One of the major things that stood out to me during the hardhat tour of the Providence Public Library was the huge ceiling space during construction. The entire space was not used, however, as the ceilings began below the actual space.
Where the white turns to blue was where the ceiling was built in the 80’s at the PPL
This got me thinking about the functionality of space and ceilings in my palace in Amarna. Obviously the times, styles, and necessities of the common day are different than ancient Egypt, and that will definitely play a role in my design. Space is an important resource, and my plan is to maximize the space of my palace. In order to do that, I am going to utilize an open ceiling structure to go along with the concept of open spaces utilized in the Long Temple in the Central City (Amarnaproject.com 2000).
The Long Temple utilized open air spaces for religious purposes.
The open-air architecture serves as a religious purpose as the reign of Akhenaten ushered in religious reform, shifting the primary god of Egyptian worship from Amun to Aten (Mark, 2017). Aten is a god of the sun, so the open air spaces serves as a religious purpose of being able to worship the sun. A portion of my temple is going to be a holy space, dedicated to religion with no ceiling and altars, similar to those in the north palace, dedicated to worshipping Aten (Amarnaproject.com, 2000). The space is going to have a pool at the center to reflect tranquility, similar to the large pool at Maru-Aten, and have two large altars on either side for a sense of worship and balance (Amarnaproject.com, 2000). The palace having a center for worship adds to the use of the space within the palace that makes it partially public and partially private, where the court can be used for private worship in the house while also being a space where public ceremonies can be held.
-Logan Winders
Amarnaproject.com. (2000). The Central City – Amarna The Place – Amarna Project. [online] Available at: http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/central_city/index.shtml [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].
Mark, J. (2017). Amarna Period of Egypt. [online] Ancient History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/Amarna_Period_of_Egypt/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].
Amarnaproject.com. (2000). Maru-Aten – Amarna The Place – Amarna Project. [online] Available at: http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/maru_aten/index.shtml [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].
Amarnaproject.com. (2000). North Palace – Amarna The Place – Amarna Project. [online] Available at: http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/north_palace/index.shtml [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].
I had never really considered ceilings as a direct display of status and power, and your post has me thinking now about what that means for the rest of the structure. I think it’s smart to have your religious room be opened to the air, as the natural light has a connection to the god the people would be worshipping and the vastness of the space correlates with the saying “the sky’s the limit,” especially when referring to religious practices. Obviously, by having the religious space become an open-ceilinged room, it pairs this architectural technique with the highest of power; if you are planning on having a throne room in your palace, I’m wondering what kind of room you are planning to build? If gods come first, and then it’s royalty before the common people, will the throne room incorporate both open-aired aspects as well as some parts of it closed off? Maybe, have tall windows to allow light to pour in, but still have a roof. Following this approach, the rest of the rooms would be completely covered, as it doesn’t seem right to place citizens on the same level as the divine, even with something as small as the kinds of ceilings chosen for the space.
I appreciate you discussion of ceilings and your photos of the PPL hard-hat tour. I was not able to attend the tour, so I find their user of ceilings very interesting from the photos you provide. I feel your arguments drifts off towards the end, and I think it would have been better had you made a stronger argument about comparing the PPL’s use of ceilings with the Long Temple’s use of not having ceilings.