Computational modelling and digital materialization of Alberti’s column system: a reflection on results obtained

Castro e Costa, Eduardo

Abstract

We hereby focus the study of the Albertian column system, as part of the Digital Alberti project, a research initiative that aims to shed some light on the influence of Alberti on Portuguese architecture. Starting from Alberti’s treatise on architecture, De Re Aedificatoria, and its translation into Portuguese, Da Arte Edificatória, a generative computational model was developed that encodes Alberti’s prescriptions about the elements of the column system, as well as their proportions and shapes. This research complements the elaboration of the corresponding shape grammar on Alberti’s column system. This project is a paradigmatic example of the use of digital technology for understanding architectural tradition. The development of the referred models implied deepening the understanding of Alberti’s rules about the column elements. This in-depth analysis revealed a very coherent hierarchical structure ruling the relationships among the several elements. It also revealed that information was insufficient to inform a formal model of all them, especially the ones showing more complex geometry, such as the corinthian and composite capitals. Therefore, it can be considered that the application of digital technologies allowed to more accurately understand and reproduce Alberti’s guidelines for the art of building.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Conference Name: Digital Alberti
• Acceptance Date: Apr 1, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Dec 30, 2014
• Publication Date: Dec 30, 2014
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 13, 2022
• Journal: Joelho Revista de Cultura Arquitectonica
• Print ISSN: 1647-9548
• Electronic ISSN: 1647-8681
• Publisher: Departamento de Arquitetura
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Issue: 5
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-8681_5_12
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9323888
• Publisher URL: https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/joelho/article/view/_5_12