Site Analysis on The Piazza de Campidoglio - Research Paper Example

SITE ANALYSIS ON THE PIAZZA DE CAMPIDOGLIO . SITE ANALYSIS ON THE PIAZZA DE CAMPIDOGLIO Introduction PIAZZA DE CAMPIDOGLIO is located at the Capitoline hill Italy. It was derived from the work of one great Renaissance artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1536-1546.This was due to Farnese Pope Paul 111 who acknowledged his talent by requesting him to design and build Monumental Civic Plaza to be a major focal point and part of a major plan to revive Capitoline hill. Michelangelo, therefore, revived Capitoline through creation of piazza de Campidoglio with a complete redesign of the piazza and other buildings that surround it. He first created a focal point flanked by three restructured buildings. At the center of the courtyard stands, Michelangelo designed a statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius whose base. He came up with a design relevant to the original trapezoidal for the squire that had intriguing oval shaped at the center. He came up with Palazzo Nuovo just opposite the Palazzo dei Conservotori. He finished his work by constructing a magnificent Staircase called the Cordonata [3]. The design brought a new dimension in urban planning, and it was seen as a touch of brilliance from Michelangelo to revive the place that was already in ruins and made it the Roman social and political events. The building currently stands as the Rome city hall. The paper, therefore, looks at the factors that make the location of piazza de Campidoglio the best site for building such an important Roman Monument. Capitoline Hill was an ideal choice of location for building such an important monument of the Roman Emperor and many other significant buildings due to: i) the historical background of the Capitoline hill. Capitol Hill is the most important of all the Rome emperor seven hills. Capitoline hill symbolizes the epicenter of the Rome power (might).It hosts the most important buildings in Rome like Palazzo dei conservatori, Palazzo del senator and Palazzo Nuovo. The hill has very important historical status like Castor, Pollux, horse statue at Capitol Hill entrance and Replica of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Capitol Hill hosted important temples like Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Veiovis, Temple of Juno Moneta and Temple of Ludi Capitolini. On top of the hill lies the old church Santa Maria in Aracoeli [3]. Therefore, the hill historically has accommodated much important building; therefore, many important personalities frequent it. It also accommodates many Tourists some of them come from as far as Africa and America. The building Palazzo Senatorio is originally known as the palace of senators a name made its original function as seats for the senators which it help until 1870 when finally palazzo became the seat of the renown Rome City. It also hosts the palace of the conservators who were the city magistrate administering the city. It is now part of the Capitoline Museum which has a collection of renowned status, mosaic, tombstone and another notable work. Palazzo Nuevo is currently regarded as the Capitoline Museum Complex. Therefore, this is an ideal place that can host people and is an ideal place to show your creative work and put out an output that impresses the viewers and is self-advertising [2]. Capitol Hill is accessible in terms of its location. Among the Seven Hills of Rome, that is Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill, Capitoline hill, Esquiline hill, Palatine Hill, Caelian Hill and Aventine hill. It is also the smallest among the seven hills and the most adjacent to River Tibers. The area boasts a good road network and the design around Pizza Del Campidoglio is designed to encourage people to walk all the way up the stairs to the pavement shown in the fig 1 below. The construction materials are normally found elsewhere and transported to the site. So the region should have feeder roads that supply the area Fig 1: Piazza Del Campidoglio Pavement design (begun 1538). The third is the availability of the water source. Long time ago before the birth of Christ, the town had begun its constructions, they had no proper road system, and they had to build using manual techniques. Therefore positioning the building next to the water source like river Tiber would be a bonus as water will be accessible for construction and at the same time building cost will be significantly reduced. In some cases, water could also be used to transport building material from one region to the other which reduced labor significantly and also reduced the construction cost [1]. The height above the sea level which is 36m high is relatively higher than most regions around apart from the other six hills. This could have motivated the designer to do a good job as the site is strategically located and a good view point from other neighboring location. To get quality outcome in whatever one does, he/she need to put in quality ingredient. In construction, the overall outcome of the building does not depend only on the design, but also the workmanship, the material and the location of the building. Normally raised ground is preferred for great housing investment because the investors have the feeling of an achieving better result in terms of beauty [4]. Fig 2: Palazzo dei Conservatori features Corinthian pilasters. The volcanic rock found on the Capitol Hill provided a firm foundation stable enough to put up a long lasting building. Architects have to make the right decision on the choice of location of buildings. Normally the soil structure can determine how much it will cost to construct the building and how long it will last before it is written off or repaired. The weaker the foundation soil, the more gravel and concrete needed to build a strong structure. The deeper the foundation need and the more it will cost to backfill. Volcanic hilly places give a stable foundation good enough to build strong and stable building that are long lasting just like the Palazzo dei conservatori, Palazzo del senator and Palazzo Nuovo. If the soils surrounding the constructed building are washed away, then building will weaken at the foundation and may collapse sooner rather than later [4]. Drainage is crucial in determining how long the building will last. Well drained soil allows water to sip away after heavy rain. Water logging is not healthy in a residential area as water has a weakening effect on the soil. However raised land like the Capitol Hill does not give the water logging a chance as the gradient enables the water to flow to the low altitude region. However, the type of soil should be able to absorb a good amount of water that forms part of the underground drainage. Drainage is determined by factors like the size of the soil particles, the type of soil and the gradient of the land in use. Availability of space required to put up the building. Capitol Hill had enough space to accommodate the brilliant design by Michelangelo. The available space sufficiently accommodated the three buildings Palazzo dei conservatori, Palazzo del senator and Palazzo Nuovo. Most importantly, there was space left for the oval center with provision for positioning the statues like the Nile and the later built staircase Cordonata. Cordonata was completed in 1582 though Michelangelo died in 1564.The height difference relative to the horizontal available space allowed the design to accommodate a gradual rising staircase referred to as graded ramp. The surrounding area adjacent to the location of the Capitol Hill lays great places like Vatican, which is a well-known city in the world for its religious credentials. Other key places like the Tiber Island, Tiber River and Servian hill. The surrounding facilities should relate well with whatever is the purpose of the building being referred to. For example, Capitol Hill contains three building that all serve the public interest hence the neighborhood of should, therefore, have buildings that serve the public interest like the Vatican. The surrounding area determines how people view the whole construction and compare it to the well-known similar ideas [1]. The shape of the plot influences the design which further influences the beauty of the final product. A good Architect will look at the shape of the plot during the initial site visit and design a building that matches the shape of the plot. The architect does so in trying to balance the space, making sure it is accessible and unique. Fortunately, the size and shape of the progressively rising hill had the right plot size to give Michelangelo an opportunity to pull a design masterpiece [2]. Topography: This is an analysis of land in terms of it latitude, longitude and altitude. High ground is preferred for various strategic building since topography influence the stability and position alignment of the structure. Normally taken by the architecture before the design and at the same time he/she takes the shape and size of the plot. The designer uses such information to know how water flow, the possible erosion it can cause. AT the same time topography has to be considered as it will be used in leveling to ensure same plane is achieved. Other factors that are also important to check whenever you’re choosing a construction site are: i) availability of a proper sewage system especially in the construction of town buildings; ii) The population of the people in that area; iii) The climatic condition of the region in which the building is being constructed in relation to the intended function of the building; iv) the water table v) availability of social amenities and vi) The cost and time frame available to complete the work. In this case, the cost was on the hand of the pope and the time frame was less limiting as the construction took a while to complete. The climatic condition of the region affects design of the building. For example, the design of building in cold areas differs a lot to building in the tropical where the cold is rarely an issue. Finally, the populations that intend to use frequently such a system are low. Houses in the cold region design buildings that can retain heat and hence safeguard user. In conclusion, the site visit is normally aimed at determining and taking the factor that are vital in design stages like shape of the construction site, the size and the topography. A good site influences the outcome of the quality of the output, and normally strategic site encourage the designer to go give a perfect design. However, the neighboring buildings may also encourage the good use of site space as we learn from the simple mistakes we have made in the past. When choosing the site of constructing a building, factors such as; i) Topography ii) Availability of space; ii) the shape of the plot under discussion; iv) Accessibility; iv) the surrounding area and v) drainage [2]. Michelangelo did a good design that did not wipe out the historical past way of thinking, but improved the initial design to a better final piece of work. Through his work especially at the Capitol Hill site where he constructed three buildings and a staircase, other architects can learn a lot from his work and robust way of thinking. A place that is described earlier by the writer as muddy is now one of the world best squire and a strategic place that holds three key building that are vital in the management of the Roman Emperor. The way the oval shape is strategically position, the building looking at each other and various statues on the compound is a great piece of skill from a confident architect. Though the stairs were completed later, the design used to bring the best picture out of the staircase was the design of Michelangelo. His overall design quality was excellent, and most of his works are still in good shape and surviving. Fig 2: Schematic map of Rome showing the Seven Hills and Servian wall Fig 3: Map of the seven hill area REFERENCE [1] M.Coscolluela, “The engineering of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus: a counter to stamper’s small-temple Hypothesis and rethinking of the capabilities of archaic period Technology.” Roman art and archaeology: Capital hill.2013 [ 2 ] J Yin, “Top things to consider in choosing a construction site.” Retrieved [5.34pm/ 16/11/2014]. http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/top-things-to-consider-in-choosing-a- Construction-site. [3] A.peter, “A source guide to the Ancient city, Wauconda.” ISBN 978-0-86516-473-4 [4] E.Rosa, “A tour around the sight of Rome to discover the masterpiece of Michelangelo Buonarroti.” Michelangelo in Rome Fig 4: The staircase Read More