Hagia Sophia from the age of Justinian to the present

Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justinian to the Present examines problems of form and structure related to one of the masterpieces of world architecture that have intrigued architects and engineers, as well as historians, for centuries. With its vast scale, immense cost, extraordinary speed of erection, and stunning interior space, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), constructed between 532-537, is unparalleled in premodern architecture. As such, the achievement begs answers to three important and interrelated questions: the nature of the material sources available to the designers that enabled them to create this great building; the behavior of Hagia Sophia's much-modified structure over centuries under the action of environmental loadings; and the ability of the present structure to withstand a major earthquake. In this volume, scholars and professionals provide new ideas and information pertaining to the historical background, physical environment, design, and state of the Hagia Sophia building structure over time. The essays are organized along themes that include structural precursors, observations of the fabric of the Byzantine Hagia Sophia and related buildings, structural studies of the Byzantine building, and the Ottoman Hagia Sophia and its influence on contemporary architecture. This volume also contains a select set of plans and elevations of Hagia Sophia by Robert Van Nice, as well as new photography of the building that powerfully conveys its scale and its spatial and formal character.