The Pantheon in Rome

The Pantheon in Rome is the most complete surviving building of ancient Rome. Since the Renaissance the great dome and its huge interior space have made an indelible impression on anyone who saw it and the structure became one of the most influential buildings in history. The dome of the Pantheon, or Rotunda as it is also called, covers a span that was never surpassed by more than a few feet until the use of steel and reinforced concrete much such expanses routine. The scope of the architect's achievement was impressive by Roman standards and remained just as impressive for many centuries. There is some debate over the precise function of the great temple. But the building was clearly the culmination of a new interest in architecture as contained space rather than as external structure. This volumetric approach was to determine the course of Roman architecture for some time. The building has long been one of the few spots in Europe that can give the visitor, to some degree, the opportunity of seeing and experiencing what the ancient Romans did.

Though there is some uncertainty about its original purpose, it is clear that the Pantheon served political and religious goals of the Emperor Hadrian who was responsible for its construction. The symbolic furnishings of the building, which would confirm its uses, disappeared long ago and opinions about the building's specific use are based on informed conjecture rather than on much solid evidence. As a technical achievement

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of the Pantheon's structure showed, the tensile strength the concrete did possess could not be entirely relied upon. Even the tensile strength of modern Portland cement is not reliable enough to allow building without reinforcement in any areas where tension will occur.8 When Mark and Hutchinson allowed their computer generated dome to 'crack' under projected pressure of various kinds, they observed that a pattern of cracks emerged that was very much like those to be found in the actual Pantheon itself. Mark and Hutchinson concluded, therefore, that for "all intents and purposes, Roman pozzolano concrete could not be counted upon to exhibit any tensile strength" and that even rather low tensile stresses, so long as they were distributed over the dome, could cause the building to crack.9 Thus, since, pozzolano is especially susceptible to changes in temperature, for example, the rapid cooling that can be caused by a "'sun shower' wetting the surface on an otherwise hot, sunny day" could induce threatening tensile, thermal stresses on the dome.10 The development of the use of pozzolano as a major factor in Roman building followed the traditional path of new materials-- moving from humbler uses to greater. In the first and se

Category: Arts - T