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Joelho #05 139 the Alberti Digital exhibitionthe Digital Alberti & Mário H.S. D´Agostino from Model to Algorithm Leon Battista Alberti: Andrea B. Loewen 140 Joelho #05

REVIEW measure individual ofits position its regarding parts: the regio beautiful arrangements and conformations inthe whole and inthe to have the building before eyes his and carefully examine the most of likely costs [...]»(Alberti, 1988, II,p. 34). and meets with approval. Furthermore, itwillprovide asurer indication make new proposals and alterations until everything fits together well or decrease the ofthose size elements freely, to exchange them, and to use ofwooden models, pondering that «itwillalso allow one to increase the measurements, leads the author to prescribe to the architects the accuracy ars the mathematical in for as amathematician», for attentive to the appearance ofthings. Such zeal foreword ofthe De Pictura the lines and angles», lineaments and maintaining the true angles» and not for «shading and diminishing of apainter and those ofthe architect, for «not mindful altering the lines conception ofthe buildings, noticing the difference between the drawings words against uninformed architects regarding the proper means for the Alberti modeling. the Thisis challenge faced by the curators ofthe Digital with the most advanced electronic features ofthree-dimensional the treatise, inview ofthe graphical reconstruction prescriptions, ofits paradoxical anexhibition that combines the meticulous examination of the a computer program, i.e. acomputer model. «grammar ofform» converted into aparametric model implemented in the researchers into algorithms, schemes and diagrams and then into a principles and rules for the construction ofthe buildings, translated by The latterin 2011. supported the numerous effortsof coding of the Krüger, which was published by the Calouste GulbenkianFoundation Arnaldo Monteiro do Espírito Santo and reviewed and annotated by focus inthe most recent translation ofthe work accomplished by Resende, the humanist from Évora — and at the same time centered aedificatoria into Portuguese — order ofKing John IIIto André de of scholars, celebrated the first translation of the treatise re De and built both inPortugal and inthe overseas territories. assimilations and repercussions inthe «classical» architecture designed Battista Alberti’s architectural doctrine and the understanding ofits Ministry ofEducation and Science, whose to aimis disseminate Leon by the Foundation for Science and Technology ofthe Portuguese research project coordinated by Professor Mário Krüger, and financed the Science Museum ofthe University ofCoimbra. It results from a andPracticein the Theory of Architecture inPortugal was opening at In April the 2013, exhibition Digital Alberti — Tradition andInnovation aspectus. The admonition echoes similarobservations made inthe princeps ofhumanism inthe Battista arts — Leon Alberti —,may sound Thus, even before the work built, is the model allows the architect To scholars ofthe Italian , inparticular of Such research, which brought together arenowned group exhibition. Inthe text, known, itis Albertiaddresses the harshest , inwhich he discusses the ofpainting art «not minded to the res Joelho ae #05 dificatoria ae , for the precision of dificatoria and not to , 141 Autore» edition — «le Piante, iProffili, &le dalo deſcritti edifitij Faccie deuarii Vasari’s engravings —, stillremains. The drawings incorporated into the of the re De aedificatoria — published1550 and in accompanied by of printing, the challenge set by Cosimo Bartoli’s vulgar translation 142 nominibus could bringto the correctness ofthe prescriptions: nonfiguris, sed ownof his treatise, earnest about the imperfections that future copyists convenientit is to parallel refusal his to include drawings inthe body accuracy ofexecution that could not beimagined inthe Renaissance. nowadays, they also allow the construction ofphysical models with an investigation ofAlberti’s works and treatise. Not without irony, DellaPittura the —; firstly, they respond to the intention of scrupulous the humanist refers to Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome inthe prologue of realthe struttura — to resume the encomiastic expression with which of producing simulacra seductive to the eyes, however distant from The digital modeling programs are not employed therein with the aim more «Albertian» than the proposal ofthe Digital Alberti exhibition. cinematic animation and media interaction. Furthermore, nothing is of Architecture, combining perspectival construction, possibilities of creating and manipulating images have led to arevolution inthe study one who fabricated the model» (Idem the ingenuity ofhimwho conceived the idea, and not the skill ofthe and highly decorated, but plainand simple, so that they demonstrate concludes the author, «the models are not accurately finished, refined, diminish the sheer investigation ofthe parts. «Better than that», contemplate them, seduce their eyes and by awaking admiration, than shedding light onthe project, take over the soul ofthose who them colored, dressed with «allurement of painting», for these rather premeditate and plan,Alberti advises onthe inconvenience ofmaking imperfections and disapprovals. inherentits beauty, ornamentation, orits inorder to avoid faults, statues and everything that concerns the building constitution, of columns, capitals, bases, cornices, pediments, coatings, pavements, the aspect ofthe walls, the soundness ofthe roofing, the disposition the delimitation ofthe area, the number and their ofparts position, diſegno» cosìapieno ſcritti medianteiſuoi non posſibiledimetterli alcuni che era and Cosimo de' Medici, only produced inpart according to the descriptions ſteſſo ſteſſo compoſti» ma mediantei nomi non &approuati, pur´latiniantichi manuoui&dalui of «vnoAutore,tratta, chiegli di non èdifficilemediãtelamateria che ſolo and censure, aswell asthe disapproval for undertaking the translation «parte ancora come a me è parſo che eglinehabbiauolutideſcrivere che come ancora ameèparſo «parte To Alberti's reservations regarding the architects’ use ofperspective opposedAs to Alberti’s interdictions, today’s digital resources for And ifthe model is, above aninstrument all, to forecast, 2 3 are, asstated by Bartoli himself(1565, p. in the 4) dedication to . And for that he admits the possibility ofreceiving criticism 1 . If such precautions are largely dissipated by the advent 4 Idem, p.(Idem, 4). Joelho , p. 34). #05

REVIEW ‘parole’ deltrattato» sino ad oggicomeper ilrecupero dimorfologie storiografico ‘perdute’ le tra originarie,albertiane concettuale perlaricostituzione e ausiliari maschemi public buildings — offers us«non restituzioni dipresunte grafiche tipologie present inbooksVIIand VIIIofthe treatise — «orders», temples and which aimed the understanding ofthe «images» and «architectures» with Marco (Florença: Guzzon Alinea, 1994). But such anundertaking, the publication LeonBattista Alberti: inomiele figure, co-authored PhD Program ofthe Università degli Firenze Studi di and resulted in of the former century, which involved researchers ofthe Architecture the one coordinated by Professor Gabriele Morolli inthe 80’s and 90’s project, based at the University ofCoimbra, brings effective advances to undertaken by the team ofprofessors and researchers involved inthe in Architecture, the inaugural work ofmodernity. their eagerness to shed new light onthe understanding ofthat which is, investigative project that aligned is with other international initiatives in of images and numbers aspired by the author. to graphically reconstruct the Albertian rules, revealing the plenitude Press in1988, with several reprints. Remained, therefore, the challenge Leach (On the ofBuilding Art inTen Books) and published by the MIT translation undertaken by Joseph Rykwert, Robert Tavernor and Neil published in1966 by the Milanese editor IlPolifilo, or the English the Latin-Italian bilingual edition by Giovanni Orlandi (L´Architettura), illustrate other significant translations ofAlberti’s treatise, such as the comparison ofdifferent solutions and compositional possibilities, concordances and divergences between the prescribed norms and exhibition and reveal the decoding process ofthe treatise. and transformed inthe many physical models that integrate the digital forms, through rapid prototyping technologies, were materialized and most important ornament VII,p. ofacity» (Idem, 194). And the buildings prescribed inBook 7ofthe treatise, the temples, «the greatest without any doubt» (Alberti, 1988, VI,p. 183) —, aswell asofthe sacred column's system, the albertian columnationes — «the principal ornament three-dimensional digital restitutions ofthe elements that conform the From the parametric models developed, the researchers produced the Perhaps here lies one ofthe most exciting aspectsofthe project. an elocutionary logic, we might add —, guideline ofthe albertian oratio. guidedis by the utter effort of identifying a «shape grammar», — restitutions inschemes and digital two and three-dimensional models the treatise, carefully observing the verba solis described. interpretive work by developing original graphical notations from The remarkableThe restitutio re of De aedificatoria’s More than anexhibition, Digital Alberti consistsofanambitious Despite such limitations, Bartoli’s plates to L’Architettura will The parametric systematizations, the exploration full ofgaps, The scrutiny ofthe treatise’s precepts and corresponding graphic emphasizedAs by Mário Krüger, Digital Alberti an fulfills 5 (Morolli, 1994, p. 9). Joelho #05 visualgrammar 143 were examined. The first, work of Manuel Pires,is an example of the so- the overseas, Goa’s cathedral and the church ofSão Miguel dasMissões Alcácer do Sal, and the church ofSão Vicente de Fora, in ; from church ofEspírito Santo inÉvora, the Capela dasOnze Mil Virgens, in Architecture inthe Counter-Reformist period. the assimilation ofthe albertian «grammar» inPortuguese Classical Century translation, the researchers have devoted themselves to assess by the order ofKing John IIIto André de Resende for the Sixteenth as the recognition ofAlberti’s authority inthat kingdom, corroborated foreword to the recent Portuguese translation ofthe treatise —, aswell princeps — a hypothesis stressed by p. Krüger (2011, 85) inthe erudite re De the aedificatoria in since the publication of the editio Project disclosed inthe exhibition. Considering the circulation of of the . means ofassimilation by other architects, inthe temporal milestone endeavor oriented either to the understanding ofAlberti’s work orits of ars combinatoria that extends the formal syntax inanimperative complex the possibilities ofcomposition and comodulation; akind provides updates ofthe treatise’s «shape grammar», thus making more with aimofidentifying the operant systems ofproportion inbuildings 144 [...]» medievali tradizione dalla deicantieri derivanti essergli ignotiimetodidiproporzionamento geometrici nonche potevano interi, numeri musicalitra luogo airapporti primo vaugualmentericordato laconcinnitas èlegatain perAlberti [...]appaiaindubbioche «Sebbene a numerical value and leading Paul Von Naredi-Rainer to ponder: with anon-lessened use ofgeometric means, difficult to comeby musical relationships by arithmetical and harmonic means inconsortium used by Albertifrom surveys. insitu To bear inmind, the choice of Mantuan exhibition, to stress uponthe various modes ofproportioning with the written norms. Apath opened by scholars involved with the exhibition by distinguishesitself the detailed laborofconfrontation 1994 — co-curated by Joseph Rykwert and Anne Engel), the Portuguese 1994, and available simultaneously catalog inits (Milan: Olivetti/Electa, works made for the LeonBattista Alberti exhibition, held inMantua in in Florence. and ofthe Palazzo Rucellai (accompanied by the controversial loggia Mantua, but also ofthe facades ofthe church ofSanta Maria Novella (Malatesta Temple), and those ofSan Sebastiano and Sant'Andrea in designed by architect, especially the church ofSan Francisco inRimini analysis ofthe «grammar» ofthe treatise with the constructed buildings regarding the project. Peculiar inthis respect the is comparative with greater purpose to assess Leon Battista Alberti’s forma mentis according to the genres ofbuildings defined, all converge to aninquiry Among the religious works built inPortugal, they analyzed the Therein lies another significant contribution of the Digital Alberti In the Digital Alberti project the calculation ofnumerical values ​​ Benefiting from inpart the accurate metric surveys of the architect’s Joelho #05 6 ( Idem , p. 294). )

REVIEW farthest boundaries, to the knowledge ofthe humanist’s works. brought by the Digital Alberti exhibition, providing winged eyes, the a unique educational interest before the vast informative combinations physical and electronic models certainly delights; aplayful aspect with similarity between the generative systems oftheir respective grammars. relation to the prescribed inthe treatise to emphasize the lack of comparison to that ofthe Rucellai Palace, inFlorence, examined in also displays the frontispiece ofthe Ducal Palace, inVila Viçosa, in with Alberti’s treatise and works. Thissecond segment ofthe exhibition contact ofthe authors (Juan de Herrera, Filippo Terzi, Baltasar Álvares) São Vicente de Fora really is ofgreat interest, considering the probable established between the Church ofSant'Andrea inMantua and that of re De the by of ae letter the «nave, chancel, side-chapels», consonants to the normative evoked the search for concinnitas —, and adispositio according to the scheme definition of the volumes and anornamental parsimony that indicate character common is to such temples — evidenced by adecorous most important testimonies ofthe Jesuit missionary architecture. Portuguese Séde Portalegre, while the Brazilian church one is ofthe project. The Goancathedral follows the typology adopted inthe the Philippine period, expresses severity inits the Herrerian original models to strict geometric order; and the third, started already in as highlights Domingos Tavares (2007, p. 76), reconciles the classical the second, «beautiful affirmation of António Rodrigues' youth», called «plain-box» churches, amodel adopted by the Jesuits; Beyond the pedagogical character, the visionofsuch accurate Although they allmaintain their peculiarities, afully Renaissance derived fromthetraditionof Medievalconstructionsites[...]». also benotedthathecouldnothaveignoredthegeometricproportioning methods connected primarilytothemusicalrelationshipbetweenwholenumbers, itmust 6 ≥«Although[...]itappearsbeyonddoubtthatforAlberticoncinnitas is amid the"words"oftreatise». for thehistoriographicalrecoveryofmorphologiesstillperceived as"lost" typologies, butinauxiliaryschemesfortheconceptualreconstitution and 5 ≥«consistednotingraphicalrestitutionsofassumedoriginal Albertian for thenamesnotLatinancientandapproved,butnewcomposed byhimself». 4 ≥«anauthorwhoisnotonlydifficultforthematterthathe dealswith,but to becompletelydesignedfromhiswritings». 3 ≥«partstilllikeseemedhehadwantedtodescribesomethat werenotpossible the author». 2 ≥«theplans,profilesandfacadesofseveralbuildingsdescribed by pp. 200-201). record numbers,buttowritetheirnamesinfull[…]»(Alberti,1988,VII, 1 ≥«HereIaskthosewhocopyoutthisworkofoursnottousenumerals dificatoria. Joelho #05 The comparative analysis 145 Edizione IlPolifilo. introduzione enotedi Paolo Portoghesi. Milano: De ReAedificatoria.Trad. diGiovanniOrlandi, ALBERTI, LeonBattista(1989).L’Architettura — The MITPress. Tavernor.Neil LeachandRobert Cambridge/London: Building inTenBooks ALBERTI, LeonBattista(1988).OntheArtof — Editore. Cosimo Bartoli(rist.anast.).Firenze:ArnaldoForni Leon BattistaAlbertitradottainlinguafiorentinada ALBERTI, LeonBattista(1565).L´Architetturadi Bibliographic references — translated by Joseph Rykwert, translated byJosephRykwert, —

146 e VIIIdelDeReAedificatoria . Firenze:Alinea,1994. fabbriche civili:immagini earchitetturedailibriVII Battista Alberti:INomieLeFigure.Ordini,templi e MOROLLI, Gabriele&GUZZON,Marco.Leon — Da ArteEdificatória.Op.cit.,pp.75–129. Edificatória”,da Arte inALBERTI,LeonBattista. KRÜGER, MárioJúlioTeixeira (2011).“A Recepção — Gulbenkian. Júlio Teixeira Krüger. Lisboa:FundaçãoCalouste introdução, notaserevisãodisciplinardeMário Trad. deArnaldoMonteirodoEspíritoSanto; ALBERTI, LeonBattista(2011).DaArteEdificatória. Joelho

Renascimento emPortugal.Lisboa:DafneEditora. TAVARES, Domingos(2007).AntonioRodrigues — Electa, pp.292–299. &AnneEngel,Mantova:Olivetti/ Joseph Rykwert Alberti”, inAA.VV. LeonBattistaAlberti.Acuradi numerabile: l´esteticaarchitettonicadiLeonBattista NAREDI-RAINER, Paul Von (1994). “La bellezza #05 —

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