TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HUCKABEE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
ARCH 1311 Design, Environment and Society

Lecture 02, OUTLINE

VITRUVIUS Architectural Theory I

Urs Peter "Upe" Flueckiger
August 30, 2023

Key Personnel

Vitruvius, ca. 84 BC
Walter Benjamin 1892 - 1940

Key Book
Vitruvius Pollio. The ten books on architecture. Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan. With illus. and original designs prepared under the direction of Herbert Langford Warren. New York, Dover Publications, 1960.

Key Words

firmitas, utilitas, venustas
=
firmness, commodity, delight

It has been generally assumed that a complete theory of architecture is always concerned essentially in some way or another with these three interrelated terms, which, in Vitruvius' Latin text, are given as firmitas, utilitas, and venustas (i.e., structural stability, appropriate spatial accommodation, and attractive appearance).

Links of Interest
https://www.archdaily.com/771939/the-long-ish-read-walter-benjamin-unpacking-his-library