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Do not fill this in! ==Theory== {{Main|Architectural theory|Philosophy of architecture}} [[Image:Yingzao Fashi 1 desmear.JPG|thumb|Illustration of [[Bracket (architecture)|bracket]] arm clusters containing [[cantilever]]s from ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'', a text on architecture by [[Li Jie (Song dynasty)|Li Jue]] (1065–1110)]] [[File:Plan d'exécution du second étage de l'hôtel de Brionne (dessin) De Cotte 2503c – Gallica 2011 (adjusted).jpg|thumb|alt=Plan d'exécution du second étage de l'hôtel de Brionne (dessin) De Cotte 2503c – Gallica 2011 (adjusted)| [[Floor plan|Plan]] of the second floor (attic storey) of the Hôtel de Brionne in Paris – 1734.]] The philosophy of architecture is a branch of [[philosophy of art]], dealing with aesthetic value of architecture, its [[semantics]] and in relation with development of [[culture]]. Many philosophers and theoreticians from [[Plato]] to [[Michel Foucault]], [[Gilles Deleuze]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Deleuze|first=Gilles|title=Pourparlers|location=Paris|publisher=Minuit|date=1990|page=219|quote=It is not the line that is between two points, but the point that is at the intersection of several lines.}}</ref> [[Robert Venturi]] and [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] have concerned themselves with the nature of architecture and whether or not architecture is distinguished from building. ===Historic treatises=== The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is {{Lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} by the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]] in the early 1st century AD.<ref name="Vitruvius">D. Rowland – T.N. Howe: Vitruvius. Ten Books on Architecture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, {{ISBN|0-521-00292-3}}</ref> According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of {{lang|la|firmitas, utilitas, venustas}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/LIH/history/vitruvius.htm#ch1-3|title=Vitruvius Ten Books on Architecture, with regard to landscape and garden design|work=gardenvisit.com|access-date=14 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012035458/http://gardenvisit.com/landscape/LIH/history/vitruvius.htm#ch1-3|archive-date=12 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="elements">{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/home.html |title=Vitruvius |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730065630/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/home.html |url-status=live }}</ref> commonly known by the original translation – ''firmness, commodity and delight''. An equivalent in modern English would be: * Durability – a building should stand up robustly and remain in good condition * Utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used * Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. [[Leon Battista Alberti]], who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, ''[[De re aedificatoria]]'', saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealized human figure, the [[Golden ratio|Golden mean]]. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, and was based on universal, recognizable truths. The notion of style in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of [[Giorgio Vasari]].<ref>[[Françoise Choay]], ''Alberti and Vitruvius'', editor, Joseph Rykwert, Profile 21, Architectural Design, Vol. 49 No. 5–6</ref> By the 18th century, his ''[[Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects]]'' had been translated into Italian, French, Spanish, and English. In the 16th century, Italian Mannerist architect, painter and theorist [[Sebastiano Serlio]] wrote ''Tutte L'Opere D'Architettura et Prospetiva'' (''Complete Works on Architecture and Perspective''). This treatise exerted immense influence throughout Europe, being the first handbook that emphasized the practical rather than the theoretical aspects of architecture, and it was the first to catalog the five orders.<ref>[https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/serlio Sebastiano Serlio – On domestic architecture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416091747/https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/serlio |date=16 April 2021 }}, Columbia University Libraries, accessed February 5, 2021</ref> In the early 19th century, [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin]] wrote ''Contrasts'' (1836) that, as the title suggested, contrasted the modern, industrial world, which he disparaged, with an idealized image of neo-medieval world. [[Gothic architecture]], Pugin believed, was the only "true Christian form of architecture."<ref>{{cite journal|last=D'Anjou|first=Philippe|title=An Ethics of Freedom for Architectural Design Practice|jstor=41318789|volume=64|date=2011|journal=Journal of Architectural Education|pages=141–147|number=2|doi=10.1111/j.1531-314X.2010.01137.x|s2cid=110313708}}</ref> The 19th-century English art critic, [[John Ruskin]], in his ''[[Seven Lamps of Architecture]]'', published 1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men ... that the sight of them" contributes "to his mental health, power, and pleasure".<ref name="Ruskin">John Ruskin, ''[[Iarchive:sevenlampsofarch0000rusk v7h2|The Seven Lamps of Architecture]]'', G. Allen (1880), reprinted Dover, (1989) {{ISBN|0-486-26145-X}}</ref> For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string [[Course (architecture)|courses]] or [[Rustication (architecture)|rustication]], at the very least.<ref name=Ruskin/> On the difference between the ideals of ''architecture'' and mere ''[[construction]]'', the renowned 20th-century architect [[Le Corbusier]] wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture".<ref>Le Corbusier, ''Towards a New Architecture'', Dover Publications(1985). {{ISBN|0-486-25023-7}}</ref> Le Corbusier's contemporary [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]] is said to have stated in a 1959 interview that "architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/best-brick-buildings-architecture/index.html|title=9 innovative contemporary buildings that test the limits of humble brick |last=Verney |first=Harriet |date=July 25, 2017 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 29, 2023 |url-status=live|archive-date=May 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529231129/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/best-brick-buildings-architecture/index.html}}</ref> [[File:Congresso do Brasil.jpg|thumb|alt= The view shows a 20th-century building with two identical towers very close to each other rising from a low building which has a dome at one end, and an inverted dome, like a saucer, at the other.|The [[National Congress Palace|National Congress of Brazil]], designed by [[Oscar Niemeyer]]]] ===Modern concepts=== The notable 19th-century architect of [[skyscraper]]s, [[Louis Sullivan]], promoted an overriding precept to architectural design: "[[Form follows function]]". While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it had the effect of introducing the concept of "function" in place of Vitruvius' "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural. Nunzia Rondanini stated, "Through its aesthetic dimension architecture goes beyond the functional aspects that it has in common with other human sciences. Through its own particular way of expressing [[Architectural design values|values]], architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming that, in and of itself, it will promote social development.... To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art's sake is not only reactionary; it can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere instrumentality".<ref>Rondanini, Nunzia ''Architecture and Social Change'' Heresies II, Vol. 3, No. 3, New York, Neresies Collective Inc., 1981.</ref> Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building design are [[Rationalism]], [[Empiricism]], [[Structuralism]], [[Poststructuralism]], [[Deconstructivism|Deconstruction]] and [[Phenomenology (architecture)|Phenomenology]]. In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both structure and function, the consideration of [[sustainability]], hence [[sustainable architecture]]. To satisfy the contemporary ethos a building should be constructed in a manner which is environmentally friendly in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural and built environment of its surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon the natural environment for [[Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning|heating, ventilation and cooling]], [[Water efficiency|water use]], [[Waste management|waste products]] and [[Architectural lighting design|lighting]]. {{clear}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page