What Is Trabeation?

This is a comparative essay of the architectural design of Trabeation and Arcuation in Greek, Roman, Egyption, Byzantine and Ancient Chinese architecture. There are similarities between each Empires’ designs and use of Trabeation and Arcuation throughout history. Some Empires’ have notably taken influence from one another and adapted it with slight variations to mark it as their own. This has meant that the variations have become a distinct part of what we recognise as their design stamp in history. Below are some examples of how the different design techniques were used by the different regions.

Trabeation is an architectural design term which means the use of lintels and columns. The most commonly recognised use of trabeation design in
Due to the sparse nature of wood in the deserts of Egypt, buildings were generally made from brick. They were then sun baked and assembled together. Stone was a secondary source of material for the Egyptians, Limestone being their preferred choice. This stone was easy to carve due to its soft nature when mined. Granite, which is a harder stone, was used for obelisks and special objects as it took a lot of time to sculpt.
The building of temples was done with many rows of columns and beams and surrounding open courtyards to let light in, which is a typical Egyptian trabeation design. As the beams were made from Limestone they could only be a certain length due to the weight and the tension/strain that was going to be put on them. The columns had to be spaced close together so that the beams could rest half on the column, only just joining together so they could make a longer beam.

Greece
Greece mainly uses trabeation. Although today their buildings are mostly ruins, you can still see the design style and concepts of the ancient traviated design. Like Egypt, this is very evident in their temples. Structure and decoration was a big part of Greek design. They had carved designs of the surrounding landscape evident in their buildings. Ancient Greek architecture was defined by the three orders, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The orders are columns of different heights and
Arcuation is evident in their designs. Factors such as wealth and their cities high populations created the need for Ancient Romans to discover new architectural solutions of their own. Some of their adapted technology was the arch and the dome and new materials such as concrete, cement and baked brick were important in creating what we now define as Roman architecture. The use of vaults and arches together with a sound knowledge of building materials enabled them to achieve success in the construction of infrastructure for public use. Examples include, The Aqueducts of Rome, The Baths of Diocletian, The Basilicas and The Coliseum. The Coliseum would have to be one of the most famous examples if Arcuation. Although intended for public use, the Romans felt it was important that their buildings impress and