The Greek word hēmikýklion derived in Latin hemicyclĭum, who came to French as hemicycle. Ours language , the notion arrived as hemicycle : this is the name of the half of a circle or circle .
What is arranged in a semicircular manner or in the form of a semicircle is called a hemicycle. For example, it may be a space architectural With the mentioned characteristics.
The concept of architectural space is defined as an environment that is part of a building made by the human being, such as being a building or a park. For its existence the architectural elements, that is, the parts of an architectural work that fulfill decorative or structural functions, among others (it can be said that the architectural element is to the word as the architectural language is to the text).
To boost the architectural space , it is possible to configure the environment (this is related to the concept of town planning) or recreating it (as is the case with decorative arts). The hemicycle is an architectural space as long as it belongs to a larger work, such as a stadium.
Hemiccycles are often semicircular halls or places that have bleachers . This way of organizing the space helps the people that are located in the stands can see what happens in the center, where a stage is usually located.
The theaters of the Ancient Greece that were built between the V century and the 3rd century BC They used to be hemiccycles. They rose on mountain slopes to facilitate the view, developing the koilon (the whole of the stands) in height. The semicircular shape guaranteed good vision and also adequate acoustics.
Precisely, when an architect chooses the hemicycle to shape a space within a work He does not always do it for aesthetic, stylistic or symbolic reasons, but in general he pursues a practical objective, such as that all visitors enjoy an optimal perception of a particular public event.
If we talk about an architectural construction with a concave shape, we cannot fail to mention the following two:
* Plebiscite Square : is located in Naples, Italy, in the center from the city. It covers about 25 thousand square meters and it shows several of the most emblematic buildings of the place, such as the Royal Palace , he Salerno Palace , the Basilica of San Francisco de Paula and the Prefecture Palace ;
* the Republic Square : It is one of the most characteristic points of Rome. It is located near the Roma Termini railway station, the most important in the city and one of the most important in the entire continent. Not far away we can also find the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs . The Republic Square is a fundamental knot in the communication of the city, since it passes a road that connects the station Central with that of Plaza Venecia.
It is usual for legislative chambers also be hemiccycles. Even the graphic representation of the conformation of a particular camera is usually a hemicycle. By extension, a hemicycle is colloquially called a parliament or one legislature .
For example: "The opposition abandoned the hemicycle and could not vote on the project presented by the ruling party", “I think that society managed to take the debate to the hemicycle thanks to the strong pressure it exerted on the streets”, "It is still too early to know how the seats will be distributed in the hemicycle".
Making a space be constituted as a hemicycle, in short, is usually a decision linked to the practice . However, the hemicycle may be due to aesthetic or even symbolic reasons.
