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Discussion 4: Vitruvius, prologue and Book 4

The general ideals of architecture discussed by Vitruvius is still very much applicable to
modern day architecture. However, the specifics in his discussion reveals the differences in both
time and cultural context of his practicing architecture.
The first characteristic of his time that is noticed through the writing is the importance and
prevalence of the worshipping of gods in Roman times. The idea that architecture should be
designed based on human proportions and adhere to the standards measurements is a widespread
notion. However, in his writings we see that this principle was created due to the need of an
immense sense of order and proportions for the sacred temple architecture. Specifically, he
discussed symmetry as carefully calculated by the ancients "in the case of temples of the gods,
buildings in which merits and faults usually last forever". Similarly, the five classical orders
were also created to serve as appropriate proportions to design temples for different gods with
different characteristics. The Doric order is used in the temples dedicated to male gods because
its proportions embodies the strength and beauty of a man. The Ionic on the other hands exhibits
feminine and slender appearance due to their different in the ratio of the height of column and
the thickness of the shaft. Therefore it could be well inferred that the central role of religious
monuments and temples is inevitable in his practice.
Secondly, the rudimentary use of materials and technology was apparent in the context of his
practice. He discussed that as architect one must understand and grasp the knowledge of other
fields that might concern with the practice of architecture, like understand structures, acoustics,
well-being of the inhabitants and also the legal process involved in building construction. In his
context, this was important because an architect was the principal in charge of a project and
received little help from others from different discipline. The material and material properties
being used is also crude, mostly out of stone and wood. These materials speak strongly of
religious architecture of ancient times, that somehow the inherent qualities of these material
strongly drive the practice of architecture in his context.
The emphasis on the adherence to classical orders was also placed on the practice of
architecture in his times. If one were to be an architect during that period of time, one was
expected to design temples dedicated to the gods. Therefore one must be knowledgeable about
all the classical orders and also absorbs the essence of them to carefully and smartly apply to
their designs. Although creativity and individual style is not inhibited, it did require more effort
to develop, considering that the proper use of classical order was strongly dictated in his context.
Buildings and temples were looked to as proper, iconic emblems of harmony and order and of
exact and beautiful proportions.
These inference about Vitruvius's context of practicing architecture is actually very different
from my expectations of my projective practice, although there are some overlaying in the
important qualities of good architecture and the moralities of the architect. In modern day

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practice of architecture, there are more interdisciplinary cooperation between different fields in
the process of construction. Therefore, I would expect more collaborative efforts from the
consultants, the architect may not need to know all the knowledge about other practice but
should know enough to delegate tasks to people in the team. Also I personally think there is
definitely more room for individual style and expressions in the practice of architecture now than
in his context. Designers are not required to follow certain sets of orders and therefore have lots
of design freedom. However, this does raise the problematic question of designing according
popular trends but not thinking of appropriate use of the space.