MODULE NO.

AR 1141/D
THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1
RSW NO.: PR-01
“Vitruvius Pollio”
DATE ISSUED:
DATE DUE:

MALABANAN,HANNAH BILLIE D.
BS ARCH 1
12:30-4:30 M | 12:30-1:30

AR. KATHRINE D. LUNA

Roman architect, engineer, and author Vitruvius, full name Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, was well-known

throughout the first century BC. De architectura (On Architecture), a famous treatise he published, served

as a guide for Roman architects. With the exception of what can be inferred from Vitruvius' works, which

are ambiguous on the issue, very little is known about his life. Although he makes no mention of the

emperor to whom his book is dedicated, the first Augustus is probably the one in mind, and the treatise

was likely conceived after 27 BC. Given that Vitruvius calls himself an ancient man, it is possible that he

lived and worked during the reign of Julius Caesar. Vitruvius himself describes a basilica he constructed

at Fanum (now Fano). His book De Architectura was based on his own experiences as well as theoretic

writings by notable Greek architects like Hermogenes. The treatise covers practically all aspects of

architecture, but it is limited because it is based mostly on Greek models, from which Roman architecture

was shortly to drastically deviate in order to meet the demands of proclamating an empire over the globe.

De architectura is broken down into ten books that cover topics like general city planning and

architecture, building materials, temple construction and the use of Greek orders, private buildings, public

buildings (theatres, baths), floors and stucco decoration, hydraulics, clocks, mensuration, and astronomy,

and civil and military engines. Vitruvius' worldview is fundamentally Hellenistic. His desire was to

preserve the classical tradition in the design of temples and public buildings, and the prefaces to his

treatise's separate books contain many pessimistic remarks about contemporary architecture. The majority

of what Pliny says about Roman construction methods and wall painting in his Natural History was taken

from Vitruvius, though he was not acknowledged. Vitruvius' expressed desire for his name to be

remembered by posterity was fulfilled. His work served as the primary source for information on classical

architecture during the Renaissance's antique revival, the Baroque's classical era, and the Neoclassical era.
Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect, identified firmitas, utilitas, and venustas as the three components

necessary for a well-designed building in a text he wrote near the end of the first century B.C.E. The

building's structural integrity was protected by firmness or physical strength. In order to suit the

functional requirements of its occupants, Utility provided an effective layout of its areas and mechanical

systems. The aesthetic attribute venustas, which was linked to the goddess Venus, added style, proportion,

and aesthetic beauty. "Firmness, commodity, and delight"—translated famously into English by translator

Henry Wotton in the seventeenth century—remain the fundamental elements of every good architectural

design.

Firmitas is the durability of the structure. Vitruvius, for instance, emphasizes the need of having the

foundations lowered to firm ground and the need for using high-quality materials that are appropriate for

the job. Vitruvius' original idea has been developed in the context of modern architecture to cover every

concern related to the structure's physical longevity.

Utilitas addresses the problems crucial to the operation of architecture. The ability of the buildings to

respond to the requirements of both actual users and the local community is addressed in the present

understanding of the term.

The theme of Venustas is architectural beauty, which in Vitruvius' classical world meant the ability of the

structure to mimic (from the Greek: "mimesis") the natural order of the cosmos.
He was the first to propose that all structures should have firmitas, utilitas, and venustas ("strength,"

"utility," and "beauty") These ideas were later widely embraced in Roman architecture. The renowned

Renaissance depiction of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci was inspired by his study of ideal

proportion in building and the human anatomy.

When architecture is described and analyzed, the three notions are frequently utilized. Each of the three

corners of the Vitruvian triad establishes distinct needs and goals that must be fulfilled in the architecture.

It is essential for the construction of architectural quality that these requirements interact and produce a

wholeness. One component aspect from one of the triangle's corners, such as durability, may be discussed

in architectural evaluations. The quality of building constructions may be the subject of additional

evaluations. No one description is more accurate than the other; they are simply emphasizing different

features of the overall architectural quality.

Firm like a super human, with arms of steel you could never break.

Utilized by many, a sole resource, like an only well in the community.

Its undeniable beauty is like a flower, it radiates, a feast for the eyes.