The Vitruvian Crisis or Architecture: the expected experience on aesthetical appraisal of architecture (original) (raw)
Related papers
Debate on the Presence/Absence of the Vitruvian Triad in the Current Architecture and Urban Design
In a context of general resignation of the Vitruvian triad in architecture and urban design we try to uncover and debate on the current act of building not rationally led but driven by on the spot decisions and subjective needs. Since Soundness, Utility and Beauty have been mainly considered the ideal combination that can lead to the creation of symbols and not simple constructions satisfying stringent needs, the main aim of this study is to highlight the importance of the Vitruvian triad and its ABCs in urban architecture and design, as well as the effects of changing shares of one of the dimensions on the aesthetics and functioning of the buildings. We start from the identification of the optimal combination of all three dimensions Soundness, Utility and Beauty reflected in the worldwide architectural heritage. However, our approach lies between illustrating the dissolution of the triad and identifying its reasoning, emphasizing on the most visible triggered effects in practice. Architecture represents the cultural field whose progress is most visible in time, and whose representatives are the universal symbols of ideas, knowledge and art, as the work of man surrounded by nature. In the end, we advocate for maintaining the presence of the Vitruvian triad for its purpose of fulfilling the role of architecture which is to create humanized environments that would fulfil the need for living still considering creative aesthetics as indispensable supplementary need.
Acknowledging the Dignity of Architectural Heritage Adding a Fourth Virtue to the Vitruvian Triad
Athens Journal of Architecture
Addressing the complex legacies of the past in architectural education and built constructions, calls for a reconsidering of the principles of architectural design and conservation. The current challenges of housing, sustainable development and heritage adaptation present huge dilemmas for architects. Yet today architects are only by exception trained to detect heritage values prior to drafting their interventions for adaptive reuse or upgrading. To this day, Western architectural thinking is influenced by the Vitruvian triad Firmitas, Utilitas and Venustas, and the truncated maxim ‘Form Follows Function’ as disseminated by the protagonists of the Modern Movement. These established a divide between the design for new-build and the care of already existing buildings. This divide is marked by the two Charters of Athens: the 1931 Carta del Restauro adopted at the First International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, and La Chartre d’Athènes presented by Le C...
2007
Salama, A. M. (2007). Book Review: Nikos A. Salingaros: A New Vitruvius for 21st Century Architecture and Urbanism. Archnet-IJAR-International Journal of Architectural Research, Volume 1, Issue 2, PP. 114-131. ISSN # 1938 7806. ______________________________________ This article adopts the premise that the work of Nikos A. Salingaros marks a true beginning for seriously regaining what cultures and societies have lost throughout the years through the work of many architects, urbanists, and decision makers. It explores the three monographs he has written and views them as a new “De Architectura” for 21st century architecture and urbanism. The article reflects on Vitruvius’s De Architectura and sheds light on selected evolutionary aspects of architecture and the anti-vitruvian practices that continued for hundreds of years, but intensified over the last century. It reviews the attitudes of anti-vitruvian architects that contributed to severe socio-cultural and contextual problematics. The views adopted in this article are based on the conviction that the theories and writings of Salingaros are a reaction and a conscious positive response to these practices, and that these theories will invigorate the creation of humane and livable environments.
[i2]: Innovación e Investigación en Arquitectura y Territorio. Escuela Politécnica Superior. Universidad de Alicante, 2015
Parece que en las últimas décadas la arquitectura ha comenzado finalmente a tener en cuenta el impacto que tanto su construcción como su puesta en funcionamiento tienen sobre el medio ambiente. Ello ha llevado a una transformación estética de la arquitectura para hacerla (parecer) más ecológica que se ha resuelto en gran medida mediante el uso extensivo de la técnica, incorporando y exhibiendo una batería de sistemas tecnológicos que buscan la máxima eficiencia, pero que sin embargo no atacan las raíces de la cuestión. Pues lo que en realidad hace falta es replantear en el origen las relaciones entre arquitectura, técnica y naturaleza, en busca de un comienzo alternativo . Este artículo propone en primer lugar un repaso a esta relación original, que de hecho es una relación contaminada desde el principio y condenada a su fracaso, aproximándose a su mito fundacional, el de Dédalo. A partir de ahí, se propondrán dos estrategias generales que la arquitectura puede ensayar para reconstruir, o al menos aliviar, esta difícil relación: una arquitectura de la visibilidad (y por tanto que sea crítica) y una arquitectura de la gratuidad (y que por tanto sea desinteresada). A ello seguirá un desarrollo más pormenorizado de las cuestiones en discusión, como la necesaria negociación hombre/arquitectura y naturaleza, las cuestiones relacionadas con el uso retórico de las tecnologías verdes, las demandas que estas estrategias de visibilidad y gratuidad implican y las relaciones entre physis y techne, para terminar con la cuestión del desinterés desde una óptica kantiana. Las breves conclusiones finales nos devolverán al punto en que se reconsidera, en vez de un origen para la arquitectura que impone una relación técnica (de explotación) con la naturaleza, un posible origen estético que imponga, en cambio, una relación desinteresada con la misma.
Contingent Presences in Architecture: Vitruvian Theory as a Beginning
International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences: 7.0., 2014
This paper claims that architecture is a contingent discipline, despite the fact that its contingency has long been denied through a retreat to Vitruvian writing. Using the arguments of Zygmunt Bauman, it becomes clear that contingency is rejected not only by architecture but also by modernity as a whole. Vitruvius attempted to cover the entire field of architecture in systematic form in order to bring the whole body of this great discipline to complete order. The legacy of his treatise De architectura has hitherto lasted not only that it is the only major work on the architecture of Classical Antiquity to have survived, but also that its conformity with the project of modernity. Ancient Roman author identifies architecture as an act of imposing order, of taking the unruly and making it coherent. Accordingly, architectural certainties that his treatise provides perfectly coincides with the will to order that Bauman identifies as the central feature of modernity.
Anti-Vitruvian Architects and Contemporary Society, Ashraf M. Salama, 2011
Architects for Peace Editorials, 2011
Salama, A. M. (2011). Anti-Vitruvian Architects and Contemporary Society. Architects for Peace, September, Melbourne, Australia. ________________________________ Certain issues keep presenting themselves on the map of discussions about architecture and its role as a profession in contemporary societies. Recently, I came across two web interventions that highlight some of these issues. The first is a video clip on You Tube, titled “is the architect obsolete?” and the second is an article on the website of DesignIntelligence by Helena Jubany, titled “The Social Responsibility of Architects” These were a trigger for this editorial in which I re-iterate some of the issues I presented in my earlier writings. While practicing architecture works very well for some professionals, many are suffering from norms, traditions, and customs adopted by the profession itself. This is due to the fact that the profession still clings to the antiquated notion of an architect or designer waiting in an office for a client to come in with a project. It is also due to the fact that architects do not know how to convince others of their value. The question here is why? Is it the ineffectiveness of professional organizations, is it the notion of ‘starchitects’ that dictates the architectural scene in many parts of the world? Well, it might not be so difficult to offer a validated answer! More can be found here or download the complete article http://archpeace2.blogspot.com/2011/09/anti-vitruvian-architects-and.html