1. ARCHITECTURE FOR CHANGE: A LOOK AT
THE CITIES OF ANCIENT ROME
Rick Martin
Chris Najera

2. URBANISM AND ARCHITECTURE (GIURGOLA, 1962)
 The French word urbanism means "the
general study of the conditions, motivations,
and life needs and development of the city."
 The aim of Urbanism as a discipline is the
architectural synthesis of all those values
which represent the urban aggregate in the
broadest sense of the word.
 Urbanism is an art. It has guided the
formation of civic life for centuries.

3. CITY ARCHITECTURE: BOTH A CAUSE AND
EFFECT OF CHANGE
 “That the representation of the city is of an artistic
order is true today as it never has been. Art has
become the simultaneous introduction of all
problems, the rational, the practical-functional and the
ethical one…Art then is not only generated by the
pure and free poetic imagination but merges in the
social, technical and historical realities of life” –
Giurgola, 1962.
 “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life” –
Wilde, 1889
 “In antiquity…science, myth, and building were
inseparable” – McGrath and Navin, 1992

4. 4
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
 Rome was one of the greatest
powers of the ancient world,
and has also exercised a great
influence upon nearly all modern nations.
 The Roman Empire lasted from 509 BC to AD 330. Early Roman art
reflected its past in Etruscan civilization, but as the empire expanded, a
distinctly Roman art emerged, the art of many different peoples and
classes, from emperors to slaves. The architecture of the Romans was,
from first to last, an art of shaping space around ritual. In other words,
Ancient Roman architecture was regulated by their custom of a system
of rites. Religion/Ritual in ancient was regarded by the Romans as
indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the
various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under
Roman rule.
 Many of our modern government institutions are modeled after the
Roman system, as is much of our public architecture.

5. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: FUNCTIONALISM
 The Romans were able to sustain large cities
because they could provide fresh drinking water and
sewage systems.
 They could move large armies and equipment
because they build roadways.
 They could build large permanent structures to house
government, business, as well as residential.
 Their massive buildings sent a message throughout
the known world that this was a powerful culture and
people. Many of their structures still stand today and
many of their building techniques are still used today.

6. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE
ANCIENT ROME: POPULATION 1,000,000
KEY ELEMENTS TO SUSTAIN POPULATION: FRESH WATER, SEWAGE, FOOD SOURCES,
ROADS, HOUSING, GOVERNMENT, AND MILITARY

7. UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF ROADWAYS FOR COMMERCE, TRANSPORTATION,
TRADE, MILITARY MOVEMENT, AND PUBLIC ACTIVITIES.
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE

8. ROMAN AQUEDUCTS: CARRIED FRESH WATER SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES SUSTAIN
THE CITIES AND LAVISH ESTATES.
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE

9. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: URBANISM
 “Roman architects and planners created the
first coherent western urban system; in doing
so, they formulated certain basic truths of
architecture…Urban studies highlight other
topics effectively—the contextual imperatives
of the varied Roman building typology, for
example, or the humane provision
throughout every municipality of numerous
hydraulic and other amenities” – MacDonald,
1988

10. ANCIENT ROME FORUM: CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS, LAW, TRADE,
PUBLIC MEETINGS, CEREMONIES, GOVERNMENT MEETINGS.
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: URBANISTIC
PERSPECTIVE

11. ROMAN TEMPLES: ERECTED NOT ONLY IN THE FORUM, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND IN THE
COUNTRYSIDE AS WELL; MANY OTHER TYPES ARE KNOWN. ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL IN
LATER TIMES WAS THE TYPE USED FOR THE PANTHEON (AD 118-28),
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: URBANISTIC
PERSPECTIVE

12. COLOSSEUM: CENTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT WITH STAGED EVENTS FOR
GLADIATOR BATTLES, ANIMALS, HUMANS,
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: URBANISTIC
PERSPECTIVE

13. ROMAN BATHS: BECAME A DAILY ACTIVITY FOR THE WEALTHY AND THE AVERAGE
ROMAN CITIZEN
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: URBANISTIC
PERSPECTIVE

14. ARCHITECTURE FOR CHANGE
 The conditions, motivations, functional
requirements, and development of the city—the
urban environment—are represented by the
physical elements of the city.
 City architecture: both creates and is caused by
marco-social change; reflects the paradoxical
nature of aesthetics and functionalism in
architecture.
 Built environment reflect the changing cultural
and social identities of residents (and society at
large)

15. MODERN EXAMPLE: GENTRIFICATION
 Gentrification and urban gentrification denote
the socio-cultural changes in an area resulting
from wealthier people buying housing property
in a less prosperous community.
 Consequent to gentrification, the average
income increases and average family size
decreases in the community, which may result in
the informal economic eviction of the lower-
income residents because of increased rents,
house prices, and property taxes.

16. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
 What is the relationship between city
architecture and the urban environment?
 How does city architecture simultaneously
cause and create macro-social change? Use
Roman architecture as an example.
 How is city architecture used today to create
change (from a social conflict theoretical
perspective)?