Flexible spaces and retrofitting 

By Andrew Fox, Early Career Research Associate, ICS 

As the environmental crisis rumbles on, and governments around the world commit to action, it can be illustrative to reflect on how historic civilisations engaged with their changing environment. For the Romans, this involved a number of approaches we might recognise. From green spaces to mitigate noise and air pollution, to tall chimney stacks to disperse pollutants over as large an area as possible, we have adopted similar practices to the Romans in adapting our built environments to cope with the growth of urban pollution.

While environmental urban pollution in the Roman world occurred at nowhere near the same level as it does today, it was nevertheless significant enough to have had a measurable impact in core sampling in Greenland. It is unsurprising, then, that mitigation played a part in Roman architectural development.

Our evidence derives from a variety of sources. Traditional literary evidence, such as Vitruvius’ discussion on the benefits of green spaces in a building (it clears liquid from the eyes, rarefies the air, and provides a healthy space for walking), is common, but only paints part of a much larger picture. To fully understand Roman engagement with their built environment, the full range of evidence from the ancient world must be brought to bear.