Architecture Form Follows Function by Michael Fuentes

Form follows function is an important feature or saying, especially in architecture. What I really like about it, is that when a building structure is being built, they take into consideration how useful or what purpose it can serve. It does not necessarily mean that just because the form follows function, it will not be beautiful or elegant. I also prefer that the form follows the function because it is much more efficie. This is seen in most cases such as the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, and the Roman Colosseum

In the case of the Roman Colosseum, it is evident that the form follows the function. It is important to understand that the Roman Colosseum was an amphitheater. During the Roman times, the Romans would watch gladiator fights, animal fights, executions, and plays of famous battles. This is probably why the colosseum was in an open space rather than in an enclosed space. This would take place in the arena, which was in the center of the colosseum for the whole crowd to see. For the safety of the spectators, the arena was three meters lower than the bleachers or the stands. A safety net was added later to prevent animals from leaping onto the spectators.

With that being said, the colosseum needed to fit almost all the inhabitant of Rome and so, they needed bleachers (cavea). The bleachers surrounded the arena. The stands were equipped with stone benches, rather than seats, so that they could accommodate more people. Other than that, it could accommodate over 75,000 spectators and these spectators were seated and grouped in social classes. The emperor would be seated at the bottom while the lower social classes would be at the top. It was also forbidden that the social classes go to the other social classes' area. There was even an entrance and exit area for each of the social classes.

The hypogeum is the underground part of the colosseum. It was like a maze, having numerous passages, corridors, and rooms. In its current state, it is impossible to know the function of all the rooms it has but on the bright side, it makes it possible to see everything from above. The function of the hypogeum was like an underground backstage, where the actors for plays would be waiting, the gladiators preparing, and cages for the wild animals.

The velarium could be described as roof with a huge, oval hole in the middle. The Romans did this by placing 240 masts with ropes so that the Romans could also remove the masts. This was placed at the top of the colosseum in order to shade the spectators from the sun.

On a personal note, the Roman Colosseum is a brilliant architectural structure. The way that the Romans thought of it and built it is just absolutely brilliant. Almost everything that they built for the colosseum, had a specialized function and worked perfectly with each other. It saddens me that it is has been reduced to a tourist attraction.

References
Duras, M. (2019). Description of the Colosseum. [online] Wonders-of-the-world.net. Available at: https://www.wonders-of-the-world.net/Colosseum/Description-of-the-Colosseum.php [Accessed 25 Sep. 2019].

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