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