Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia’s Engineering Marvel
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
What system did the Hagia Sophia use to create one of the world’s greatest examples of engineering? A system of pendentives, domes, half-domes, and exedrae.
What does the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus utilize to span its central space? Domical Vault. Gracanica Church offers an excellent example of a cross-in-square church.
Dematerializing Space
The major goal of Byzantine architecture was to dematerialize space.
Dematerialization means that the confines of the space – walls and ceilings – become less distinct than they usually are, meaning that you are not quite certain where they are. Thus, space is dematerialized or made less material. For instance, the cheapest modern way to dematerialize space is to have walls – and even a ceiling – covered in mirrors. We are going to look at far more complex examples. The reason Byzantine architecture wanted to dematerialize space was to bring you – the visitor – into an otherworldly state of mind so that you could worship as a Christian better.
Exedrae in Byzantine Architecture
What is an exedra? A large, half-cylinder volume capped by a half-dome. ONLY used in massive, monumental half-cylinders.
Hagia Sophia’s Longitudinal and Central Aspects
Longitudinal aspect: central dome plus two half-domes creates a nave flanked by one aisle on each side.
Central aspect: main body of the church is almost a square, and the central dome dominates.
Notice how shallow the dome is and how many windows pierce it: both aspects contributed to its perilous stability and history of collapsing twice. Each time it was rebuilt, it was made slightly higher so that better weight distribution could occur.
Roman Architectural Aspects in Hagia Sophia
Aspects of Roman architecture in the Hagia Sophia:
- Concrete and brick construction with revetments of marble covering inside walls.
- Groin vaults.
The Central Dome
Notice how the 40 windows cut into the dome make the dome appear to float and contribute to an otherworldly atmosphere.
The dome is one of the greatest engineering triumphs in history, perhaps outranking even the Pantheon in Rome, due to the use of pendentives.
Interior Views and Decoration
Most interior decoration has been covered over since the church became a mosque in 1453.
The original dome was slightly shallower than the present one, which was one reason why it collapsed.
Once we pass through the narthex and into the sanctuary, we realize that every surface is covered with frescoes (paintings on walls). So elaborate and extensive are the frescoes that the church is considered a United Nations World Cultural Heritage site. As a result, a massive program to digitally photograph every square inch is in progress, as well as restoration efforts.
In the rear of the image is the iconostasis, a screen that is covered with priceless icons and paintings. In the Serbian Orthodox faith, the priests would stand behind the iconostasis while conducting the service, while the worshippers would be on the other side, underneath the dome.
A glance upward begins to reveal the magnificence of this otherworldly church. Thousands of fresco images rise upward toward the 5 domes, almost disappearing in the milky darkness.