Architecture, Mathematics, and English Culture 1550-1750
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Museum of the History of Science
Abstract
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.
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.
Publications
Stephen Johnston (Author)
"Science and sensibility - exploring architecture as mathematical practice"
in Building Design
Gerbino Anthony
(2009)
Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England 1500-1750
Title | Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750 |
Description | Exhibition at MHS Oxford; toured in revised form to Yale Center for British Art, 2010. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2009 |
Impact | Large general public audience for exhibition. |
Description | Wide reception for printed catalogue in both academic journals and newspapers: Stephen Adams, The Daily Telegraph, 29 June 2009; Robert Tavernor, Building Design, 31 July 2009; Edward Rothstein, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2010; Owen Hopkins, Burlington Magazine, n. 1285 (April 2010): 250-51; Geoffrey Tyack, Newsletter, SAHGB, no. 100 (2010): 9-10; Joseph Rykwert, JSAH 69, no. 2 (2010): 293-95; Wolfgang Lefèvre, Isis 101, no. 3 (2010): 645-646; John Bold, TLS, no. 5607 (17 Sept 2010): 13; Lorenzo Vigotti and Federica Soletta, Newsletter, EAHN, no. 3 (2010): 60-65; Carolyn Y. Yerkes, CAA.reviews, 13 Oct. 2010; Alexander Marr, BSHM Bulletin 25, n. 3 (2010): 181-82; Patrick Ponsot, Bulletin Monumental 168, no. 4 (2010): 397-98; Anthony Geraghty, Renaissance Quarterly 64, n. 1 (2011): 210-11; Sergio Sanabria, Technology and Culture 52, no. 2 (2011): 391-92. |
First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Bridging Support Scheme |
Amount | £8,949 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2009 |
End | 02/2010 |
Description | John Fell Fund |
Amount | £6,446 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2009 |
End | 04/2009 |
Description | Digital animation of two Christopher Wren drawings created in collaboration with Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Bath University. Used in the exhibition and online. |
Organisation | University of Bath |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Information taken from Final Report |
Description | 10/10 Circle |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A one-day event on the compass-inspired theme of 'Circle' - cyclical music to Stonehenge, circular railways to cyclotrons, with a programme of talks, music, film, trails, workshops and tours. Inspired conversation, fresh thinking and public wonder with about 1500 members of the public. From conversations with the public, there was a new sense of the historical connections between what are now often seen as the separate domains of the sciences and the arts. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
Description | Architectural Walking Tours |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Access to historic buildings and conversations prompted by direct experience From conversations with particiapnts, new awareness of architectural heritage |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Architecture as Instrument |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture sparked questions and discussion afterwards Enhanced awareness of material culture of mathematics and architecture |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Compass and Rule Revealed |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture sparked questions and discussion afterwards. New perception of the subject and the processes of exhibition making as an aspect of research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Conference paper: Trading up: instruments and architecture in early-modern England |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards International colleagues returning to their collections to investigate a previously unknown area. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
Description | Gallery tours |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 4 talks which sparked questions and discussion afterwards Visitors said that they would return to the Museum for more tours of this type. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Lecture: Business, art and utility |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | tTalk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Potential collaboration discussed. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
Description | Make a Book a Building |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Children's horizons expanded through hands-on activity From direct feedback, children directed to new interests |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Proportion in Design |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Information supplied on artefacts in a private collection which were relevant to project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | The Architecture of Print |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Intererst in Museum Library in addition to object collections, from individual conversations after the talk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Wren and Drawing |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture sparking questions and discussion afterwards Engagement of new audiences with the Museum as venue. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
URL | http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/compassandrule/events/ |
Description | Yale lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Contact with future potential sponsor. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Yale tours |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Awareness of UK research and AHRC as supporter. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Yale workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Connecting architects, scientists and postgraduate students Potential acquisition for museum collection raise. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |