The Forum Romanum

One of the earliest and most successful forms of public space was the Forum Romanum (Roman Forum). Providing a multitude of services for the citizens of Rome, key leaders such as Sulla, Julius Caesar and Augustus ensured this space would function as a political, economic and entertainment center. It communicates a message of importance for useful public space during Roman times through ancient architecture and monuments. Because of the Roman’s extensive knowledge of concrete construction and their unique style, the architecture of the Forum Romanum illustrates the highl of success and confidence that the Romans carried out in their design and construction methods. Few cities throughout the modern day world have come close to achieving the
Standing at 50 feet tall marks the entrance of the forum, the Arch of Titus. Built in 85 AD, it was used to honor Titus leading the Romans into victory for the capturing of Jerusalem and may be one of the oldest surviving arches from the Roman era. The Basilica had multiple purposes, one may think a Basilica is used strictly for religious functions, but in the Forum they had multiple uses such as law courts, and administration. The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine has the largest footprint in the forum and was complete in 312 BC under the rule of emperor Maxentius. The building is impressive with its arcaded walls, massive ceiling vaults, and brick/stone ceiling construction rather than the standard for basilicas, the timber roof system. The basilica was used for law, court hearings and as meeting space for officials. Other Basilicas in the Forum Romanum were the Basilica Aemilia and the Basilica Julia both were used for business administration and as civil justice
This concept of urban design is seen constantly with Roman architecture and town planning in the Forum. For example repetitive colonnades in, repeating arches as well as the simplistic symmetry produced by Roman architecture resembles Corbusier's vision of simplistic architecture and repetitive buildings. This is what makes architecture pleasing to someone who may not be a connoisseur of architecture and design.
Corbusier's vision of the perfect city is portrayed in his ideological urban layout known as Radiant City. His idea behind it was to separate the city center from residence space by building residence space around the urban center and by putting the economic, entertainment, and civic buildings at the center, which enables the focal point of the city to be heavily used as public space. This is seen with the Forum Romanum in a sense that the, entertainment space, political space, and economic centers were at the Forum which was the Focal point of the City of