THEORY OF DESIGN II

Theory in Renaissance Architecture

Smester-3rd sem
Presented By- Ar. Anupama Ajit

THEORY IN RENAISSANCE
Introduction
 After the fall of the Roman Empire, a lot of the Roman culture and
knowledge was lost.
 This included art, technology, engineering, and history.
 Historians know a lot about Europe during the Roman Empire because
the Romans kept excellent records of all that happened.
 However, the time after the Romans is “Dark Age" to historians
because there was no central government recording events.
 The Renaissance was a great moment in the history of architecture for
the expression of architectural theory.
Renaissance period:
•Early Renaissance
•High Renaissance (ca.1500–1525)
•Mannerism (ca. 1520–1600)
 THEORY IN RENAISSANCE

Renaissance means Re-Birth

 Renaissance was a period in European history from the 14th to the 17th century,
regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle ages and modern history.
 Renaissance is known to be a time of cultural rebirth and revival of classical ideas (of
ancient Rome and Greek).
 Before the Renaissance Europe was dominated by asymmetrical and ornate Gothic
architecture.
 During the Renaissance, however, architects were inspired by the highly symmetrical
and carefully proportioned buildings of Classical Greece and Rome.
 First developed in Florence, Italy later spread to different part of Europe.
 Italy was because( Economy) Italy had become very wealthy and the wealthy were
willing to spend their money supporting artists and geniuses.
 Humanisum is intellectual and social movement derived from the rediscovery of
classical Greek philosophy.
 Protagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things”.
 This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature.
 ARCHITECTURAL THEORY

❑ Italian Renaissance architects based their theories and practices on

classical Roman examples.

❑ During the Renaissance, architecture became not only a question of

practice, but also a matter for theoretical discussion. Printing played a
large role in the spreading of ideas.

❑ The first treatise on architecture was De Re Aedificatoria (“On the Art of

Building”) by Leon Battista Alberti in 1450.
“De re aedificatoria” in 1485 became the first printed book on architecture.

❑ In 1570, Andrea Palladio (1508 –1580) published I Quattro Libri

dell'Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture) in Venice. This book was
widely printed and responsible to a large extent for spreading the ideas of
the Renaissance through Europe. All these books were intended to be read
not only by architects, but also by patrons.
Architects In Renaissance
 Filippo Brunelleschi
 Leon Battista Alberti,
 Andrea Palladio
Filippo Brunelleschi

Brunelleschi's Cathedral Dome in Florence

Santa Maria del Fiore
 Filippo Brunelleschi
• He was one of the founding Fathers of the Renaissance
Architecture.
• He is well known for developing a technique for linear
perspective which revolutionized painting in art and for
building the dome of the Florence Cathedral.
• The dome, the lantern (built 1446–ca.1461) and the
exedra(portico, or arcade with a bench) (built 1439–1445)
would occupy most of Brunelleschi's life.
Florence Cathedral
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
 Architects had envisioned a very tall dome to span the huge interior
space, but they lacked the engineering know-how to construct it
 The technical solution was found by Filippo Brunelleschi Inspired by
both the Gothic tradition of stone vaulting and the principles of Roman
architecture
 There was not enough timber in Tuscany to build the scaffolding and
forms. Brunelleschi chose to employed a double shell, made of sandstone
and marble. He would have to build the dome out of brick, due to its light
weight compared to stone and being easier to form, and with nothing
under it during construction
 He invented hoisting machines and lewissons for hoisting large stones
 It is still the largest masonry dome in the world
 Ospedale degli Innocenti
 The Ospedale degli Innocenti : [ospeˈdaːle
deʎʎ innoˈtʃɛnti]; 'Hospital of the Innocents',
 The building reveals a clean and clear sense of
proportion.
 The height of the columns is the same as the
width of the intercolumniation and the width of
the arcade, making each bay a cube.
 The building's simple proportions reflect a new
age, and a sense of great order and clarity.
 The circular arches and the segmented
spherical domes are typical Renaissance
character.
 The architectural elements were also all
articulated in grey stone and set off against the
white of the walls.
 Pietra Serena (Italian: serene stone) is ablue
stone motif prominently seen in Brunelleschi’s
work.
Pietra Serena Composite Column

Rose window
 Leon Battista Alberti
❑ Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian author, (1404-1472) artist, architect,
poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, humanist and Renaissance Man.
❑ He was responsible for making Architecture an intellectual and
professional discipline.
❑ Architecture is to be approached through the study of liberal arts and
through knowledge of drawing than through traditional apprenticeship.

❑ He did extensive study on classical ruins of Rome and Vitruvius's work

and wrote treatise –

“De Re Aedificatoria”.
❑ Alberti believed that mathematics is the common ground of art and the
sciences.

❑ Alberti recommends simple numerical proportions to the architects

discipline.
❑ De Re Aedificatoria , On the Art of Building, Alberti’s treatise on Architecture published in
1485 This became the first printed book on architecture.
❑ Alberti's Ten Books consciously echoes Vitruvius's writing, but Alberti also adopts a critical
attitude toward his predecessor. Alberti explained how buildings should be built and not how
they were built.
❑ Albertis’s theory of absolute beauty is of paramount importance to Renaissance theory.

De re Aedificatoria is subdivided into ten books and includes:

1. Lineaments
2. Materials
3. Construction
4. Public Works
5. Works of Individuals
6. Ornament
7. Ornament to Sacred Buildings
8. Ornament to Public Secular Buildings
9. Ornament to Private Buildings
10. Restoration of Buildings

 "De Re Aedificatoria" remained the classic treatise on architecture from the

sixteenth century until the eighteenth century for three centuries.
 what exactly was in "De re Aedificatoria”?

Alberti's focus was on the Art of building, both in terms of single buildings and entire urban
spaces.

He explores this through three focuses, based closely on the three fundamentals of building
outlined by Vitruvius, called the Vitruvian Triad. First is the stability and usefulness of a
structure. Next are the aesthetic elements of lines, angles, and proportions.

Finally are the elements of beauty and ornamentation.

In basic terms, a great structure must be stable/useful, aesthetically pleasing, and
decorated well, and each element must work with the others to create a consistent and
unified whole.

His work outlined the theories that should guide architects, and set practical and pragmatic
standards for creating mathematically harmonious structures.

Like the ancient Greeks and Romans, he believed that perfect harmony could be
mathematically deduced, and represented in the proportions of architectural elements in a
structure.
Leon Battista Alberti

Other Contributions:
• Facades of Alberti, like painting became an exercise in two dimensional surface decoration.
• To the four order of Vitruvius, he added composite order.
• Integration of classical features with a structure organized according to harmonious
proportions.
• Alberti’s theory is Harmonic i.e.the ancient discovery of harmonic proportion in music was
translated to architectural proportion. For instance, this system posits that when the ratio of
1:2, 2:3, or 3:4 is applied to buildings or rooms, harmonious proportion results. Alberti
credited the harmony of Roman architecture and the universe to this system.
• Ornament as separate from structure, structure could be hidden in favor of appearance.

WORKS:
Façade of Palazzo Rucellai (1446–51)
Completion of the facade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1448–70).
Sant'Andrea, Mantua (begun 1471)
Tempio Malatestiano
Leon Battista Alberti

Santa Maria Novella Basilica of Sant'Andrea,

Mantua by Alberti)
Leon Alberti

The church of Sant'Andrea, Mantua (begun 1471)

▪ It is one of the best church design of Alberti which illustrate many of his ideas.
▪ His belief that ornamentation can be used to hide the structure is illustrated by the use of
giant pilasters on high pedestals.
▪ His belief in classism is illustrated by the use of Roman classical motifs including a
Roman Trimphal Arch motif at the center which obtains monumental scale in
comparison with similar smaller motives on the sides.
▪ The front façade of the church is a square ,width being equal to its height.
▪ There are a number of mathematical relationship used in the design.
▪ The nave is roofed by a Barrel vault, one of the first times such a form was used in such a
monumental scale since antiquity
 Pediment

scrolls
rossette

attic

pilasters

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA, Florence

• The facade of Santa Maria Novella (1458-71) is considered his greatest achievement since it
allows the pre-existing and newly added parts of the building to merge into a clear
statement of his new principles.

The Facade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1448–70).

▪ These facade are noteworthy for the proportionality and the perfect sense of measure.
▪ The lower tier is symmetrical along a central axis and the upper one is equal in size inexactly
half of the lower. This illustrates one of Alberti’s most commonly used ratios, 2:1
• In order to achieve this proportion , Alberti used decorative elements like
pediment from roman architecture, scroll buttress, and blind arches.
• Influence of classical architecture is greatly seen in façade like Rose window, Arched door
way and Pilaster and heavy cornice.
• He employed two large scrolls, which were to become a standard feature of Church facades in
the later Renaissance, Baroque and Classical Revival buildings.
The Facade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1448–70).

Alberti believed that the

beauty of a structure was
intrinsic and spawned from the
proportions of the parts and the
aesthetic, geometric
forms.

The entirety of the façade

Can be contained within a square
which, horizontally halved,
exactly divides the first and the
second tiers.

The lower tier is

symmetrical along a central
axis and the upper one is
equal in size inexactly half of
the lower. This illustrates one
of Alberti’s most commonly
used ratios, 2:1.
Throughout the facade, Alberti
defines areas and relates them
to each other in terms of
proportions that can be
expressed in simple numerical
ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:3, and
so on).
Leon Battista Alberti
Façade of Palazzo Rucellai (1446–51)

▪ Italian Pallazos were houses cum work places for the

rich merchants, religious and political leaders located
in urban areas.

▪ They usually had three story's, lowest for business &

storage, middle for receiving guests and topmost story
for private residential quarters.

▪ The three stories of the Rucellai facade have different

classical orders,
the Tuscan order at the base,
the Ionic order at the second level, and
The simplified Corinthian order at the top level.

▪ The Facade design overlays a grid of shallow pilasters

and cornices in the Classical manner.

▪ The façade had rusticated masonry work and

surmounted by heavy cornice.
▪ Architects aimed to use columns, pilasters,
and entablatures as an integrated system
 Leon Battista Alberti
Design Characteristics
 Plans are symmetrical in which proportions are usually
based on a module which is often width of the aisle
 Façades are symmetrical around their vertical axis
 The Roman orders of columns are used:- Tuscan, Doric,
Ionic, Corinthian and Composite which can be structural
or decorative
 Architects aimed to use columns, pilasters,
and entablatures as an integrated system
 Vaults do not have ribs. They are semi-circular or
segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault (Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua by Alberti)
which is frequently rectangular
 Domestic buildings are often surmounted by a cornice.
 There is a regular repetition of openings on each floor,
and the centrally placed door is marked by a feature such
as a balcony, or rusticated surround.

Palazzo Rucellai Santa Maria Novella

 Andrea Palladio
 Andrea Palladio, Renaissance architect (1508-80). is often described as the
most influential, and most copied, architect in the Western world.
 Palladio's villas revolutionized Western architecture in the 17th and 18th
centuries, produced the school of Southern architecture in the 19th
century, and changed the way homes look in our contemporary world.

 One of his greatest Published treatise

 The Four Books of Architecture
 ( Quattro Libri dell'Architettura) in Venice.

 This book was widely printed and responsible to a great degree of

spreading the ideas of the Renaissance through Europe.
 In his treatise outlined the architectural elements that would make up his
signature style, borrowing from the architecture of the ancient Romans
and the principles directed by Vitruvius and Leon Battista Alberti.
 Andrea Palladio

 Due to the new demand for villas in the sixteenth century, Palladio
specialized in domestic architecture.

 Palladio's work was strongly based on the symmetry, perspective and

values of the formal classical temple architecture of the Ancient
Greeks and Romans

 He mostly focused in building villas, churches and Public building.

 Andrea Palladio name is identified with the architectural movement named
after him, Palladianism
 Palladianism
Andrea Palladio name is identified with the architectural movement named
after him, Palladianism, which started from northern Italy and grew in
popularity across Europe through the 16th and 17th centuries, and extended
to America. Consequently, he is probably the best-known architect in the
Western world.
 VILLA ROTUNDA, VENICE

Palladian architecture
 Palladio adapted the classical temple front to the facades of his villas because it had the
dignity suitable for an entrance.
 Drawing inspiration from classical architecture, he created carefully proportioned,
pediment buildings that became models for stately homes and government buildings in
Europe and America.
 Palladianism, which aims to be governed by reason and the principles of classical antiquity, is
noted for its clarity, order, Proportion and symmetry. That’s the reason its gain the
popularity.
 The Loggia with Pediment, double columned loggia, arch openings and square windows are
the characteristic elements of Palladian architecture.
 Most of his life he spent in Vicenza. He built churches, town and country houses, public
buildings and bridges in Venice and on the Venetian mainland and in and around Vicenza
Three principle elements of Palladian
Architecture.

 Based upon the re-discovered treatise of Vitruvius and the

writings of Alberti and Serlio, Palladio devised a solution with
three principal elements:

1. Dramatic exterior motifs.

2. Economical materials.

3. Internal harmony and balance.

1. DRAMATIC EXTERIOR MOTIFS

•Palladio ultimately developed three primary types of

exterior elevation that we have come to characterize as
Palladian. The simplest, most modest and most numerous
among the constructed works,

Type I -presents a loggia pierced by three openings.

Eg. Villa Godi,
LOGGIA WITH 3 OPENINGS

•The second, Type II- borrows the Greek temple front. It

adapts the Greek pediment and columns to private
residences. GREEK PEDIMENT WITH COLUMNS

GREEK PEDIMENT WITH COLUMNS

•Finally, the third and most innovative and modern of the
three motifs: the double-columned loggia. That is,
complete columns above and below.

DOBLE COLUMNED LOGGIA

• The final culmination of Palladio’s design is the 5 part profile. The villa is flanked by
adjoining farm buildings for storing grain and wine and for housing farm animals
(barchessas).
•At the ends of the barchessa, Palladio added dovecotes on top and faced them with
sundials. The result is one of the lasting legacies of Western public architecture: the
so-called 5-part profile.
5 PART PROFILE

The U. S. Capitol building and dozens of country homes in England are based
on this 5-part profile.
2. ECONOMICAL MATERIALS

• Palladio achieved his visual impact through his design motifs and he built his villas of
brick instead of stone, and clad them in stucco instead of marble.

• The ornate capitals were made of terra cotta. The architraves supporting the mighty
pediments were made of wood covered with straw lathing and then stucco.

• Frescos were used in the interior as cost cutting instead of tapestries.

3. INTERIOR HARMONY AND BALANCE

• First, and fundamentally, Palladio states that the parts of a house must correspond to
the whole and to each other.
•
• Secondly, Palladio varies the volumetric size of his rooms.

•Palladio developed a system of harmonic proportion based on the major and minor
third—resulting in the ratio of 5:6 or 4:5.
Andrea Palladio
Villa Capra "La Rotonda, Venice
Palladio always designed his villas with
reference to their setting.

Villa Capra- a villa located on hill

where facades were frequently
designed to be of equal value so that
occupants could have fine views in all
directions.

Palladio would often model his villa

elevations on Roman temple facades.

Bilateral Symmetry is observed in

arrangement of the room in plan.

The building has a square plan with

loggias on all four sides, which connect
to terraces and the landscape.
Villa Capra "La Rotonda"
The central dome, one of Palladio's
most famous and imitated motifs, was
itself inspired by the Pantheon of
ancient Rome.
Villa Capra "La Rotonda, Venice
Villa Capra "La Rotonda, Venice
• The Roman temple influence, often in a
cruciform design, later became a trademark of
his work.

• The proportions of each room within the villa

were calculated on simple mathematical ratios
like 3:4 and 4:5.

• Palladian villas are usually built with three

floors: a rusticated basement or ground floor,
containing the service and minor rooms;

• above this, the Main floor accessed through a

portico reached by a flight of external steps,
containing the principal reception and
bedrooms; and

• above this is a low mezzanine floor with

secondary bedrooms and accommodation.
Villa Capra "La Rotonda"
 Palladian Motif

The Palladian, or Serlian, arch or window, as

interpreted by Palladio

 Palladian window-Palladian Motif, in architecture, three-part window composed of a large,

arched central section flanked by two narrower, shorter sections having square tops.
 This type of window, popular in 17th- and 18th-century English versions of Italian designs
 Because the motif was first described in the work L’architettura (1537), by the Italian architect
Sebastiano Serlio, it is also known as the Serlian motif, or Serliana, and the window derived
from it may be called a Serlian window. It is also sometimes called a Venetian window.

 The advantage of the Palladian motif or Serliana here is that is flexible. There are no absolute
proportions that determine the width of the openings that flank the arch.

 Therefore, it can be widened or narrowed according to the requirements of the individual bays.
 Andrea Palladio

Design Characteristics of Palladian

architecture:
 Adapted the monumental orders, columned
pedimented porticos to domestic buildings.
 Adapted forms from antiquity, the creator and
master of inventive design.
 Plans made were innovative, varying arrangement
of rooms around a central axis – Bilateral
symmetry.
 Emphasis on horizontal lines – accentuated Bilateral symmetry Plan La Rotonda
emphatically in the façade. Deduced modern
church out of roman temple.
 Relief treatment of façade that suggests depth,
more of 3 dimensional approach to façade
treatment.
 Straight or curved freestanding colonnade used to
unite the central with the flanking elements of the Roman dities in top of
building. the porticco
The Palladian Motif/ Serliana
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

San Giorgio Maggiore

Let's take a look at some of Palladio's greatest works. As with any great architect of the Italian Renaissance, some
of Palladio's finest work was in designing churches. Let's start with San Giorgio Maggiore, located in Venice, Italy.
Built from 1560 to 1580, the facade of this church is modeled on a classical temple, complete with columns and
triangular pediment. However, Palladio presented an innovative take on this ancient composition, and actually
overlaid two facades on top of each other. There are two implied pediments: a wider, lower section and a taller,
narrower one. This creates an interplay of shapes and depth, creating some fascinating shadows that fill the niches
and curves of the geometrically-ordered facade.
 Palladian Villas

Palladio’s villas in the Veneto, Italy — Villa Caldogno

Villa Poiana

Villa Malcontenta (Venice)

Villa di Chiswick
Town Hall, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Characteristics of Renaissance style

 Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the

regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of classical
antiquity and in particular ancient Roman architecture
 Orderly arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of
semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and aedicules replaced the
more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings
 Extensive use of columns of the Classical orders and pilasters
 Triangular pediments
 Square lintels
 Semicircle Arches
 Domes
 Niches with sculptures
 FAÇADE
Characteristics of Renaissance style

PLAN
 The plans of Renaissance buildings have a square or rectangular symmetrical
appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module.
 Within a church, the module is often the width of an aisle
Characteristics of Renaissance style

DOMES

The dome is used frequently, both as a very large structural feature that is visible from the
exterior,
Acts as a means of roofing smaller spaces.
The dome became an indispensable element in church architecture and later even for
secular architecture, such as Palladio's Villa Rotonda
Characteristics of Renaissance style

 FAÇADE
Façades are symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church
façades are generally surmounted by a pediment and organized
by a system of pilasters, arches and entablatures. The
columns and windows show a progression towards the center.

 CEILINGS
Roofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings.. They are
frequently painted or decorated.
the use of spherical segments in the vaults of the side aisles.
Characteristics of Renaissance style

COLUMNS &PILASTER

The Roman orders of columns are used:- Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite.
The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely
decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters.
Columns, pilasters, and entablatures as an integrated system
 WINDOWS
 Windows may be paired and set within a semi-circular arch. They may have
square lintels and triangular or segmental pediments, which are often used
alternately.
DOORS
 Doors usually have square lintels
 They may be set within an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental
pediment
 Openings that do not have doors are usually arched and frequently have a large or
decorative keystone.
Assignment

 Explain Marcus Vitruvius's contributions. sketch and explain the

importance of vitruvian man in architecture.
 Explain with sketches the architecture feature of Renaissance
architecture.

 Describe the design approaches adopted by Renaissance architect

Leon Battista Alberti with sketches of his works.

 “Andrea Palladio is called most imitated Architect in western world”

Explain with examples.
 Explain with sketches the architecture feature of Renaissance
architecture with simple sketches.