ENTRANCE OF CITY
• SEMICRCULAR IN SHAPE
LANDMARKS
COLOSSEUM
ROMAN FORUM
CASTEL SANT’ANGELO
TREVI FOUNTAIN
PIAZZA NAVONA
ST JOHN IN THE LATERAN
PANTHEON
ST JOHN IN THE LATERAN
COLOSSEUM
Constructed between 70-82 AD
Amphitheatre used for gladiator
competitions and other public event.
Able to seat at most 87,000 people.
Created by masonry and cut stones.
Made out of travertine stone, mortar,
bricks, and iron clamps.
Contains arches, columns, arcades, and
podiums.
ROMAN FORUM
The role the roman forum
played in the growing trade
and commerce of the city,
including the historic ruins,
arches, churches and pillars
still standing to give you a
real feel of what the city
was like 2,000 years ago.
St Peter’s Basilica is one of the most
famous churches in the world and is the
site of many pilgrimages every year – so
you know it’s a landmark worth visiting.
The beautiful architecture is one of its
most impressive features; with Bramante,
Bernini, Michelangelo and Maderno all
having left their mark on the building,
both inside and out. See the huge dome,
intricate décor, baroque Baldacchino and
huge obelisk in the square.
CASTEL SANT’ANGELO
This famous Rome landmark sits on the
northern bank of the River Tiber
overlooking the city as it has for the
last 2,000 years as its role as a fortress.
Protecting the city, Castel Sant’angelo,
or Hadrian’s Mausoleum, as it’s also
called is the tomb of the former
Emperor and has a rich history and a
wealth of priceless historic artefacts
within its museum.
TREVI FOUNTAIN
Set within the winding cobbled
streets of central Rome, this
huge baroque fountain is
considered one of the best in the
world and has embellished the
streets of Rome since 1726. The
Trevi Fountain’s intricate
sculpture and marble draws in
over 3.5 million tourists a year
thanks to the efforts of Bernini
and Salvi who can take full credit
for this baroque masterpiece.
PIAZZA NAVONA
Piazza Navona is one of the most
famous piazza’s in Rome and has been
a space of commerce and trade since
the 15th century when the local
market was moved there from
Campidoglio. During this time the
square underwent considerable
improvements and a stunning baroque
face lift, to what we still see today. In
the square you can see the baroque
fountain by Bernini, the Obelisk of
Domitian and many other churches
surrounding; as well as Pamphili
Palace around the corner.
PANTHEON
one of the best preserved –
landmark in Rome. The Pantheon
dates back to 118 AD and is
believed the building was
completed by Emperor Hadrian.
Now, it’s still a working church so
whether you’re visiting for prayer
or for pleasure, you most certainly
won’t be disappointed by this
impressive landmark.
The walls, of concrete (opus incertum), with a
layer of tiles every three feet in height ,are 20
feet in thickness, and have eight great recesses,
one of which forms the entrance ; three of the
remaining seven are semicircular exedrae, the
other four being rectangular on plan.
Two columns are placed on the front line of
these recesses, above which are relieving
arches.
The eight piers have niches entered from the
exterior of the building, formed in three heights,
of which the lower are semicircular on plan, and
are 19 feet high to the springing of their
hemispherical heads, the second tier have their
floor on the same level as the cornice over the
inner order, and the third tier are level with and
entered from these cornice of the exterior.
ST JOHN IN THE LATERAN
St John in the Lateran is the official seat
of the Pope and is home to the Scala
Sancta, a site of pilgrimage throughout
the year. The church is also one of the
oldest churches in Western Europe,
dating back to 324 AD, and has been
decorated in a cosmatesque style with a
14th century Gothic Baldacchino. Don’t
miss the stunning cloister, deemed one
of the most beautiful in Rome,
embellished with delicate mosaics and
friezes
