1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE• BUILDING• DESIGN
Centre for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia (MASSA)
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture
ARCHITECTURE CULTURE AND HISTORY 1 [ARC 1313]
PROJECT: PRECEDENT STUDY
Essay (10%)
NAME OF BUILDING: PANTHEON, ROMAN
NAME: TOH CHEE CHENG (0311122)
YAP ZHI JUN (0310738)
YAP ZHONG LIN (0310557)
CHEW WOAN CHYIN (0310797)
LECTURER: MS. SHAHRIANNE

2. PANTHEON, ROMAN
The history of Rome begins in 753 B.C. when the city was found by Romulus and
Remus. The end of Roman history is often given as 476 A.D. when the last emperor of
Rome surrendered Italy to the Barbarian King Odoacer. During these twelve centuries,
the Roman government evolved from a kingdom to a republic, and finally to an empire.
Its territory grew from a single village in central Italy to the premier city in Italy, and
finally incorporated much of Northern Africa, Western Europe, and all of the Middle
East.
Most scholars attribute the Pantheon’s architect to
Apollodorus of Damascus. He was a Greek engineer, architect,
designer and sculptor who flourished during the 2nd century
A.D., from Damascus. The Pantheon was originally built in 27-
25 B.C. by the magistrate Marcus Agrippa to commemorate the

3. victory of Actium over Antony and Cleopatra. This original temple was burnt down in 80
A.D. The Pantheon was completely reconstructed in 125 A.D. by Hadrian.
Pantheon has the greatest Roman temple circular-
plan. Twenty Corinthian columns support portico that were
joined to the hemispherical dome, which 142 feet, six
inches in diameter and 142 feet height. Oculus with 27 feet
diameter is designed to let in the light and air emphasizing
three-dimensional of the dome’s design, to create the feel
of large space and dome is higher than its actual
dimension. The ground level of the hemispherical dome
has Corinthians supporting attic story with rectangular openings resembling windows
set in a patterned marble wall. The lower story is varied by niches in semi-circular and
rectangular at quarter and eight points around the circumference. Dome is
accomplished by five tiers of square coffers. The first two rings of coffering conceal
eight great relieving arches to concentrate loads on the wall section between the niches
of the ground story. These
sections are hollowed
chambers that equalize
contraction of the concrete
as it hardened and lessen
the dead load transferred to
the foundations.

4. Pantheon was a small temple dedicated to all Roman gods
and Pope Boniface IVI consecrated it as a church dedicated to
Mary and the Martyr Saints in 609. It has also been used as a
tomb: amongst those buried here are the painter Raphael, the
first two kings, and first queen of Italy. The concrete dome
constructed in tapering courses. They used the heaviest
aggregate (basalt) at the bottom and lighter materials (pumice) at the top. To create the
dome’s oculus, the Romans built two circles of bipedalism and laid them edgewise in
three vertical courses, then circled the oculus with a bronze cornice.
The significant structure of the Pantheon
comprised of a series of intersecting arches. The
Oculus allows light and rain in and when the sun
shone in, the shaft of light travels across the interior
of the building. Pantheon showed cultural diffusion
with other earlier civilizations. The Romans started
making concrete more than 2,000 years ago.
Pantheon has survived for centuries, often with little
to no maintenance. It was the largest dome in the
world until the 15th century and is still the largest
unreinforced concrete dome ever built.

5. Bibliography
About. Agnosticism / Atheism. Retrieved September, 17, 2013, from
http://atheism.about.com/od/christianchurchchurches/p/PantheonRome.htm
Landels, John G. (2000). Engineering in the ancient world. Berkeley: University of
California,
Michael Fazio, M. M. (2008). A World History of Architecture. London: Laurence King.
Monolithic. The Pantheon, Rome. Retrieved September, 17, 2013, from
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/the-pantheon-rome-126-ad
Pantheon, Rome. (2009, September 13) Holly Hayes. Retrieved September, 16, 2013,
from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-pantheon
Pillai, M. (2011, September 29). Roman Pantheon Architecture. Retrieved September
23, 2013, from Buzzle:http://www.buzzle.com/articles/roman-pantheon-architecture.html
The Pantheon: temple of Roman Gods. Italy Guides. Retrieved September, 16, 2013
from http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/pantheon.htm
William L. MacDonald (2002). The Pantheon: Design, Meaning and Progeny .Harvard
University Press, Cambridge MA.
Three Important Elements of Successful Roman Architecture. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 23, 2013, from http://pal.loswego.k12.or.us/art_lit/Rome-
VolunteerPresentation-Notes.pdf

6. Bibliography
About. Agnosticism / Atheism. Retrieved September, 17, 2013, from
http://atheism.about.com/od/christianchurchchurches/p/PantheonRome.htm
Landels, John G. (2000). Engineering in the ancient world. Berkeley: University of
California,
Michael Fazio, M. M. (2008). A World History of Architecture. London: Laurence King.
Monolithic. The Pantheon, Rome. Retrieved September, 17, 2013, from
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/the-pantheon-rome-126-ad
Pantheon, Rome. (2009, September 13) Holly Hayes. Retrieved September, 16, 2013,
from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-pantheon
Pillai, M. (2011, September 29). Roman Pantheon Architecture. Retrieved September
23, 2013, from Buzzle:http://www.buzzle.com/articles/roman-pantheon-architecture.html
The Pantheon: temple of Roman Gods. Italy Guides. Retrieved September, 16, 2013
from http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/pantheon.htm
William L. MacDonald (2002). The Pantheon: Design, Meaning and Progeny .Harvard
University Press, Cambridge MA.
Three Important Elements of Successful Roman Architecture. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 23, 2013, from http://pal.loswego.k12.or.us/art_lit/Rome-
VolunteerPresentation-Notes.pdf