It is difficult to recognize the impact of a geotectonic process, which took place in antiquity, upon contemporary (to the event) monuments. The cause for the reconstruction of the temple of Apollo at Delphi in the 4th ct BC is not... more
It is difficult to recognize the impact of a geotectonic process, which took place in antiquity, upon contemporary (to the event) monuments. The cause for the reconstruction of the temple of Apollo at Delphi in the 4th ct BC is not clarified. However, a careful examination of the archaeological evidence reveals a number of calamities that hit the sanctuary and enables us to identify interventions to monuments at Delphi, which can be associated with the destruction of Achaean towns in 373 BC. We seek to “read” the impact of natural phenomena and, in particular, of the Helike earthquake upon the architecture of Delphi as a whole. In addition to the circumstances of a building’s distortion or collapse, we look for simultaneous damage to more than one edifice, for remedial efforts, reinforcement of structural coherence or prevention measures, which the architects developed having the experience of an earthquake. Tightly related is also the hydraulic network and specifically the conduits running through the temple substructure, supposedly obliterated during the temple reconstruction in the 4th ct BC. Plausibly their obliteration was due to some disruption in the flow of subterranean water that fed the prophetic spring. Geotectonic action could have provoked such a disruption.
Athens’s architecture from the 1830s to the 1950s ranges from Neoclassicism and Eclecticism to Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernism. The post-World War II period brought significant changes to the Athenian built environment. As the rural... more
Athens’s architecture from the 1830s to the 1950s ranges from Neoclassicism and Eclecticism to Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernism. The post-World War II period brought significant changes to the Athenian built environment. As the rural population accumulated in the city center, devastated by the Second World War and the ensuing three-year Civil War, the need for cheap and readily available accommodation emerged. Over a period of two decades, without any organized governmental policy or planning, the majority of existing buildings were demolished and substituted with largely nondescript blocks of flats. The destruction of existing architecture resulted in the dramatic deterioration of the built environment and, eventually, the degradation of quality of life in the city center. Today, an unidentified number of old buildings exist in the city center, the only remains of the pre-war period and culture. Their current conditions vary, from derelict carcasses to restored residences of organizations or individuals. Their present and past life is mapped in the building database www.ktiriothiki.com, whose aim is to engage people and researchers in a discussion on upgrading the current Athenian living space.
Die im 6. Jh. n. Chr. errichtete ehemalige Kirche der Heiligen Sergios und Bakchos, heute Küçük Ayasofya Camii (Kleine Hagia Sophia Moschee) genannt, ist ein Bau des oströmischen Kaisers Justinian (527–568 n. Chr.) und gehört zu den... more
Die im 6. Jh. n. Chr. errichtete ehemalige Kirche der Heiligen Sergios und Bakchos, heute Küçük Ayasofya Camii (Kleine Hagia Sophia Moschee) genannt, ist ein Bau des oströmischen Kaisers Justinian (527–568 n. Chr.) und gehört zu den frühen Beispielen seiner regen Bautätigkeit. Neben der fast zeitgleich errichteten Hagia Sophia zählt der außergewöhnlich gestaltete Zentralbau mit seiner singulären sechzehnteiligen Kuppel zu den architektur- und konstruktionsgeschichtlich spannendsten antiken Denkmälern Istanbuls. Zugleich ist er ein bedeutendes Zeugnis für die ungebrochene Tradition römischen Ingenieurwissens in der Spätantike. In einem am Fachgebiet Klassische Archäologie des Fachbereichs Architektur der TU Darmstadt durchgeführten Projekt konnte auf der Basis einer Laservermessung des Innenraums die komplexe Geometrie des oktogonalen Baus erstmalig untersucht, als kohärent strukturiertes Gesamtsystem erkannt und analysiert werden. Darüber hinaus war es möglich, mit Hilfe der Messdaten die erheblichen Verformungen zu dokumentieren, die den Bau durch Bodenabsenkungen und die zahlreichen Erdbeben in dieser Region über die Jahrhunderte beschädigten. Um die Rekonstruktion der komplizierten geometrischen Entwurfs- und Planungsprozesse anschaulich und nachvollziehbar darzustellen, wurde für die Vermittlung der Projektergebnisse das Medium Film gewählt. Das Projekt sowie die filmische Visualisierung der Forschungsergebnisse wurden von der Gerda Henkel Stiftung gefördert.
At the end of the sixteenth century, Roman construction practices reached the peak of a centuries-old process of technical-operational improvement, which had remained unsurpassed for a long time. Founded on the strategic coordination of... more
At the end of the sixteenth century, Roman construction practices reached the peak of a centuries-old process of technical-operational improvement, which had remained unsurpassed for a long time. Founded on the strategic coordination of qualified workers, this practice made use of very effective methods of procurement and transport of materials, as well as of scaffolding and work machines that allowed the successful contraction of the financial commitment and the direct transfer of a precious operational knowledge in a long course. The Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano, the first workshop of the art of building in Rome, put in place a capillary work of assistance to other construction sites, public and private, reflected both in the supply of materials and equipment, and in the decisive contribution of its highly qualified workers. The Fabbrica embodied an undisputed authority for a long period and controlled all major building interventions conducted up to the unification of Italy, in the city of Rome and in the entire Papal State.
