The Pantheon and the Baths of Caracalla

Important historical landmarks

Particularly in terms of interior architecture, are the Pantheon and the Baths of Caracalla, including the Basilica. The two structures show significant interior design milestones from the period following 300 CE.

The Pantheon

The Greek term Pantheion, which means “temple of every deity,” is where the name Pantheon comes from. The structure was designed to seem like a Roman temple. The Pantheon was initially constructed by Agrippa almost in 27 BC during the administration of Augustus and is one of the best-preserved architectural structures from the Roman era. The structure was subsequently destroyed by fire during the reign of Domitian and further reconstructed in its present shape during the reign of Hadrian (MacDonald &John, the Pantheon, 127).

The Baths of Caracalla

Presented historical development in the commencement and advancement of the interior design. This research approach attempts to argue out the critical features between the two interior spaces of the buildings and aims at selecting which building contributed massively to modern interior design. It instrumentally discusses which building has more important precedence for interior spaces dating after 300 CE.

Pantheon interior space

Vast inputs in the interior space design of Pantheon are notable in the observation of the internal part of the dome. The interior space of the dome creates a resemblance of the arched vault of the heavens as was initially believed to be. The building’s interior provided the door and the Oculus as the main source of natural light into the building. The Oculus allowed the penetration of natural light through a reverse sundial approach and provided essential cooling and integrated ventilation model for the huge structure. The interior space has sufficient drainage structure under the floor that addresses the raindrops from the oculus.

Picture 1: the oculus as the main source of natural light in Pantheon (MacDonald &John, the Pantheon, 67)

The dome’s interior has box sunken panels known as coffers laid on five rings. The coffers are excellently and evenly spaced, creating a symbolic numerical or geometric, or lunar approach construction model. The coffers are believed to have been adorned with bronze stars, rosettes, or even multiple other decorations. The inclusion of the geometric structure in the form of circles and squares availed a unifying perception of the interior design that has been constantly admired even in this era. The building’s checkerboard floor pattern compares precisely with the concentric circles of square coffers viewed in the dome (MacDonald &John, the Pantheon, 52).

Picture 2: the box-shaped sunken panels in the pantheon ceiling (Brendan, History of Interiors, 62)

Every segment of the interior, commencing from the floor to the ceiling is apportioned into multiple diverse schemes. Consequently, the interior ornamental parts are not linear, and that contributes to the eventual instant viewer orientation in sync with the principal axis of the building despite the notable cylindrical space which is topped by a semicircular dome is hugely ambiguous.

Multiple religious modifications were undertaken on the interior framework of the building. The features of Christianity contributed massively to the inclusion of a new interior outlook of the building. The current highly erected altars and Pope Clement XI who ruled during the period 1700 to 1721 and was planned by Alessandro Specchi included the apses (MacDonald &John, the Pantheon, 92). There were myriads of other inclusions, paintings, and other things that were introduced later due to Christian religion influence.

The interior space of the Baths of Caracalla

The floor of the building was designed from marble, and the Baths included a central cold room that measured 58 by 24 m and around three groin vaults that measured 32.9 m high (Brendan, History of Interiors, 58). The second segment was a double pool having medium temperature and lastly a hot room measuring 35 m in diameter. The cold room located at the center had a tall wall backed by eight colossal columns constructed from Egyptian granite, while the walls and floor were designed from marble.

Picture 3: Tall, magnificent pillars in Baths of Caracalla (Brendan, History of Interiors, 58)

The interior space was even brightened with the magnificent design of the large open-air swimming pools. Large amounts of marble were heavily applied. There were other inclusions such as unique sculpture, wonderful mosaics, splendid frescoes, and other ornaments that decorated the interior. Only eight masonry pillars held the huge weight of the dome. There were glass windows between the rooms that allowed heat into the room. The seven swimming pools were measuring 9.5 m by 5 m with a depth of 1 m, and later one was replaced by a small apse while being restored by Constantine.

Picture 4: the marble floor of Baths of Caracalla (Brendan, History of Interiors, 59)

Baths of Caracalla introduced an excellent basilica kind of interior design whose style has motivated several interior designs of building in the Renaissance age and current. In the Renaissance period, Donato Bramante and Andrea Palladio applied the model in the erection of huge magnificent buildings. In recent past Pennsylvania Station constructed in 1910 in New York City and was destroyed 1964 is a true reflection of the Baths of Caracalla design. Bangladesh’s National Assembly Building built in Dhaka also borrowed heavily from this design.

After review of the two great structures regarding their interior space design, it is simpler to distinctively acknowledge the difference in the decoration of their internal spaces. Coffer ceiling used in designing pantheon greatly makes it easily recognizable. In equal manner, unique sculptures, delightful mosaics, impressive frescoes, and other ornaments that decorated the interior have continuously been used in the current era as it was used back 300 CE Baths of Caracalla. According to me, the interior design of Baths of Caracalla presents the most precedent for interior spaces dating after 300 CE. It has been heavily applied in many designs of spaces for religious structures, Western and even Non-Western cultural buildings. Tall magnificent pillars have been applied in multiple national buildings globally (Brendan, History of Interiors, 59).

Question three

Introduction

I have chosen Roman Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, and Great Mosque of Córdoba as three of my examples which present an impeccable visible constitution of a sequence of development. The structures Roman Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, and Great Mosque of Córdoba appear to sequentially develop from each in the subsequent years of design, planning, construction, and completion. The Pantheon was completed around 126 AD, Hagia Sophia was completed on December 27, 537 AD, while the Great Mosque of Córdoba was finalized in 987. Every new design appeared to improve on the failures or limitations of the earlier design. The three structures present functional advancement of the dome in buildings. Essential functional attributes development and differences emanate from the design of the dome and adaptability to new changes (Mills, the Origin of the Mosque of Cordoba, 78).

The Roman Pantheon

The Roman Pantheon symbolizes the peak of the Roman Architectural Revolution otherwise regarded as the Concrete Revolution. The structure was the principal dome worldwide, and it held that status for over a millennium, and it is still the largest unreinforced solid concrete dome currently. The Roman Pantheon represents the Roman Architectural Revolution massive application of dome designs approach as notable from the design forms such as the arch, vault, and dome designs. The domes were innovated and designed to avail multiple structures in the past society such as public structures, military amenities. Such structures also massively included amphitheaters, baths, and temples.

Picture 5: The Roman Pantheon (Brendan, History of Interiors, 7)

The invention of Roman concrete, also called opus caementicium, contributed hugely to the strength and longevity of the Pantheon. The introduction of the concrete eliminated the huge dependence on traditional materials such as stone and bricks in the design of various parts of the dome. The construction of the Pantheon and its subsequent interior design included various geometric concrete shapes in the design of structures. It further improved on the involvement of curvilinear and polygonal forms, as it had been earlier (Lapunzina, Architecture of Spain, 145).

The Roman Pantheon had some distinct unique features such as an oculus at the peak which allowed natural light to penetrate in; however, it also allowed rainfall to penetrate. While light was vital inside the Pantheon, problems of raindrops inside could possibly be looked into. Several dome designs afterward avoided oculus, which allowed raindrops to enter and introduced a new that could only allow natural light (Mills, the Origin of the Mosque of Cordoba, 98).

The Roman Pantheon had an excellent application of arched vaults and also employed futuristic sunken panels that formed five rings of 28. In the subsequent design, such lovable approaches to the design of coffers and beautifully decorated ceilings. The building resembled great inputs in numerical, geometrical, and lunar shapes in interior design. Ornamental designs such as the inclusion of the coffers that contained bronze stars, beautiful rosettes, and many other decorations. The Pantheon’s interior design decoration employed huge applications of circles and squares shapes that created a unified theme, which has been adopted by multiple subsequent structures. The building also included the use of a checkerboard floor configuration that is similar to the concentric circles that were derived by square-shaped coffers on the roof of the dome.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 AD, which is around 411 years after the Roman Pantheon. The design of the structures resembles new modifications from the Roman Pantheon. Hagia Sophia has a comparatively smaller dome as compared to the Pantheon with windows to allow natural light inside the mosque. The design removed the open oculus as seen on the Pantheon and replaced it with windows which prevented raindrops but allowed light. Both the Roman Pantheon and Hagia Sophia had heavy interior ornaments and decorations.

Picture 6: Hagia Sophia (Brendan, History of Interiors, 18)

Hagia Sophia adopted the use of geometric shapes in the design of the windows and arcs as earlier employed in the Pantheon. Hagia Sophia’s interior had additional improvement and additions to the decorations, such as the presence of the Loge of the Empress whose columns were designed from green Thessalian stone. Hagia Sophia also had a wishing column and marble Doors. In both buildings, impacts of religion hugely contributed to the design of the interior contents to resemble their religious beliefs (Lapunzina, Architecture of Spain, 67).

Great Mosque of Córdoba

The groundbreaking of the Great Mosque of Córdoba was conducted on 784 and completed later in 987. The design of the Great Mosque of Córdoba employed improved forms of Roman columns as notable in both the Roman Pantheon and Hagia Sophia structures. The mosque was embellished using ivory, gold, silver, copper, and many other decorations making it more beautiful. It also employed wonderful mosaics and azulejos, which were excellently planned. The building’s panels were created from nicely scented woods that were fixed firmly using nails of gold, and they included red marble pillars.

Picture 7: The ceiling of the Great Mosque of Córdoba Spain (Brendan, History of Interiors, 25)

The mosque introduced double arches in the building sector, thus allowing for the erection of higher-placed ceilings, which were not possible in comparatively low pillars. The mosque’s double arches included a lowly placed horseshoe arch. The building also incorporated attractive interchanging red and white voussoirs of the arches, which were notable in other domes. The building has an edifice that has a luxuriously gilded prayer niche called mihrab. As opposed to both the Roman Pantheon and Hagia Sophia, the mosque had a small polygon-based pyramid roof as opposed to domes that are notable in the Pantheon and Hagia Sophia.

Work cited

Brendan D. Moran. History of Interiors, Pratt Institute Fall 2017. HD 364 lecture 1-3 &4-5

MacDonald, William L, and John A. Pinto. The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print.

Mills, Marvin H. The Origin of the Mosque of Cordoba: Secrets of Andalusia. New York: iUniverse, 2006. Print.

Lapunzina, Alejandro. Architecture of Spain. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005. Print.