I am going to start with Vitruvius’ quote, “Let him be educated, skillful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, know much history, have followed the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge of medicine, know the opinions of the jurists, and be acquainted with the astronomy and the theory of the heavens.” This quote provides the foundations for why one must advocate a broad knowledge base (footnote here). Being an architect himself, Vitruvius proclaimed that the status of an architect is a service to society, it is a noble profession that is more than that of a layperson, considerably a person of social stature(footnote). Growing up in the Roman Empire, the role of the architect was rather different than that of what we understand today, the architect was noticeably prestigious.
Now, if it is imperative that the architect must have such a large knowledge base, then perhaps we look at where our knowledge comes from. I am an advocate that knowledge is a developed from one’s ability to open all senses and interpret the data each sense particularly decodes. We see the same paralleling ideology of knowledge with Guarino Guarini. According to Gaurini, a preceding architect to Vitruvius, who in turn adopts Vitruvius’ ideologies, “The Architect must be broadly educated in the arts and sciences, particularly mathematics and geometry; for ‘Architecture, as a faculty that in all its operations uses measurements, is dependent upon Geometry; but in spite of its rationality, it must appeal to the senses.” (footnote here)
According to this principle, the unlocking of the senses very much so correlates to the acquisition of knowledge and that knowledge is crucial in attaining such a noble stature of an architect. It is this principle that helps one achieve that of a ‘master builder.’ At this time I would like to quote part of an introduction to a song performed lived by the artist Matisyahu.
“This song is also coming from the Psalms of King David. You know, at that time we could have a real understanding of a king, you know, for us, we don’t know so much as a kingdom or a king, you know, we live in a world of fragmentation, where the majority of the people don’t appreciate or care about so much the person who is running things. You know, at that time the king was the people. The king was the people, meaning the people were a part of the king. The king loved the people with his whole heart, he would do anything for them; he was not just a politician, he was a warrior, a general on the front lines, he would die for his people, he was a singer, a writer, a poet, all these different things you know, a real person….”
I am not drawing the conclusion that an architect comparable to that of a king described as such by Matisyahu. Although, I am drawing a strong similarity between the two figures, in which I would like to reiterate the opening quote. These are people that have an elevated stature, and even though architecture is a discipline, the role of the architect is for someone very special, for someone who unlocks all sensory information, and seeks the depths of knowledge, and “therefore, the possession of such talents due to natural capacity is not vouchsafed at random to entire nations, but only to a few great men…”
Ryan Goodman
Washington DC, USA
rjgjl19@gmail.com
Now, if it is imperative that the architect must have such a large knowledge base, then perhaps we look at where our knowledge comes from. I am an advocate that knowledge is a developed from one’s ability to open all senses and interpret the data each sense particularly decodes. We see the same paralleling ideology of knowledge with Guarino Guarini. According to Gaurini, a preceding architect to Vitruvius, who in turn adopts Vitruvius’ ideologies, “The Architect must be broadly educated in the arts and sciences, particularly mathematics and geometry; for ‘Architecture, as a faculty that in all its operations uses measurements, is dependent upon Geometry; but in spite of its rationality, it must appeal to the senses.” (footnote here)
According to this principle, the unlocking of the senses very much so correlates to the acquisition of knowledge and that knowledge is crucial in attaining such a noble stature of an architect. It is this principle that helps one achieve that of a ‘master builder.’ At this time I would like to quote part of an introduction to a song performed lived by the artist Matisyahu.
“This song is also coming from the Psalms of King David. You know, at that time we could have a real understanding of a king, you know, for us, we don’t know so much as a kingdom or a king, you know, we live in a world of fragmentation, where the majority of the people don’t appreciate or care about so much the person who is running things. You know, at that time the king was the people. The king was the people, meaning the people were a part of the king. The king loved the people with his whole heart, he would do anything for them; he was not just a politician, he was a warrior, a general on the front lines, he would die for his people, he was a singer, a writer, a poet, all these different things you know, a real person….”
I am not drawing the conclusion that an architect comparable to that of a king described as such by Matisyahu. Although, I am drawing a strong similarity between the two figures, in which I would like to reiterate the opening quote. These are people that have an elevated stature, and even though architecture is a discipline, the role of the architect is for someone very special, for someone who unlocks all sensory information, and seeks the depths of knowledge, and “therefore, the possession of such talents due to natural capacity is not vouchsafed at random to entire nations, but only to a few great men…”
Ryan Goodman
Washington DC, USA
rjgjl19@gmail.com
