Quote of the Day: 25 October 2017

Good Morning Architects!

"A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away."

Vitruvius

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c. 90 - c. 20 BCE), better known simply as Vitruvius, was a Roman military engineer and architect who wrote De Architectura(On Architecture), a treatise which combines the history of ancient architecture and engineering with the author's personal experience and advice on the subject. As no similar work has survived complete from antiquity, the book has become an invaluable source, not only on Greek and Roman architecture, but also on a wide range of other topics such as philosophy, mathematics, and medicine.
He served as a military engineer and architect for Julius Caesar between 58 and 51 BCE and he personally visited Greece, Asia, North Africa, and Gaul. He was considered an expert on ballistics and he also built a basilica at Fanum Fortunae (modern Fano in Umbria, Italy) in c. 27 BCE. In De Architectura , written 30-20 BCE, Vitruvius gives a very personal account of ancient and contemporary architecture which draws on his own experience and on older works, especially by Greek writers such as Hermogenes of Alabanda, who wrote in the 2nd century BCE.
Vitruvius was a great admirer of Greek architecture in general. De Architectura was also perhaps aimed at gaining favour from the then Roman emperor Augustus (to whom it is dedicated), although it is curiously silent on many of the important buildings erected during the reign of Rome's first emperor.

SUMMARY OF DE ARCHITECTURA

De Architectura is divided into 10 books:

Book I - on an architect's ideal education, the principles and divisions of architecture, fortifications, principles of good town planning, and where best to build a temple.
Consequently, since such a wide discipline should be enriched, and overflow with many different kinds of expertise, I do not think that people can justifiably profess themselves architects at the drop of a hat. (Bk. 1, Ch. 1.11)
Book II - on the origins of buildings and the various materials employed in their construction such as bricks, sand, stone, and wood, and the various types of walls.
Build walls two feet thick with courses of red dressed stone, fired brick or ordinary hard stone in the cavity: then the outer faces should be bound to these with iron clamps and lead. In this way the wall, which has not been built with just a pile of material but in courses, will last indefinitely. (Bk. 2, Ch. 8.4)
Book III - on the mathematics and correct proportions of columns and temples.
The upper diameters of columns should be enlarged to compensate for the increasing distances for the glance of the eye as it looks up. For our sight searches for beauty. (Bk. 3, Ch. 3.13)
Book IV - on the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian architectural orders, and the various types of temples and altars.If the sacred temples of the gods are to lie along public roads, they should be orientated so that passers-by can see them and make their salutations in front of them. (BK. 4, Ch. 5.2)

Floor Plan, Theatre of Marcellus

Book V - on various Roman buildings such as the basilica, the best design for theatres to obtain the best acoustics, and advice on building harbours.
The ancient architects, taking their lead from nature, designed the tiers of seats in theatres on the basis of their investigations into the rising of the voice, and tried, with the help of the mathematician's principles and musical theory, to devise ways in which any voice uttered onstage would arrive more clearly and pleasantly at the ears of the spectators. (Bk. V, Ch. 4.8)
Book VI - on the effect of climate on character and best foundations and layouts for private homes.
Bedrooms and libraries should face east since their function requires morning light, and again, so that the books in libraries will not rot. (Bk. 6, Ch. 4.1)
Book VII - on paving, vaults, and wall-paintings, including the best colours and their origins and history of use.
Purple has the most prized and most outstandingly beautiful appearance of all these colours. It is extracted from the marine shellfish from which purple dye is made, which is as amazing to the observer as anything else in nature. (Bk. 7, Ch. 8.1)

Book VIII – is concerned with water, its sources and conveyance via aqueducts.
There is a spring on the island of Cea and those who unwisely drink from it lose their minds; an epigram is inscribed there which says that a drink from the spring is delightful but that whoever drinks from it will end up with the brain of a stone. (Bk. 8, Ch. 3.22)
Book IX – on the study of astronomy and its relevance to architectures and the measurement of time using sundials and water-clocks.
Archimedes ecstatically jumped out of the bath without a moment's delay and rushed off home, stark naked, announcing at the top of his voice that he had found what he was looking for, since as he ran along, he shouted repeatedly in Greek 'Heureka, heureka'. (Bk. 9 Introduction)
Book X – describes various machines and gadgets such as distance measuring devices, water-driven machines, and weapons like catapults, ballistae, and siege engines.
Ropes are tightened up in the same way by means of hand-spikes and windlasses until they sound the same. In this way, by keeping the device taut with wedges, the catapults are 'tuned' to the proper pitch by musical testing. (Bk. 10, Ch. 12.2)