On Grid Based Layouts in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome’s developed grid based urban infrastructure is widely recognised for its impressive design and engineering. But exactly what were grid based layouts used for in this powerful civilisation? This article takes a closer look at the uses of grid based designs in ancient Rome and the many benefits it provided for its citizens.
Benefits of Grid Based Layouts
Grid based layouts offer many distinct benefits. A key advantage of grid-based models is their accuracy and symmetry, as they are precision-based and allow for the accurate fore-planning of a city. From an urbanist’s standpoint, the grid infrastructure was advantageous in that the right angles it entailed allowed for further expansion and development of the urban infrastructure.
The grid also allowed for a much more efficient and well-ordered cityscape. As sewage, water systems and roads were laid out at 90-degree angles, it created a “canvas” that allowed for the easy and smooth transition of goods throughout the city. This was especially relevant in Ancient Rome where transportation of goods was highly important.
Finally, the grid established an effective way for those who lived in Rome to find their ways around. With 90-degree angles and an uncomplicated, orderly pattern, it was easy to access different parts of the city without difficulty.
Cultural Significance
The grid network didn’t just provide practical advantages, but it also has a more subtle cultural significance. The grid map symbolised a connection to the Classical Greek and Roman Gods who, according to mythology, used based a grid system to “measure the Earth” and form the wider universe. As a result, many scholars and experts dispute that the grid plan was actually used to create a “cosmic harmony” in the city.
Evidence of Grid Based Infrastructure
There is evidence to suggest that grid based layouts have been in use since the period of early Roman civilisation. Everyone from Adriano Valerio to 15th Century Piedmontese military architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini proposed using grid plans for city creation. Oftentimes secondary grid designs were used; partial grids or grids with orthogonal centres were often employed in the creating of new settlements. Furthermore, ancient Roman building regulations tend to place a great emphasis on square-building.
The ancient roman grid plan was also used extensively in the creation of military encampments and civilian settlements. This is especially seen in the height of the Roman Empire when military encampments were provincially organised in this manner.
Layout Changes Over Time
The Roman grid plan eventually evolved over time. It began with layouts that were heavily focused on the cardo (the central street) and Decuman Horizontales which acted as the principle north-south route. Along this main thoroughfare, however, winding alleys and roads allowed for deviations from the main grid and provided a more interesting and complex pattern.
The use of grid patterns and patterns gradually diminished in the Middle Ages as the region experienced a variety of empires vying for control. Also, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the ancient practice of erecting walls around cities was no longer employed, meaning that “intramural” living was no longer necessary.
Modern day Rome still retains a basic grid plan – roads scatter the cityscape in an orderly manner, although there is still instances of roads and alleys winding away from the grid in various locations. Plus, modern Roman grids combin with old and contemporary building practices which adhere to the steep, winding Roman topography; creating an urban fabric of both ancient and modern city life.
Influence in Other Civilisations
The use of grid based urban planning didn’t just stop in Rome. Long after the fall of the Roman Empire, the concept of a grid based planning continued to influence other civilisations, from North African plans to the cities of the classical Mayan period, who all evident influencers of a grid as a method for urban layout.
The Mayans, for example, also relied on grid based planning, but their approach was much more spiritual than practical, aligning the grid with directions and mountains whilst often allowing for maze-like extensions and curvy streets. The Romans, on the other hand, were obsessed with mathematical precision and often followed a more consistent and logical form.
Adapting for Modern City Life
While grid-based plans are seldomed used for the creation of whole new cities, they are still employed in city expansions and the designing of intricate road networks. However, grid plans have been adapted for modern city life, by making road networks that adheres to the grid, but still permitting gradual turns and curves.
London and Paris, for example, have both substantially adapted their grids for modern life by introducing meandering boulevards, circular streets and more spacious public spaces. Such changes to the grid have allowed for a more fluid, car-friendly urban and movement of pedestrians, bicycles and cars in ways that would not have been possible in the days of ancient Rome.
Impact of the Grid on Rome
The grid system was instrumental in the organisation, division and expansion of the urban fabric of Ancient Rome, which can still be seen in modern cities today. Innovative and inspiring, this system dates back centuries and has left an immense and lasting impression on humanity.
What’s more, the grid system highlighted the success of unified governance and societal order, which is further encouraged by the overall divinity of the infrastructure. Indeed, it was the Romans’ focused implementation of a logical and symmetrical urban plan that allowed for the effective management and expansion of the city.
Technical Aspects of the Grid System
The Romans carefully designed the grid map using precise measurements and components. The technical elements of the layout included roads that were 9 metres wide and rectangles that were 90 metres long and 45 metres wide, resulting in square sections with roads on each side. Furthermore, blocks of insulae, or residential apartments, could contain up to 12 rows of buildings measuring 7 metres high each. Through these calculations, a well-functioning, efficient grid-based infrastructure came in to being.
Other technical components included the circumvallation, a continuous embankment, used to increase public safety, and the forica, a cross-streets mechanism. All in all, the grid map was designed in accordance with practical, technical and cultural ideals, resulting in its sustained success.
Influence Over Later Designs
The influence of Romans’ grid based infrastructure can be seen in many cities today – one only has to look at the urban plans of London, Paris and New York. Despite the many twists and turns each city has taken since the days of Ancient Rome, the echoes of the powerful and logical grid based plan live on.
The Ancient Roman layout is like a legacy that was passed on and adapted throughout the centuries, and stands to be just as valuable today as it was 2000 years ago. Its underlying order and symmetry has helped create some of the world’s most fascinating and well-functioning cities, cities which are continuing to evolve and adapt to modern living.
