Introduction
Although the original architect of the Colosseum in Rome is not known, the magnificence of the art work is extravagant with many marveling at the design. Writers like Hopkins (52) and Notaro (15) term its existence as the modern emblem of Rome. In the works of Hopkins (43), the Colosseum is well detailed with its beauty and architectural elegance depicted aptly. Hopkins connotes that of the former self of the original Colosseum, what remains is mere two-thirds with much of its dilapidation occurring due to various factors, which are well exemplified in the works of Stam (92). Forming a perfect elliptical shape, the Colosseum was constructed with an orientation of ENE-WSW (Hopkins 42). It is estimated that the construction of the Colosseum was started in 70 A.D. although some tend to despite the date terming the inception to around 72 A.D. for which case it was around early 70s A.D. (Hopkins 42). Its construction was started following the demise of Emperor Nero who lived a lavish lifestyle for which at the same time Jews in Palestine sparked waves of violent protests against Roman rule mainly due to their ruthlessness in handling Jews and Christian followers (Hopkins 43).
Emperor Vespasian who succeeded Nero started on the project, which was located at the heart of Nero’s ruins to assure his position in a volatile regime, such that, the amphitheater symbolized grand political gestures to opponents (Hopkins 43). However, the project went way past Emperor Vespasian’s regime to Titus’ regime that saw its completion a decade later in 80 A.D. The amphitheater was capable of holding over 50,000 seated spectators, thanks to exceptional design work and handy creation following strict geometrical and mathematical prowess (Stam 93). Given its massiveness and the tools of work at the time, it is evident that the construction work was remarkably quick. The site where it was located happened to be a historically seasonal lake and thus deep drainage channels situated well over 8 meters above the surface came in handy to drain off excessive water from surrounding hills and valleys (Hopkins 43) and (Stam 93). Its foundation stood at 12-13 meters deep in the shape of a doughnut. There were 80 entrances each separated by piers that were 15 Roman feet with an equal vertical height running from the pier to where the arch originated (Hopkins 45). In essence, the arches were placed over squares perfectly compelling some erudite researchers to term this as a mathematical perfection (Stam 92). Furthermore, the seating arrangement design was such that each spectator had an average of 40 cm width with additional 70 cm legroom (Hopkins 48). The inclinations of the seating pious followed strict trigonometric identities from bottom to top. Therefore, the research will determine whether modern stadiums and other structures reflect an inspiration from the Colosseum.
The Colosseum was constructed to stage games, martyr of Christians with wild animals, naval war games, gladiator actions and other forms of entertainment most of which were blood and death-ridden. The Romans took immense pleasure in bloodbaths while the designers used colored sand to disguise this blood spills.
The Colosseum and Modern Architecture
Inevitably to say is the undoubted fact that modern stadiums find strict inspiration from the Colosseum. There seems to be a lot of correlations in terms of the design of modern stadiums with Roman Colosseum looking at both structures from different perspectives. First, Gibbon (15) in his 2003 works, used a rather fascinating approach where there was consideration of what became to be known as the historic structural decay causes. In essence, it was argued that structural decay causes can be broadly classified into four categories inspired by what happened to the Colosseum. First, there are injuries of nature and time whereby things like earthquakes and other non-human causes lead to rapid dilapidation of a premise (Gibbon 15). Gibbon (19) believes that the fall /destruction of the Colosseum can be attributed to natural calamities to some extent. This lead to modern architects to consider such occurrences and fashion arenas that can withstand earthquakes of certain magnitudes through a harmonious mix of materials that can stretch and compress while retaining the actual shape of the object after the event causing this passes.
Secondly, hostile attacks of Christians and Barbarians led to the gigantic masterpiece to crumble (Gibbon 15). This has inspired research works into creating reinforced structures that can withstand certain levels of attacks. A clear example is the Sadaam Hussein’s banker believed to be constructed with reinforced concrete and steel structure; thus capable of withstanding massive bombardment. Thirdly, the materials used and/or abused during construction can be attributed to rapid erosion of the structure (Gibbon 15). For example, the Colosseum extensively used marble, lead, copper, bronze and iron (Gibbon 16) that have been shown to weaken over time leading to modern architects to fashion structures of steel that does not rot and thus able to withstand harsh weather. Lastly, Gibbon (16) points out that domestic quarrels of the Romans were a substantial contributing factor to its fall, although the exemplification and contribution to the structure is not quite clear.
However despite such notions, there is undoubted evidence that modern stadiums are constructed in an oval shape like the Colosseum, which takes advantage of the curved corners to accommodate more spectators in the stadiums (Notaro 15). In addition to the oval-shaped stadiums being able to host more people, it is also good to note that there is better stability in the face of earth tremors unlike in the case of rectangular shaped arenas.
Since modern stadiums are meant to accommodate as many spectators as possible, it is imperative to note that the seating arrangement follows that of the Colosseum with most of the stadiums in modern times being all-seaters a great similarity from the Colosseum that had a 40 cm width for seating per spectator and a 70 cm legroom (Hopkins 54).
Over time, mistakes have been made with respect to entry and exit from stadiums where in some recorded cases, spectators have ended up dead, trampled under feet as a result of spectator commotion during entry or exit from the stadium. Modern architects had to look at the structure of the Roman Colosseum to design better entry/exits, which readily ease congestion while giving spectators more exit routes. This averts the possibility of people being crashed underfoot. The Colosseum had 80 entry points, and despite the number of spectators entry and exit was made easy (Notaro 17) and (Hopkins 48). Additionally, the Colosseum never charged for their shows, yet there is no documented evidence that spectators trampled on one another.
The Colosseum was built with fireproof material, mainly concrete, which does not burn per se (Gibbon 20) and (Stam 94). Similarly, most of the modern constructions of stadiums closely follow the same format, ensuring minimal, if any, use of flammable material. Additionally, in some stadium designs, there has been the adoption of fire-detection and fighting mechanisms to combat any possible fire outbreaks with some stadiums warning spectators from even smoking in the stadium, all thanks to the undisputed architectural prowess of the Colosseum.
Modern stadiums are equipped with shelters/ stadium roofs that can open and close by a touch of a button; another inspiration from the Colosseum. The Colosseum was constructed with rooms to shelter large number of spectators in the event that the weather changed rapidly and thus protects citizens/ spectators from intense weather changes (Hopkins, 55).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the Colosseum was a magnificent structure, built with ample mathematical astute that depicted purity in perfection and simplicity. These basic aspects have found enormous applications and inspired modern architecture in the design process, in addition to, which materials to use for a certain purpose. In this research, there is immense application of the design process of the Colosseum in modern design, and construction of stadiums that tend to show and follow the exact rules. In cases, where negligence of the rules used to construct the Colosseum was ignored, there have been repercussions with many maimed and others losing their lives. In some other cases, stadiums have crumbled to the ground for very minor geometrical mistakes.
Works Cited
Gibbon, E. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, The Modern Library. (2003). New York, NY.
Hopkins, Keith. The Colosseum: Emblem of Rome. BBC History: (2011). New Haven. London. 28 June 28, 2012.
Notaro, Anna. "Exhibiting the New Mussolinian City: Memories of Empire in the World Exhibition of Rome (EUR)." Geographic Journal 51.1-2 (2000): 15-22. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 28 June 2012.
Stam, Christiaan D. "Intellectual Liabilities: Lessons from the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." VINE 39.1 (2009): 92-104. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 28 June 2012.
