Renaissance 

Architecture

Presented by:
Shobhit banerjee
 INTRODUCTION
• Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the
period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in
different regions of Europe, in which there was a
conscious revival and development of certain elements
of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material
culture. Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed 
Gothic architecture and was succeeded by 
Baroque architecture.
• Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as
one of its innovators, the Renaissance style quickly
spread to other Italian cities and then to France,
Germany, England, Russia and elsewhere.
 HISTORY
• The word "Renaissance" derived from the term "la
rinascita" ("rebirth") which first appeared in Giorgio Vasari's 
Vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori Italiani (The
Lives of the Artists, 1550–68).
• Although the term Renaissance was used first by the French
historian Jules Michelet, it was given its more lasting
definition from the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, whose
book, Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien 1860,[1] was
influential in the development of the modern interpretation of
the Italian Renaissance. The folio of measured
drawings Édifices de Rome moderne; ou, Recueil des palais,
maisons, églises, couvents et autres monuments, first
published in 1840 by Paul Letarouilly, also played an
important part in the revival of interest in this period.[2] The
Renaissance style was recognized by contemporaries in the
term "all'antica", or "in the ancient manner" (of the Romans).
 FEATURES
• The Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, 
proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as they
are demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity
 and in particular ancient Roman architecture, of which
many examples remained. Orderly arrangements of
columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of
semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and 
aedicules replaced the more complex proportional
systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.
 CHARACTERSTICS
• Plan
• Façade
• Columns and Pilasters
• Arches
• Vaults
• Domes
• Ceilings
• Doors
• Windows
• Walls
• Details
 PLAN
• The plans of Renaissance
buildings have a square,
symmetrical appearance in
which proportions are usually
based on a module. Within a
church the module is often the
width of an aisle. The need to
integrate the design of the plan
with the façade was introduced
as an issue in the work of 
Filippo Brunelleschi, but he was
never able to carry this aspect
of his work into fruition. The
first building to demonstrate
this was St. Andrea in Mantua
byAlberti. The development of
the plan in secular architecture
was to take place in the 16th
century and culminated with the
work of Palladio.
 Façade
• Façades are symmetrical around their
vertical axis. Church façades are
generally surmounted by a pediment
and organized by a system of
pilasters, arches and entablatures.
The columns and windows show a
progression towards the center. One
of the first true Renaissance façades
was the Cathedral of Pienza (1459–62),
which has been attributed to the
Florentine architect Bernardo
Gambarelli (known as Rossellino) with
Alberti perhaps having some
responsibility in its design as well.
• Domestic buildings are often
surmounted by a cornice. There is a
regular repetition of openings on each
floor, and the centrally placed door is
marked by a feature such as a
balcony, or rusticated surround. An
early and much copied prototype was
the façade for the Palazzo Rucellai
 (1446 and 1451) in Florence with its
three registers of pilasters
 Columns and Pilasters

• The Roman orders of columns

are used:- Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian and Composite. The
orders can either be structural,
supporting an arcade or
architrave, or purely decorative,
set against a wall in the form of
pilasters. During the
Renaissance, architects aimed
to use columns, pilasters, and
entablatures as an integrated
system. One of the first
buildings to use pilasters as an
integrated system was in the 
Old Sacristy (1421–1440) by
Brunelleschi.
 Arches

• Arches are semi-circular or

(in the Mannerist style)
segmental. Arches are often
used in arcades, supported
on piers or columns with
capitals. There may be a
section of entablature
between the capital and the
springing of the arch. Alberti
was one of the first to use
the arch on a monumental
scale at the St. Andrea in
Mantua.
 VAULTS
• Vaults do not have ribs.
They are semi-circular or
segmental and on a square
plan, unlike the Gothic vault
which is frequently
rectangular. Thebarrel vault,
is returned to architectural
vocabulary as at the 
St. Andrea in Mantua.
 DOMES
• The dome is used frequently,
both as a very large structural
feature that is visible from the
exterior, and also as a means of
roofing smaller spaces where
they are only visible internally.
Domes had been used only
rarely in the Middle Ages, but
after the success of the dome in
Brunelleschi’s design for the
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
 and its use in Bramante’s plan
for St. Peter's Basilica (1506) in
Rome, the dome became an
indispensable element in
church architecture and later
even for secular architecture,
such as Palladio's Villa Rotonda
.
 CEILINGS
• Roofs are fitted with flat or
coffered ceilings. They are
not left open as in Medieval
architecture. They are
frequently painted or
decorated.
 DOORS
• Doors usually have square
lintels. They may be set
within an arch or
surmounted by a triangular
or segmental pediment.
Openings that do not have
doors are usually arched
and frequently have a large
or decorative keystone.
 WINDOWS
• Windows may be paired and set
within a semi-circular arch. They
may have square lintels and
triangular or segmental pediments,
which are often used alternately.
Emblematic in this respect is the 
Palazzo Farnese in Rome, begun in
1517.

• Courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi,

Florence
• In the Mannerist period the
“Palladian” arch was employed,
using a motif of a high semi-circular
topped opening flanked with two
lower square-topped openings.
Windows are used to bring light into
the building and in domestic
architecture, to give views. Stained
glass, although sometimes present,
is not a feature.
 WALLS
• External walls are generally
of highly-finished ashlar
 masonry, laid in straight
courses. The corners of
buildings are often
emphasised by rusticated 
quoins. Basements and
ground floors were often
rusticated, as modeled on
the Palazzo Medici
Riccardi (1444–1460) in
Florence. Internal walls are
smoothly plastered and
surfaced with white-chalk
paint. For more formal
spaces, internal surfaces are
decorated with frescoes.
 DETAILS
• Courses, mouldings and all decorative details are carved
with great precision. Studying and mastering the details
of the ancient Romans was one of the important aspects
of Renaissance theory. The different orders each
required different sets of details. Some architects were
stricter in their use of classical details than others, but
there was also a good deal of innovation in solving
problems, especially at corners. Moldings stand out
around doors and windows rather than being recessed,
as in Gothic Architecture. Sculptured figures may be set
in niches or placed on plinths. They are not integral to
the building as in Medieval architecture.
 BUILDINGS BASED ON
Renaissance  ARCHITECTURE
 The Tem pietto
• The Tem pietto (1502) was
designed by Donato
Bramante, one of the
greatest architects of the
Italian Renaissance. The
building, with a domed
rotunda and surrounded by
columns, was
commissioned by Ferdinand
and Isabella of Spain to
commemorate St. Peter's
crucifixion. It is located in
Rome, in a convent called
San Pietro in Montorio.
 Temple of Vesta
• Temple of Vesta - rebuilt under Septimus
Severus - ca. 205 A.D. 
(Partially reconstructed)
Vesta is the Roman goddess of the
hearth fire. Vesta is one of the most
ancient of the Roman deities, and her
cult goes back to the 7th century BCE.
Tradition says that the cult was instituted
by Numa Pompilius.
Vesta only had one temple in Rome, the
circular Temple of Vesta in the Forum
Romanum. Inside the round temple burnt
the eternal fire, the symbolic hearth of
Rome and all the Roman people. If the
fire was extinguished it would have
grave consequences for the Romans.
Also inside the temple, to which only the
six vestal virgins had access, were kept
the objects that Aeneas was said to have
brought with him on his flight from Troy.
This included the Palladius (an ancient
wooden statue of Minerva), and the
images of the Penates. (family gods)
 Graça Church
• As in Spain, the adoption of the
Renaissance style in Portugal
was gradual. The so-
called Manueline style (circa
1490-1535) married
Renaissance elements to
Gothic structures with the
superficial application of
exuberant ornament similar to
the Isabelline Gothic of Spain.
Examples of Manueline include
the Belém Tower, a defensive
building of Gothic form
decorated with Renaissance-
style loggias, and
the Jerónimos Monastery, with
Renaissance ornaments
decorating portals, columns
and cloisters.
 THE SUPREME COURT
• Supreme Court of India
functioned from the
Parliament House till it
moved to the present
building. It has a 27.6
metre high dome and a
spacious colonnaded
verandah.
 RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
• The Viceroys Court,
which frames the main
entrance to the house,
has lateral entrances on
the axis of the Jaipur
Column. Here the levels
were reduced artificially
and cascades of steps
are flanked by huge
sandstone elephants
and ranks of imperial
lions modelled by the
sculptor C.S. Jagger. 
 SHIPRA MALL
• The building is made
according to
Renaissance style, for
example the pillars
made in the shipra mall
are based on
renaissance and also
the column have the
look of Renaissance
architecture.