Innovative Architecture

Several new architectural trends emerged in the fifth and sixth centuries: (1) the development of skeletal structural systems in Late Roman architecture that transform wall support into point support; (2) the juxtaposition of longitudinal and centralized plans in church architecture; and (3) an increased interest in geometry and measurement in architectural design. The innovative developments signaled by Hagia Sophia mark a creative shift from Rome and Italy (where architecture would remain conservative after the sixth century) to Constantinople and the East.