Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture (Bks. I-X) [Paperback]

Vitruvius (Author), Herbert Langford Warren (Illustrator), Morris Hickey Morgan (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1960

The oldest and most influential book ever written on architecture, this volume served as a guide to Bramante, Michelangelo, Palladio, Vignola, and countless others. It describes the classic principles of symmetry, harmony, and proportion as well as the ancients' methods, materials, and aesthetics. Authoritative translation by a distinguished Harvard professor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (late 1st century B.C.), was a Roman military architect and engineer, and an expert in ballistic machines in particular. Robert Tavernor studied architecture in London, Rome and Cambridge and practices as a consultant architect. He was professor of Architecture at the universities of Edinburgh and Bath, and is currently Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Richard Schofield read Classics at Oxford in the late 1960s, then architectural history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. After working at the University of Nottingham for many years, he moved to the Istituto universitario di architettura di Venezia in 1997, where he is the Professor of the History of Architecture. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 331 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486206459
• ISBN-13: 978-0486206455
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars describes the ancient roman traditions of design & building, April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture (Bks. I-X) (Paperback)

When I first read this book back in 1991 when I was doing my thesis on courtyard housing I found the descriptions made by Vitruvius on the Roman Domus (courtyard house) invaluable to my understanding.

Over the last 8 years it has been a valuable asset in my Library, full of information on lime plasters for walls, ceilings and floors, the makign of Pozzalana concrete, finding water, understanding the winds and energy patterns of the land and a guide to designing better sustainable buildings.

Topics include -

I -Education of an architect, principles of design, for city, town and home

II The selection of materials - how they are made and used

III - The proportions of the Orders, Doric, Ionic

IV - Applications of the Orders - Temples

V -The design of the Public Buildings - Theatres, Basilicas, Baths, Forums, Harbours, Shipyards

VI - Design of the Courtyard House

VII - Plastering:- technique, materials and application

VIII - Water Locating, storage and transportation - aqueducts

IX- The stars - Suns moon and 12 planets

X - War machines and other instruments

At the current Price, this book is a bargain and you will most likely reread it many times, cause its full of useful information.

If you are involved in Green building, design, like History, want to build a really nice healthy house, then I suggest this is an ideal book for you.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roman Empire's Most Influencial Contribution to Architecture, December 24, 1999

By 

Ross Litman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture (Bks. I-X) (Paperback)

Vitruvius' contribution was not as Ciceronian literature, but as a hands-on, researched, handbook of practical architecture. The explanations are simple with not a wasted word for the aesthetic quality of the work.

Vitruvius found what made the most ancient monuments such durable constructions. He found WHY they were built they way they were. For example, he explains in enough detail for the "then" architect to understand how to construct for best auditory sound enhancements using examples from Greek engineering and Roman building practices. (There is a detailed description on harmonics based on Pythagorean principles.) He also explains the true meaning of proportion developing constructs from the "golden mean" as seen in the various modes of ancient column design (as well as a description of "stasis" and other logical variants applied to columnal construction).

The book is often referenced in medieval documents explaining the training of medieval cathedral (especial gothic era) builders and the practical construction of these cathedrals that still stand and are useful today.

I highly recommend this book for any art history student or student of architecture at any level. It is a reminder that great thinking and analysis has no technical limitation.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roman architecture, and so much more., November 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture (Bks. I-X) (Paperback)

This is an architecture book written by a Roman, during the classical period. It strongly influenced many of the great minds of the Renaissance. The historical significance of the book would make it worth looking over, for anyone interested in classical architecture.

This book contains an immense number of digressions from architecture that are perhaps of greater interest than the actual architectural content. There is a section on degenerate, abstract, modern art that could have been written today! Also, there is a good explanation of how architects have contributed to siege warfare, and instructions on the proper construction of siege devices such as catapults and tortoises. Other topics include how to divine water (without recourse to superstitious practices), and how the fundamental elements (earth, air, fire, and water) in stones influence their suitability as building materials.