First of all, many thanks for the truly extremely numerous contributions on this topic!
In advance, I would like to apologize for only now being able to write something again on this topic, but I have been quite busy the past few days and will probably not always be able to respond immediately to everything in the future either. In the following, I would like to go into a few posts in more detail:
...I would probably try my luck with restorers and sculptors. They can surely give you further contacts so you head in the right direction.
In the end, such an extravagant thing comes down to a building with an architect who ideally can realize himself in the building and has knowledge of the subject. So I would also search in that direction, probably even as the first step.
Thank you very much for this hint! I must confess I am completely new to the subject and also live very remotely in the countryside. On which websites can you best find contacts to sculptors, restorers, and suitable architects?
The question is also whether a small house and this style are compatible. Honestly, I don’t think so. The style elements you named were only used in ancient Rome by those who could build grand and representative buildings. Those who had to build small lived rather simply. Without Corinthian columns, frescoes, and sculptures. Mostly very simple, rectangular forms. Typically, I would see a courtyard, a so-called patio.
Whether it makes sense here and is feasible (development plan!) is another matter.
I remember a dream house from the BR series of the same name, which had a modern courtyard. It was very chic!
You can certainly implement mosaics in the bathroom area (as old Rome provides a lot of inspiration here), frescoes can also decorate a living area or a patio.
You can always use marble tiles (and combined with underfloor heating in our regions also make it cozy; and the ancient Romans were the inventors of underfloor heating!)
Overall, I would use the style elements very sparingly in a small construction project. In ancient Rome, only those who lived on the Palatine and other noble areas had columns. The small Roman among the hills did not ;-).
And most likely you will have to deal with a given development plan. And if that foresees a gable roof with a slope of 28°-40°, the Roman atmosphere will also be difficult, at least from the outside.
Yes, certainly I do not intend to exaggerate with the style elements of the temple buildings I mentioned within a planned small residential house… More representative for my building idea would probably be something like the House of the Vettii in Pompeii. I can imagine Corinthian columns, for example, as a colonnade of what I called in modern terms the "atrium," i.e., the courtyard. I would not want to exaggerate with frescoes and sculptures, but certainly a few sculptures in the atrium and a few smaller sculptures in the bathroom or other rooms, a few frescoes in the living area, mosaics in the bathroom or something similar, but naturally adapted in quantity to the size of the house and of course also to the budget. I am quite flexible regarding the amount of style elements and definitely willing to adapt, as long as the materials remain high quality.
Regarding the development plan, I would also have to inform myself first, as I live, as said, in an extremely sparsely populated area (about 200 people in the village). However, due to my profession, I am also able to move flexibly and find a suitable place for my construction, as long as it should be allowed somewhere in Germany to build in Roman or neoclassical style.
By the way, in the atrium there should rather be an impluvium, and the hortus is a separate further part.
Here I apologize for my choice of terms, I used atrium in the modern sense for the courtyard, as one knows it, for example, from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii, since I was not aware of how many people here in the forum are familiar with the ancient terms, which I myself, although quite interested in history, do not fully master to my shame.
... whereas the killer criterion Corinthian columns already rule out plots in §34 areas. If you were willing to forego noble materials, the range of options would be much broader, though not in Germany: in the USA (or even Russia as the future leading nation in nouveau riche baroque) you can more easily find your shopping paradises as a Disneyland architect. However, you must not be bothered if these are hollow facades — culture as a spray-molded product (and gladly also in, to put it mildly, non-classical proportions) is appreciated by Uncle Sam.
Where exactly can one best find out about the legal building situation in one’s own area, preferably on the internet without having to visit authorities? In an emergency, I would only need to know where §34 is not effective, since it should be quite possible for me to move. Foregoing noble materials is not an option for me, though I would certainly limit the number of style elements, but definitely not the quality.
Luckily there are development plans. How would cities and villages look if everyone built whatever they liked?! I already find it disturbing if suddenly a log house stands among plaster facades.
My dad has a neighbor like that. He has a garden full of man-high statues, columns, and amphorae. The guy two doors down counters with an army of garden gnomes and light flowers. If aliens were to watch us, they’d think we’re all crazy here. :D
I can quite understand that and am also no fan of such clashing mixed-style areas. Unfortunately, I do not know of any village or town that has fully committed to my desired style, so I had indeed planned to build the house rather in a quiet and idyllic area with plenty of nature, where the style does not clash with others, a modest country villa, so to speak, like you often find in deserted places in Italy.
Roman architecture was (besides reasons of displaying wealth) as it was because this architecture functioned well in the Roman climate. That might fit quite well in the southern Palatinate vineyards, but here in northern Germany it would look strange and, I think, not work very well.
Well, I myself live quite close to the Limes, where the Romans once built in their style. Certainly, the climate was probably warmer back then than today, but at the same time I have naturally planned in some aspects to adapt the house to modern standards, at least where it is beneficial to progress and clashes as little as possible with the style. I am also willing to move permanently to more southern German-speaking regions for my dream, if necessary.
However, even on a small property, the noble material you speak of must be paid for. Just “material” alone is a major cost factor, even if used only sparingly.
Of course, the amount of high-quality material must be adjusted to the financial resources available to me by that time. It would be enough for me, if necessary, to realize my dream at an older age and use it as a retirement residence. I am quite willing to make demands on myself and live very minimally until the right time. Nevertheless, I think it is slowly time to get more detailed information about costs so that my ideas are not completely without basis; for that, I definitely need contacts now.
I’d say: you can like many things, you can have a passion for this and that, but you don’t have to have everything.
That’s what a hobby is for. Many people are in medieval clubs because they have an affinity for that time. Spending vacation in a tent or hut like they had back then has its charm. But hardly anyone wants to build their whole life around it ;)
Well, I have already traveled to some suitable architectural places in my past and was so fascinated by this style that I set it as a firm goal to build something like that myself. Clubs certainly have their charm but require a lot of time, which I cannot provide.
That is clearly because every style has its time. And we simply do not live in ancient Roman times.
Well, I think we no longer live in a time defined by one style. Everywhere you find new buildings of very different styles, partly really clashing as mentioned above. Personally, I think this style, for the beauty it conveys, receives far too little attention today. However, this is certainly only my personal opinion and probably also related to the cost factor.
Good question, surprises me too. Even the sewer running in the middle of the street and the gladiator games are gone...
Besides the fact that the Romans had an unprecedented progressive water supply system, hygiene was very important, and entry to the baths was extremely cheap and thus available to all classes, and that the sewage system was absolutely revolutionary (it is assumed that there was no odor in Roman cities; they mocked almost all sins of a city in the theater, no matter how small, but never about smell!), and a comparable status was probably only reached again in the 19th century, many years after the fall of Rome, I want to mention that I perceive this statement as somewhat mocking and sarcastic and would ask to refrain from such remarks.
THOSE were not residential houses back then. Haha... people did not live in religious buildings then, no one lives in churches now, and presumably no one will live in St. Mary’s churches later either.
Well, I do ask you… I am of course aware of what buildings the shown structures are and that they do not represent living space… I put these examples more in connection with what fascinated and inspired me so much on my numerous travels and ultimately led to my dream (although I could well imagine nowadays building more public buildings in a similar style, such as baths or libraries for the public instead of gray standard buildings, but that is only my personal opinion).
However, regarding my ideas, I would probably rather refer to ancient examples, such as numerous houses in Pompeii, I agree with that, see also my answers above.
Anyway, it would be an interesting project!
What is sold today as "Bauhaus style" has nothing to do with the "Bauhaus" as such, nor with the basic idea behind the master houses in Dessau. Large windows and white facades seem to be enough evidence for the builders to say: yes, we build in Bauhaus style. Therefore, I would not have a problem if someone decorates a Mediterranean city villa from a catalog with various historical design elements of old Rome on the facade and so creates his own Roman house. Please don’t just put everything down!
Many thanks for the understanding and acceptance of my dream build! I know that for many here it probably came across as misunderstood or, put nicely, as a quirky idea to hear about, but it has really been my dream for years, which I want to seriously pursue and am gladly willing to adjust the amount of precious materials to the size of the house and budget. I am not planning a crazy temple replica nor an exaggerated mansion nor necessarily a 1:1 historical replica of a Roman residential house, some things must definitely be adapted to modern times as long as they do not clash with the style.