HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY – MAIN CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF ENGINEEERING & ARCHITECTURE
BREAKTHROUGH IN CIVILIZATION
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Is a record of man’s effort to build beautifully. It traces the origin, the growth and decline of architectural styles which
have prevailed lands and ages.
HISTORIC STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE
The particular method, the characteristics, manner of design which prevails at a certain place and time.
INFLUENCING FACTORS
The particular design of a building, from planning to walling, columns, openings as in doors and windows, roofing,
mouldings and ornaments, all of these designs are influenced by the following factors:
a. Geographical
b. Geological
c. Climatic
d. Religion
e. Historical
f. Social and Political
Geographical – pinpoints the location of a particular country. It describes whether it is near the sea, an island, on the
mountains, deserts and others.
House on stilts
Geological – describes the materials found in the locality. The character and composition of the earth and contour of
the ground. Materials like stones, trees, reeds, bamboo, clay for bricks, marble, metals, all influence the character of the
buildings.
Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali
World’s largest mosque made of mud
Climatic – the prevailing weather in the country. If there is much sunshine or little rain, if there are winters with much
snow, these affect the character like for example the roofing of a country with snow should be steep to ward
off snow.
“Vahay” or Stone Houses in Batanes, Philippines
Made of limestone and coral stones
Religion – this is the emotional temperament and spiritual tendencies of the people in a particular country. If they are
Christians, they build churches with altars. Muslims build mosques.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey by Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles
Historical – the background of the people as a whole. Were there wars in the past? If so, buildings would have been
ruined and new structures built.
Well-preserved Spanish Colonial Houses in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Social and Political – how the people lived and governed. Whether they are hostile, friendly, ruled by a king or under
democratic rule.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ARCHITECTURE
Prehistoric Architecture
Pre-history – refers to the time period before people
could write, the time before written records.
• Objects are the documents of record (tools, art)
• Challenge is to “read” nonverbal info found in objects.
• Man often used existing caves for shelter
• Early men developed tools made of stone, wood and
bone.
• Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) – c40,000 – 8,000 B.C.
• Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) – c8,000 – 7,000 B.C.
• Neolithic (New Stone Age) – c7,000 – 2,300 B.C.
DOLMEN
LATIN TERMS
• PALEO – old
• MESO – middle / between
• NEO – new
• LITH – stone
• MEGA – large or great
Prehistoric men were hunters and food gatherers. They
constructed temporary shelters from perishable
materials.
EXAMPLES OF PRE-HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
MENHIR
A large single upright stone, erected
by prehistoric people and thought to
have been used for astronomical
observations, found in the British
Isles, Northern France. They are
widely distributed across Europe,
Asia, and Africa.
Sometimes arranged in parallel rows,
reaching miles and consisting of
thousands of tones
Menhir (French: men, “stone” & hir, “long”)
Menhir (Ireland)
EXAMPLES OF PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
DOLMEN
A prehistoric structure thought to
have been used as a tomb that
consists of large horizontal slab of
stone supported by two or more
vertical slabs
Dolmen (Ireland)
EXAMPLES OF PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
Stonehenge (Wiltshire, England)
CROMLECH
A group of prehistoric standing
stones arranged in a circle.
An ancient stone burial chamber
Stonehenge (Wiltshire, England)
•Most spectacular and imposing of
monolithic monuments
• Outer ring, inner ring, innermost
horseshoe-shaped ring with open end facing
east
• Largest stones weigh 45 to 50 tons, came
from Wales 200 km away
• Stones transported by sea or river then
hauled on land with sledges and rollers by
hundreds of people, raised upright into pits,
capped with lintels
Genuine architecture - it defines exterior
space
• A solar observatory - designed to mark the
sun's path during sunrise on Midsummer Day
An ancient stone burial chamber
Sarsen Stone – a large block of sedimentary rock
Trilithons - a prehistoric structure consisting of two
large vertical stones supporting a horizontal stone laid
on top of them
Bluestone - a blue-grey sandstone
Sandstone - a sedimentary rock made up of particles
of sand
How did they do it?
BRUTE STRENGTH
Some of the stones used in building Stonehenge were apparently hauled
laboriously across Salisbury Plain on sledges and rollers by several
hundred people.
BRUTE STRENGTH
Sarsen stones from the Marlborough Downs were lowered into deep pits
with one sloping side. Primitive hauling apparatus then raised them
upward.
EXAMPLES OF PRE-HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
TUMULUS
A mound of earth and stones raised
over a grave or graves. Tumuli also
are known as barrows, burial
mounds, and may be found
throughout much of the world.
The Royal Mounds of Gamla Uppsala in Sweden
Tumulus
EXAMPLES OF PRIMITIVE DWELLINGS
MUDHIF
A mudhīf is a traditional reed
house made by the Madan people
(also known as Marsh Arabs) in the
swamps of southern Iraq. In the
traditional Madan way of living,
houses are constructed from reeds
harvested from the marshes where
they live. A mudhif is a large
communal house, paid for and
maintained by a local sheik, for use
Arab fisher-women with a haul of
by guests or as a gathering place
reeds with which they make all
for weddings, funerals, etc.
sorts of stuff, including their huts
and mudhifs.
Lascaux Cave, France
Paintings made by the prehistoric cave dwellers
(Most extensively decorated cave)
Ireland Turkey
Beehive Hut
Temporary shelters made by the nomadic people
Tipi / Tepee (North America)
Conical tens made with animal skin upon wooden poles
Stilt House (Thailand)
Round House (Israel)
Trullo (Italy)
Dry stone hut with conical roofs
Starting with walls and door Starting to place roof poles Roof poles in place
Placing the thin inner cover on the roof Adding skin cover Adding the outer cover
Yurt (Mongolia)
Portable, round tent covered with skins used as dwelling by nomads
Wigwam / Wickiup / Wetu
Is a domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native
Americans, and still used for ceremonial purposes.
These structures are formed with a frame of arched
poles, most often wooden, which are covered with
some sort of roofing material (grass, brush, bark, Izba
rushes, mats, reeds, hides or cloth). Is a traditional Russian countryside dwelling.
Traditional, old-style Izba construction involved the use
of simple tools, such as ropes, axes, knives, and spades.