Research Paper on:
Western Civilization and the Architectural Contributions of Rome

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
States, comes from Roman architecture in one way or another. Their incredibly grand and innovative designs still serve to offer inspiration and awe to the world of architecture today. Bearing  that in mind the following paper briefly examines three of Romes architectural contributions to the world of Western architecture. Romes Contributions While we surely take it for granted  today, and still use it heavily in almost every day use of some kind, concrete was not always a source of architecture. The ancient Roman empire was the first to  discover or develop concrete and utilize it into architecture. "With the Roman invention of concrete in the first century BC and their growing understanding of the architectural principles of stress  and counter-stress, Roman architects were able to experiment with new and elaborate forms of building, many of which were to pass in to the western architectural tradition. (Cunningham and Reich  156)." (FreeEssays). And, interestingly enough, it is recently coming into its own once more as a preferred building material for houses and is being used more and more in kitchen  countertops and house flooring due to its versatility, its strength, and its cost effective nature. The concrete during the Roman times allowed for greater diversity in their building techniques  and designs as well. Until they had developed concrete most of the architecture was constructed with traditional models that used post and lintel systems. But, with the introduction of concrete  many more types of architectural designs became possible, designs that would have been impossible with recent models of construction. In addition, "It was also the Roman use of concrete that  led the way to many other Roman innovations in architecture, most especially the use of arches and vaults" (FreeEssays). Arches, another architectural model that is often taken for granted