Introduction
The Ancient societies have been associated with certain remarkable discoveries that have had significant positive effects on the contemporary society (Lancaster et al 708). Most of these discoveries have influenced various aspects of development in the current generation. For instance, the discovery of medicine by certain ancient scholars has had positive influence on the manner in which medical services are provided by the current generation. Besides, discoveries made on engineering and architectural activities by ancient communities such as the Roman Empire are still being appreciated by a significant number of conventional development stakeholders. The Ancient Roman, particularly, is credited for the development of certain key architectural designs that are still evident in the current construction center (Lancaster et al 708). In fact, most conventional engineers and architecture agree that a significant number of engineering designs are based on Roman architectural or engineering concepts, although, there are minor modifications that have been made (Lancaster et al 709).
Discussion
This has been considered one of the most imperative structural advances that were discovered by the ancient Roman builders and has had essential impact on the construction of contemporary amphitheatres as well as stadia ("The Roman Colosseum Modern Football Stadia"). The Colosseum is also considered among the most famous structural designs in the current generation; initially, the Romans referred to the Colosseum as a Flavian Amphitheatre (Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang 630). This was the name of the family who invented this architectural design. The primary role of the Colosseum during the Ancient Roman Empire was to provide a platform for its citizens to showcase various aspects of entertainment, for example, citizens were entertained to animal and gladiator fights, naval battles and public executions were also performed at the Colosseum (Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang 631). The design of the Colosseum involves an expanded Greek Theatre into a design referred as Amphi-Theatre; the amphitheatre basically means placing two theatres in a manner that they face one another, thus, creating an oval shape. The Colosseums are usually considered some of the largest amphitheatres throughout great cities that existed in the Ancient Roman Empire. Also, the Colosseum is characterized by existence of more than 70 arched exits and entries; there are also other openings that are regularly distributed across the structure (Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang 633). In addition, there are ramps as well as corridors that have been constructed in a vaulted shape to enhance the movement of large crowds in and out of the Colosseum.
The other key function of the arches and vaults according to historical documents is that they act as ventilation points. The Colosseum was constructed in a symmetrically balanced design so much so that it achieved an almost perfect level of stability ("The Roman Colosseum Modern Football Stadia"). This is the reason the Colosseums are still available, 2000 years down the line after their initial construction. Personally, I agree with the fact that the Colosseums played a significant role in the provision of a platform to display entertainment events (Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang 635). In fact, a look at the Colosseum reminds one of the current football stadia and other entertainment centers such as Amphitheatres that have been constructed in a similar design as the Colosseums.
Application of the Colosseum Construction Knowledge in Yankee Stadium
This is one of the most famous public buildings or structures in the contemporary society; the initial location of the Yankee Stadium was in Bronx, New York City. It is the home stadium of the Yankees, which is a Baseball Team under the United States Major League Baseball. It was constructed in the early 1900’s, but officially began hosting games as from 1923. The construction of the Yankee Stadium and other stadia in the current society has been influenced by the knowledge of the Colosseum Amphitheatres. Even though the Yankee Stadia does not assume an oval shape as the Colosseum, certain features such as the design of the sitting arrangement are similar to the sitting arrangements that were used in Roman Colosseums. The design of the Yankee Stadium has been made in a manner that allows it to accommodate a large number of spectators; this idea formed the foundation of the Colosseums, which were constructed in an oval-like shape to accommodate many people at a particular period. The Colosseums were also characterized by the existence of shelters for the spectors; this feature is also evident in the Yankee Stadium and other stadia that have adopted a roofing technique as a means of providing shelter from harsh sunlight or episodes of rainfall.
The other feature of the Yankee Stadium that is also evident in the Roman Colosseum is the fact that the designers of the Yankee Stadium paid a great attention to the ease of movement of crown in and out of the stadium. This feature is also common among other stadia located across England and other parts of the world; the Yankee Stadium is characterized by various strategically placed entries and exist that assumed an arched shape. This feature was common among the Colosseums where entries and exists were constructed in an arch-shaped design so that the over 50,000 spectators could move in and out of Colosseums easily. The construction of the Colosseums also took into consideration the safety and security of the spectators; in this regard, construction of the Colosseums was based on fireproof materials.
Concrete
This is one of the major elements of Roman architectural advances that are currently appreciated and used widely in the construction sector. Historians believe that it is the most vital construction advances that were made by the Roman Empire (Lancaster et al 710). In the ancient Roman Empire, it was referred as Opus Caementicium; concrete was composed of special mortar developed by mixing lime, water and sand which was also referred as pozzolana. The combination of these materials made the Roman construction concrete the strongest building material that could withstand the test of time and other natural phenomena. The development of the Roman concrete began by creating a form, followed by incorporating alternating mixtures as well as layers of caementa or cement, gravels and bricks (Lancaster et al 710). In the process of pouring in each layer of gravel, bricks and rocks the Roman constructors followed each process by pounding firmly the layers onto each other using a tool referred as a Tamp (Lancaster et al 710).
Research has shown that the Roman caementa or cement was special because it possessed two different and essential features; it was strong and could withstand harsh environmental conditions (Lancaster et al 710). Besides, Roman cement was hydraulic in nature in that it could become harder even when placed under water. In fact, because it was hydraulic, Romans extended the use of cement to the construction of baths, cisterns and sewers among other structures. Historians have provided many references concerning ancient concrete; in fact, others have gone to an extent of performing an analysis of ancient Roman writers such as Pliny who focused his writings on the durability and pertinence of Roman Concrete. According to Pliny, the most effective concrete made by Roman architectures composed volcanic ash that was available in regions surrounding the Naples, particularly near the current Pozzuoli. Current researchers have also performed analyses on the elements of cement collected from the Bay of Pozzuoli; a recent research by a team of experts from Saudi Arabia, Germany and France discovered that the Roman concrete was durable because of the fact that it was developed by mixing volcanic rock and lime so that a mortar could be developed.
The Roman concrete could also be used effectively to construct underwater structures by packing the mortar into wooden forms. This was followed by chemical reactions on the mortar triggered by the seawater, hence, creating a molecules hydration of the lime which cemented all the components of the mortar. The resulting material was exceptionally durable and strong.
Certain researchers have also compared most current mostly used Portland cement and the Roman Concrete (Lancaster et al 712). Through these comparisons, stakeholders in the construction sector are able to identify that Portland cement does not exhibit a capacity to bind properly compared with the Roman Concrete; it has also been argued that Portland cement tend to wear quicker when used under water compared to the Roman Concrete. Besides, concrete made out of Portland cement has a relatively less life-span of 50 years, while the Roman Concrete could stand the test of time and live for more than a thousand years. Some of ancient architectural designs are still available 2000 years after their construction. For example, ancient Roman cities including Colosseums are still available in various parts of Italy.
Paulo Monteiro, a Civil Engineer by profession has indicated in his research that the production of Portland cement is associated with generation of Carbon Dioxide, which has a greenhouse effect. In fact, his research, he indicates that the production of 20 billion tons of cement, particularly, Portland cement in the current society accounts for an average of 7% carbon gases produced globally. The creation of Roman concrete was also more sustainable because it did not require the use of fuels that generate carbon gases as experienced in the production of Portland cement. About 1500 degrees Celsius is required to heat limestone compared to the 900 degrees Celsius of heat that was used by Romans when baking their lime for concrete development (Lancaster et al 713). This is because the amount of limestone required to create the ancient Roman concrete was relatively lower.
The use of Concrete in the Construction of the Yankee Stadium
The Yankee Stadium has been constructed using Edison Cement; as mentioned earlier, cement is an important component of concrete. The original Yankee Stadium constructed in the early 1900 was developed using durable and strong concrete material (Rashbaum, William and Ken Belson). It is imperative to acknowledge that the cement used during that period was Portland cement that it was relatively weaker compared to the ancient Roman concrete. However, the most important aspect in his case is that knowledge concerning the use of concrete was borrowed from the ancient Roman architectures. Construction of stadia require strong and durable construction materials considering the fact that they accommodate thousands of people at a single event and are usually characterized by loud noise from spectators. As mentioned earlier, the construction of the ancient Colosseums were based on the use of durable and strong materials; this was considered an important strategy to enhance the safety of spectators and other stakeholders who might have visited the Colosseums. It appears that the need to ensure safety of spectators is also a factor that compelled the architects and construction stakeholders involved in the development of Yankee Stadium to use concrete materials.
The Yankee Stadium has been equipped with concrete ramps in a similar manner as the Colosseums. The ramps are meant to enhance movement out or into the Stadium. However, a recent research published in the New York Times indicates that there are cracks along the ramps, which have troubled the $1.5 billion stadium (Rashbaum, William and Ken Belson). The cracks have raised concerns among stakeholders who are now demanding that the government and local authorities should take initiatives to investigate the causes of the cracks. That is, to determine whether concrete or installation has been the major problem. Certain individuals have argued that the major causes of the cracks exhibited in the ramps could be as a result of the poor concrete mixtures. This has led to an investigation by an engineering company that implementation an investigation to determine the strength of the concrete that was used during the initial construction process.
In the earlier discussion, it was indicated that the Roman concrete and the current concrete are different in strength and the durability. The Roman concrete is more durable and stronger compared to the current concrete materials that are major created by using Portland cement; this type of cement is not as strong as the ancient Caementa which was composed of volcanic ash. This is the reason some of the ancient Roman structures are still standing up to date, even though they were constructed more than 200 years ago. For example, there are various ancient Colosseums that are still available in Italy. Tourists can also have an opportunity to view various aqueducts that were constructed by ancient Roman architectures. I think the fact that most of these ancient structures were constructed using Roman concrete, is a good explanation for the cracks that troubled the $1.5 billion Yankee stadium only a few years after its construction.
It is important to acknowledge that even though the idea of using concrete in the construction of stadiums such as the Yankee stadium was copied from the ancient Roman architecture, there are certain modifications that have been made concerning the use of concrete for conventional entertainment structures. For example, there is incorporation of metal grids and other aspects of reinforcements that are used to ensure that concrete is strengthened during the construction process. According to Marie Jackson, an engineering professor at the University of California, even though Portland cement has been used and approved by many construction stakeholders, their strength and level of durability cannot be matched with ancient Roman concrete (Rashbaum and Ken Belson). Marie also affirms earlier research that the Portland cement does not have an equal capability to withstand maritime environments as indicted by the ancient Roman concrete materials that were composed of volcanic ash and burned limestone. In her research, Marie Jackson goes ahead and asserts that one of the reasons Portland cement is weaker compared to the ancient Roman cement is because it is not prepared using volcanic ash and lime. In this regard it cannot bind properly compared with the ancient Roman concrete. Researchers have also argued that the adoption of certain materials that were used to develop the ancient concrete could create major change in the current construction sector. For example, the incorporation of more volcanic ash could increase the strength of the current concrete, hence, making buildings and structure more durable. However, there have been arguments that the incorporation of ancient Roman construction techniques could also create a need to adopt the techniques that were used by ancient Romans to develop the concrete materials. This has been considered an interesting idea because a significant number of individuals and development stakeholders in the current society are driven by the desire for advancement.
Conclusion
It is a fact that the ancient Roman contributed certain remarkable discoveries. Some of these discoveries have had significant impact on the current socio-economic development activities including the construction sector. One of the remarkable architectural discoveries that were shown by the ancient Romans that have had significant impact on the contemporary architectural designs is the Colosseum; the Colosseum was a major entertainment structure that accommodated more than 50,000 spectators during gladiator fights, public execution and other major entertainment activities. The design and knowledge of the Colosseums have been associated with the design of current entertainment structures including amphitheatres and stadia. Most of the current stadia are oval-like in shape, an idea that has been borrowed from the design of the Colosseum. The United States Yankee stadium is one of the major global entertainment infrastructures; the stadium was constructed in the early 1900’s and most of its design features were borrowed from the design ideas of the Colosseum, for instance, the incorporation of the vaults which play an essential role in ventilation and efficient movement of people in and out of the stadium. It is important to acknowledge that other entertainment infrastructures across the globe, particularly stadia in Europe have also been influenced by the knowledge of Colosseum. The other key architectural advancement that was made by the ancient Romans is the discovery of concrete; many infrastructures are currently developed using concrete materials to make them more durable. However, researchers have argued that even though the knowledge of the concrete was borrowed from the ancient Roman architects, the strength of the current concrete materials cannot match the Roman concrete. The current concrete materials are developed using Portland cement which does not contain volcanic ash as seen in the Roman concrete materials.
Works Cited
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Ahlfeldt, Gabriel, and Wolfgang Maennig. "Stadium architecture and urban development from the perspective of urban economics." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 34.3 (2010): 629-646.
Lancaster, L., et al. "Provenancing of lightweight volcanic stones used in ancient Roman concrete vaulting: evidence from Rome." Archaeometry 53.4 (2011): 707-727.
Rashbaum, William K., and Ken Belson. "Cracks Emerge in Ramps at New Yankee Stadium." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/nyregion/24stadium.html?_r=0>.
