by Thomas Gordon Smith
The Monacelli Press, 2003
Comments: I've previously reviewed books about the sixteenth century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, and how his work helped to define what we now consider classic architectural style. But the man who most influenced Palladio's own development was a first century BC Roman architect and engineer named Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, known today simply as Vitruvius. None of Vitruvius' buildings still exist, but we do have copies of his writings. Most notably among them is his masterwork treatise Ten Books on Architecture, wherein he describes in detail all aspects of the proper design of numerous structures, including building, bridges, water works, military machines, and other constructions. Vitruvius is known both for his mechanical brilliance and his vision for the aesthetic merits of style and proportion. It was Vitruvius who gave us the first measure of successful architectural design: firmness, utility, and delight. Which is to say that architecture should be structurally sound, it should function well, and it should be beautiful. No attribute is any less important than the others.
This book is about Vitruvius' architectural thinking, as interpreted through a study of his famous treatise. It focuses mostly on those five of the ten books that deal specifically with buildings, and leaves aside the other forms of engineering Vitruvius also covered, so it will be of greatest interest to those who are curious about the architectural aspects of Vitruvius' legacy. The book is divided into two parts: an overall analysis of Vitruvius' work and its place in history, and a reprint of pertinent five books, translated into English from the original Greek and Latin. It is richly illustrated with numerous diagrams and photographs that help graphically support explanations of the Vitruvian principals.
This is a very good introduction to the life and work of one of the most important architectural thinkers in human history -- one whose impact on the use of proportion and style is still brilliantly practical today.
Copy Notes: Hardback, first edition, numerous illustrations and photographs
