Vasquez, Michael Cydray M.

2018013931
ARC1423 – Sec 5

Formative Assessment no. 6:

1. Describe the architectural character of the period
The Byzantine architecture characterized especially by massive domes with square bases
and rounded arches and spires and extensive use of glass mosaics. Early Byzantine architecture
was built as a continuation of Roman architecture. Stylistic drift, technological advancement, and
political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually emerged which imbued
certain influences from the Near East and used the Greek cross plan in church architecture.
Simplicity in external design and richness in internal treatment. Buildings increased in geometric
complexity, brick and plaster were used in addition to stone in the decoration of important
structures, classical orders were used more freely, Mosaics replaced carved decorations, complex
domes rested upon massive piers and windows filtered light through thin sheets of alabaster to
softly illuminate interiors. One of the great breakthroughs in the history of Western architecture
occurred when Justinian’s architects invented a complex system providing for a smooth
transition from a square plan of the church to a circular dome (or domes) by means of squinches
or pendentives. Byzantine churches were usually built first without ornament, and of plain
masonry; ornamentation was of the applied type, and added years after the structure was
completed and richness of interior decoration, often of mosaic and full of oriental color.

2. What major influences affected the style of the period?

The Byzantine Architecture are influenced by both Greek and Roman Architecture
especially in terms of oriental elements in architecture and its decoration by the use of columns,
arches, vaults, domes over square basis. Byzantine architects were eclectic, at first drawing
heavily on Roman temple features. Their combination of the basilica and symmetrical central-
plan religious structures resulted in the characteristic Byzantine Greek-cross-plan church, with a
square central mass and four arms of equal length. The most distinctive feature was the domed
roof. To allow a dome to rest above a square base, either of two devices was used: the squinch or
the pendentive.

3. Cite one remarkable example of Byzantine architecture that draws out the remarkable
innovations and details that make it one of the most vibrant architectural styles in history.
One of the famous byzantine architecture is the Hagia Sophia, it is a former Orthodox
patriarchal basilica later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its
dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople, except between 1204
and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of
Constantinople of the Western Crusader established Latin Empire. The building was a mosque
from 29 May 1453 until 1934, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1
February 1935. Large dome in center of the structure with four massive pillars arranged in a
square. This was a unique feature to the Hagia Sophia, the dome was the main focus of the
Byzantine Church for the remainder of the empire. The architectural form becomes blurred,
softened, mosaics covered upper parts of the wall, the lower parts are richly patterned marble.
Where there are no marble or mosaic, there are windows, hundreds. The dome sits on a row of
windows. In early morning and late afternoon, light filters through windows so the dome rests on
light. A miniature heaven, unsubstantial quality prevails, symbolic of heaven. Architects hide all
supports from view.