The "Modern" thought of the Roman Architect

Abstract

This essay examines the remarkable quality and undeniable modernity of thought and practice demonstrated by Roman architects. Using the Flavian Forum and the Flavio-Trajanic Baths of the South - two public buildings in the Romanized city of Conimbriga - as case studies, it contrasts these examples with three projects and works from later periods in Architectural History. The analysis is structured around three themes: The module as a tool for composition, The wall as a point of transformation, and Thinking like the ancients.

The goal is to show that architects today still approach their work in ways akin to roman architects, as many of the core challenges in Architecture remain fundamentally unchanged.