Santa Maria Del Fiore - Essay Example

SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE Historical and Cultural architect of the Building. The Santa Maria del Fiore building found in Florence holds the record for being among the biggest structures on the planet looked after by the private segment well known as Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was established in right on time fifth century and having the old structure, it was based on the site of a prior basilica committed to Saint Reparata. The congregation was planned by Arnolfo di Cambio and affirmed by committee in 1294. Arnolf di Cambio composed three wide naves that were completion under the octagonal vault with the center nave covering the region of Santa Reparata. The principal stone to be laid on was on September 9, 1296 via cardinal Valeriana. This building was to keep going for a long time with aggregate deliberations of a few eras (Trappel, 1978). Shockingly the demise of Arnolf di Cambio in 1310 backed off the venture for thirty continuous days. Fortunately the work continued in 1331 under the direction of society of downy dealers who later designated Giotto to be responsible for the work until he passed on in 1337. Again the work continued on 1349 under an arrangement of expert planners including Francesco Talenti, who amplified the entire extend and presented the apse and side churches. Giovanni di Lapo separated the center nave into four equivalent bayous. In right on time eighteenth century, just the vault was deficient however the nave was finished. The outline howl indicates outside of it in the year 1418. By 1436, the dome was complete under a sole responsibility of Brunelleschi and Pope Eugene had the first mass in it (Saalman, 1980). It was the first dome shaped building without temporary wooden supporting frames. It was later modified to a circular dome with supportive structures. Since then it has continuously been decorated with its floor been re-laid in marble tiles. The architect of Santa Maria del Fiore followed its cultural system. The dome was built without wooden or iron supportive frames. To do this, they came up with professional ideas of lightening the imposing structures and hardening the stability of the required planes on which the planes were laid by progressively inclining the construction of the dome starting from the base. The machines that were used in the construction of the dome to lift weights to expected heights were well designed and utilized. The dome is approximately 52 meters above the ground level and having a weight of about 38000 tons. The octagonal base is having two edges and the distance between these two edges is approximately 33 meters. Also it has a lantern on its top that was initially struck by lightning but it was replaced. The dome also has a copper sphere that is inclining upwards which is more than 25 meters. 2. Supporting activities and Purposes. The major aim of constructing Santa Maria del Fiore was to accommodate the high population within the region of Florence since it consists of the inner and outer domes. It was also meant to host international conferences whereby people from different parts of the world gather to celebrate a special function like anointing the Pope. The organization of the building was highly influenced by the structure of the dome. The circular dome and the stability of the planes without any wooden or iron supportive frames needed highly professional architects like Brunelleschi. Also time factor was another special aspect that influenced the organization of the building. Since there were deaths of the architects before the completion of work, like the death of Arnolf di Camboi, it led to formation of organization that overlooked at the selection of another person that best fits that responsibility (Acidini et al. 1996). Apart from the accommodation as the purpose, the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore represents and marks the beginning of the Renaissance of which is the building models of classical age with different roles of designer and builder. 3. Responding to Context. a) Ancient Rome. This principle adopted the external Greek architecture around the 2nd century. It mostly relies on the external appearance. Romans were forced to improvise Greek’s idea due to increased population and increment in wealth. They highly use vaults and arches including the sound knowledge of building materials. They don’t use wooden or iron frames to stabilize the planes where bricks are going to be laid. The construction is majorly in imposing buildings for a big population or mass use just like the Construction of Santa Marin del Fiore. b) Early Christian and Byzantine architecture. This idea was invented in Rome. They were well known for being long, rectangular structures that are built in a way similar to ancient Roman style. They mainly specialize in mosaics and decorations in the building. Rome was highly influenced by Christian age as it was ruled by pope. The Byzantines also came to invest in Rome. They installed many buildings, palaces and churches using their original style. They followed Roman rules of architecture and art despite being leaders in the world. Santa Maria del Fiore used both ideas of early Christian age and Byzantine architecture when it came to mosaic and decoration of their building. c) Renaissance and Mannerist architecture. It was initially started in Florence. It adopted the styles that were clearly defined and structural members that showed their purpose. They modified Gothic out of Romanesque. Also they highly recommend on vertically and clustered shafts, ornate tracery and vaulting. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore built by Arnolf Cambio, who died before finishing the work but later on accomplished by Filippo Brunelleschi, used the idea of the principle of Renaissance and Mannerist architecture. 4. Establishing longevity. a. Spatial Dualities. Brunelleschi commenced the work with that of CUPOLA which had a diameter of 41.8meters that is approximately the limit for any type of masonry dome. He used his own knowledge to build the dome. He had to get rid of any discontinuity in the 27000 tons of masonry that could lead to the collapsing of the building. The external cupola prevents any kind of elements from getting into the inner cupola.Also the two cupola work together with powerful connecting ribs. On the left aisle wall are frescoes while on the right is a greenish memorial to Sir John Hawkwood. b. The in-between domain’ The circular masonry dome was built without supports called centering since the bricks are designed in a way that they look horizontal. This idea makes the bricks to resist compression. The inner dome is think leading to stability of the dome. Brunelleschi used the idea of herringbone brick pattern to transfer the weight to the nearest vertical ribs of the non-circular dome (Saalman, 1980). c. Support for interaction and retreat. Architects from Renaissance were not allowed to use Gothic style or flying buttresses but allowed to use simple and clean lines of their Roman past. Brunelleschi came up with an idea of inner and outer dome whereby the inner dome is made up of sandstone and marble while the outer one is made up of brick and mortar. d. Achieving clarity and wholeness. They used the idea of horizontal bricks that resisted compression and also inclining the construction of the dome going upwards (Haines, 2001). This increased the stability of the dome. e. Principles of wholeness. Level of scale is a special aspect. The width and length and also the area to be covered by the dome were important. Also this could enable the architects to determine the capacity of the materials to be used in the whole completion of the building. Also to note down the cost of all expenditure on that complex. The inside space was positive in that it was big enough to accommodate large number of people. The high population in Florence forced the organization to look into building a big complex that could accommodate the whole population. They opt to build a dome shaped complex which had a big capacity for all. The building was dome shaped to increase the surface area of the building. It occupies a small piece of land but it provides a big surface area. This is highly recommended since it utilizes the available space well. To gradient of the building was inclined to increase its stability. Since Brunelleschi came up with an idea of not using the pillars in building the complex, he had to build the dome inclining upwards so as to make it more stable. Also the bricks were designed in a way that they looked horizontal to resist the compression. This was a genius idea since the dome had no wooden or iron pillars to support the building. The structure was so simple that they never used pillars to affirm the building. It was designed in a way that it had two cupolas. The inner and the outside one. The outside one prevents the inner one from any external elements. f. Bibliography and footnotes. The dome was built on an octagonal floor plan as shown in the diagram below The building sections included the inner and outer dome. The inner dome covered the radius of the opening while the outer one was parallel and protected the inner one. It was built on the site of earlier cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata. It had an octagonal floor plan with a dome on it which was separated by two smaller polygonal chapels. The diagram below shows the interior of the dome and the elevator. References Acidini, L. C., Dalla, N. R., Italy., Italy., &Opificiodellepietredure. (1996). La cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore: Architettura, pittura, restauro. Roma: Istitutopoligrafico e ZeccadelloStato, LibreriadelloStato. Haines, M., & International Symposium for the VII Centenary of the Cathedral of Florence (1997, Firenze). (2001). Santa Maria del Fiore: The cathedral and its sculpture : acts of the International Symposium for the VII Centenary of the Cathedral of Florence ; Florence, Villa I Tatti, 5 - 6 June 1997. Fiesole (FI: Ed. Cadmo. Saalman, H. (1980). Filippo Brunelleschi: The cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore. London: A. Zwemmer. Trappel, L. (1978). Santa Maria del Fiore: Florence cathedral. Sydney. Read More