A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Vitruvius's De architectura has long been subject to critical commentary on the grounds that its language is irregular and even untranslatable, that its technical treatment of the Orders is incomplete and inconsistent, and that its organization does not present its technical material in the most coherent way. Yet, it has also been referred to as the origin of the theoretical basis of architecture through its citation of Greek metaphysical concepts as the grounding principles for an architectural science. This paper argues that Vitruvius's substantial contribution lay not in theoretical speculation but, through the invention of technical discourse, in the introduction of critical values to 'technical' matters and, through the submission of technical matters to the dynamic of language, in the constitution of technology as a developmental process.
Vitruvius's De architectura has long been subject to critical commentary on the grounds that its language is irregular and even untranslatable, that its technical treatment of the Orders is incomplete and inconsistent, and that its organization does not present its technical material in the most coherent way. Yet, it has also been referred to as the origin of the theoretical basis of architecture through its citation of Greek metaphysical concepts as the grounding principles for an architectural science. This paper argues that Vitruvius's substantial contribution lay not in theoretical speculation but, through the invention of technical discourse, in the introduction of critical values to 'technical' matters and, through the submission of technical matters to the dynamic of language, in the constitution of technology as a developmental process.
What Vitruvius Said
Patterson, Richard (author)
The Journal of Architecture ; 2 ; 355-373
1997-01-01
19 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
| Online Contents | 1997
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 1987
| British Library Online Contents | 2014
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002