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Young World
DESIGN MARVEL
Enchanted feeling of space
A. SRIVATHSAN
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Agrippa commemorated his victory over Antony and Cleopatra by building the Pantheon and dedicated it to the seven planetary gods.
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PHOTO: RAZZIPHOTO.COM
A RAY OF LIGHT: The daringly cut open dome.
Abeam of light falls through the daringly cut open dome, washes the decorated walls, the coffered ceiling and produces an enchanted feel of space. "Angelic and not human" exclaimed Michelangelo looking at it. Artists through history have etched this view and celebrated it. Engineers think it is a wonder and a revered beginning of concrete's creative use. To many architects, till date, a visit to this structure - Pantheon in Rome - is a pilgrimage they have to undertake.
The history behind the Pantheon might have its detractors. The Pantheon was built as a commemoration of the bloody battle that led to the death of `a pair so famous' - Antony and Cleopatra. Marcus Agrippa, friend and counsel to Augustus the Roman Emperor, defeated Cleopatra and Antony in the battle of Actium. Agrippa commemorated his victory by building Pantheon and dedicating it to the seven planetary gods. The original temple built in 27 B.C was destroyed by fire and the present structure was rebuilt by Hadrian in the second century A.D. While many other Roman monuments were lost, the Pantheon stands much protected and owes it largely to its conversion as a Church in the seventh century A.D.
Concrete technology
The Roman Pantheon has a deceptively simple faade. It has a large colonnaded porch that leads to the central rotunda which is covered by a dome rising to a height of 43.5 meters. This dome is one of the largest non-reinforced concrete domes in the world.
It is decorated with recessed panels or coffers and the vortex or oculus is left open for the sky light to enter. This large dome was made possible by the concrete technology developed by the Romans.
Roman concrete was made by combining fine volcanic ash, known as Pozzolana, lime that was mixed with aggregates like the pumice and travertine stones.
The Pantheon has served as an inspiring model for many famous structures that followed it.
Michelangelo studied it before designing St. Peter's church; Brunelleschi admiringly looked at it before he completed the famous Florence dome.
Thomas Jefferson's memorial in the U.S. is another replica of the Pantheon.
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