Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750

建筑、数学和英国文化 1550-1750

• 批准号: AH/E009131/1
• 负责人: Stephen Johnston
• 金额: $ 18.1万
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FE009131%2F1
• 关键词: Architecture; Mathematics; English; Culture; 1550

It is generally accepted that the introduction of classical architecture in England coincided with a new professional identity for building practitioners. With the spread of Renaissance culture, the task of the architect - as opposed to the simple builder - was increasingly equated with the process of design as a stage separate and superior to that of actual construction. In this view, design is seen as a primarily intellectual process, which prioritizes the inventive and creative faculties of the designer over and above the putatively menial procedures of actual building. This shift brought about a number of changes that were essential to the evolution of the profession. It allowed the architect a greater social standing relative to other artisans and to separate himself professionally from the guild organization of masons, which tended to exercise strict control over membership. Most importantly, it allowed for a closer and more intimate working relationship with the aristocratic patron. To be sure, this process was neither rapid nor uniform, especially in England, where the tradition of the artisan-builder was far more tenacious than elsewhere and where the classical style was often resisted as a foreign import. Nevertheless, by the mid-eighteenth century, the transformation was largely complete. The exhibition will address an unexplored dimension of this story: the extent to which this professional identity was based on newfound expertise in the mathematical arts and sciences. Mathematics provided a natural paradigm for Renaissance architects. In the first place, the art was almost wholly dependent on geometrical or arithmetic operations of some form or another. The process of design itself - insofar as it required the application of consistent proportional rules - was largely defined by them, as were many other basic tasks. Surveying, cost estimates, bookkeeping, and even the use of routine graphic techniques all entailed a certain amount of mathematical training. Moreover, as practitioners of an art newly identified with a superior realm of 'theory', early modern architects were receptive to advances in contemporary mathematical sciences in a way that was not true of their predecessors. This influence is evident in many areas. As several recent studies have affirmed, Renaissance architects show a newfound awareness of the dynamic properties of structure, a higher regard for geometric precision, a greater familiarity with techniques of arithmetic calculation, and a growing interest in new mathematical sciences, such as trigonometry. The exhibition will display between seventy and eighty objects on this theme, of which roughly half will come from Oxford collections, with the remainder borrowed from museums and libraries in the UK. These will consist mostly of instruments, models, drawings, paintings and books exhibited over some 560 square feet of gallery space. The emphasis throughout is not on architectural technology as such, but rather the role of mathematics in varying contexts of architectural practice. The exhibition will be organized chronologically to examine three principal moments in the relationship between architecture and mathematics, corresponding respectively to the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.

人们普遍认为，英国古典建筑的引入与建筑从业者的新职业身份相一致。随着文艺复兴文化的传播，建筑师的任务（而不是简单的建造者）越来越等同于设计过程，作为一个独立的阶段，并且优于实际施工的阶段。在这种观点中，设计被视为一个主要的智力过程，它优先考虑设计师的发明和创造才能，而不是实际建筑中假定的琐碎程序。这种转变带来了许多对行业发展至关重要的变化。它使建筑师相对于其他工匠具有更高的社会地位，并使自己在职业上与石匠行会组织区分开来，而石匠行会组织往往对会员实行严格的控制。最重要的是，它允许与贵族赞助人建立更紧密、更亲密的工作关系。可以肯定的是，这个过程既不迅速也不统一，尤其是在英国，那里的工匠建造者的传统比其他地方要顽强得多，而且古典风格常常被视为外国进口而受到抵制。然而，到十八世纪中叶，转变基本完成。该展览将探讨这个故事的一个未被探索的维度：这种职业身份在多大程度上基于数学艺术和科学领域新发现的专业知识。数学为文艺复兴时期的建筑师提供了一个自然的范式。首先，艺术几乎完全依赖于某种形式的几何或算术运算。设计过程本身——只要它需要应用一致的比例规则——很大程度上是由它们定义的，就像许多其他基本任务一样。测量、成本估算、簿记，甚至常规图形技术的使用都需要一定的数学训练。此外，作为一种新近被认为具有高级“理论”领域的艺术的实践者，早期现代建筑师以一种与他们的前辈不同的方式接受当代数学科学的进步。这种影响在许多领域都很明显。正如最近的几项研究所证实的那样，文艺复兴时期的建筑师对结构的动态特性表现出新的认识，对几何精度更加重视，对算术计算技术更加熟悉，并对三角学等新数学科学越来越感兴趣。 展览将展出该主题的七十到八十件物品，其中大约一半将来自牛津大学的藏品，其余则从英国的博物馆和图书馆借来。这些将主要包括在约 560 平方英尺的画廊空间中展出的仪器、模型、图画、绘画和书籍。全文的重点不是建筑技术本身，而是数学在不同建筑实践背景下的作用。展览将按时间顺序组织，探讨建筑与数学关系中的三个主要时刻，分别对应于十六、十七和十八世纪。

项目成果

Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England 1500-1750

指南针与规则：1500-1750 年英国建筑作为数学实践

• 发表时间: 2009
• 作者: Gerbino Anthony

"Science and sensibility - exploring architecture as mathematical practice"

《科学与感性——探索建筑作为数学实践》

• 期刊: Building Design
• 作者: Stephen Johnston (Author)