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The Regent Dunedin:

Inspiration from
Classical Architecture

By Ross Thorne
Admirers of the interior of the
Regent Dunedin may be pleased to
learn that their enthusiasm is well based:
part of the structure copies a principle
applied for the first time by the
architects of the Hagia Sophia, dedicated
by the Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, in
the city then known as Constantinople.
The feature which has caused much
comment - the way a ceiling dome can
transition gracefully into the supporting
piers below - is a pendentive, a curved
or spherical triangle. With it the
Byzantine architects solved the problem
of how to hold up the massive weight of
a dome, yet give the appearance of
airiness -pleasing to look at, yet essential
to the structure.
The illustration (below, right) shows
how a dome is carried on a pendentive;
four concave triangular sections of
masonry take the weight and position
the circular base of the dome on a
rectangular base. It is a development
from the simpler Roman arch and dome
system.
In medieval times, Europe went its
own way with Gothic, then came back to
the achievements of Byzantium in the
Renaissance/Baroque/Roccoco periods,
by using the arch and dome in a similar
manner.
Of course the Regent Dunedin, like
most of the ‘revivalist’ style of the early
20th century is a bastardisation of the
pure original. As the previous story
explained, the framework for this theatre
included steel arches, and it was the
steel taking the load rather than the
interior arches, now only decorative.
Top and centre: The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. Changed from a church to a mosque in
In this Regent and all others, plaster
the Middle Ages, it is now a museum.
and framing hang off steel trusses to
Above: The pendentive explained. From The Encyclopaedia of Architecture by Doreen
impart an impression of structure. In any
Yarwood.
case, the arch effect as used here is not
complete, it does not continue to the In earlier times, the limitations of the adaptation and recycling of ideas.
floor. The photo on page 21 shows that structural capacities of the building To my knowledge no architect in
to maintain the same height as the head materials to hand dictated certain Australia has used the pendentive form
of these arches, the large arch across the proportions and shapes. The materials of in this way in Australia. ★
auditorium that heralds the beginning of more recent times allowed greater
the proscenium, is flattened into a sort of freedom to produce vast interiors and Dr. Thorne has written five books
half ellipse. However the ‘curved decorate them with imitations of pleasing and numerous articles on the origins
triangle’, the pendentive between the two forms. In that sense, the best theatre and developments in theatre design in
arches, is clear. architects of the 20th century often Australia.
showed great originality in their

22 2007 CINEMARECORD