Durand and the Science of Architecture

Author(s): Leandro Madrazo

Source: Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 48, No. 1 (Sep., 1994), pp. 12-24
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of Collegiate Schools of
Architecture, Inc.
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 Durand and the Science of Architecture

LEANDRO MADRAZO, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

This essay addresses some critical issues knowledge. The task he set for himself was not in such a manner that one should study
concerning the systematization of architectural
knowledge. The work of Jean-Nicolas-Louis
to discover the generic principles that are architecture."3 For him, the study of any
Durand provides a context within which to implicit in works of architecture. In pursu- subject, whether scientific or artistic, had
discuss the degree to which architecture can ing that goal, Durand necessarily touched to be based on the study of general prin-
be subjected to a process of systematization.
upon some of the dilemmas that are inher- ciples: "A man who plans a career as a play-
Durand's work is analyzed by reconstructing the
logical steps in the development of his theoretical ent to architecture: particular versus gen- wright does not learn how to do this or that
system. As a result of this reconstruction, some eral, abstract versus physical, subjectivity tragedy; a musician this or that opera; a
of the key issues of his theory are unveiled. Thus,
versus objectivity, and art versus science. Be- painter this or that painting. Before compos-
for example, it will be shown that an idea of type
emerges progressively as his theory matures. The cause of this, his theoretical work tran- ing, in whatever genre, one must know what
examination of Durand's ideas is based not only scends the limits of a particular historical one composes with. "4
on his writings, but also on the drawings that
illustrate his books. Indeed, an idea that runs period; it has a timeless value that makes it To identify the general principles of
through the whole essay is that graphic represen- a necessary reference in any discussion architecture, Durand followed a logical
tations play a crucial role in the systematization about the systematization of architectural path that started by verifying that which
of architectural knowledge.
knowledge.' confirms unquestionably the existence of
architecture itself, that is to say, by recog-
nizing the existence of the buildings of the
THE QUEST TO DETERMINE THE SCIENTIFIC NA- The General Principles of Architecture past. This first step is exemplified by the
ture of the discipline of architecture has Recueil, in which the buildings from the
been a permanent goal in the architectural Durand's contribution to architecture past are collected and classified. In a sec-
tradition. During the fifteenth century, Re- stems from his activity as a teacher and
ond step, the analysis of past buildings re-
naissance theorists, under the direct influ- vealed their common features, that is, the
theoretician. In 1796, he became a profes-
ence of Vitruvius, strove to build a scientific sor of architecture at the Ecole Polytech-
general principles of architecture.5
basis for architecture. The complete unity nique. The school had been founded two
that art and science enjoyed during the Re- years earlier with the goal of bringing sci-
naissance, began to break down during the General Principles and Classification
entific knowledge closer to practical life.
course of the following centuries. The sev- Some of the most prestigious scientific
enteenth and eighteenth centuries saw the minds of the time, like Monge, Lagrange,
During the eighteenth century, an intensive
creation of new scientific disciplines, each collection and classification of data took
and Laplace, were also professors of the
one having its own object of knowledge and Polytechnique. The students of Durand
place in different disciplines, especially in
methods. Knowledge progressed rapidly in were not architects but rather engineers. the natural sciences. Linnaeus's Species
the newly created branches of science, and Little time was allotted for their architec-
Plantarum (1753) and Buffon's Histoire
the results of this progress could be seen in tural training.2 Naturelle (1749) are the most significant
the succession of technological achieve- Confronted with the task of teaching
examples of this spirit of classification that
ments that quickly transformed the built architecture under these conditions, dominated the epoch. In both books, draw-
environment and life itself.
Durand found it necessary to develop ings
a of plants and animals appear organized
By the end of the eighteenth century, theory of architecture that could form thein tables according to different criteria.
there was a growing concern that architec- basis of his lessons. His theoretical work is Linnaeus's classification was based on the
ture was falling behind the new sciences in summed up in two books: the Recueil etreproductive organs of plants, while Buffon
terms of progress. As a result, attempts be- used the historical evolution of animals as
Paralldle des idifices de tout genre, anciens et
gan to be made to construct a science of ar- modernes, published between 1799 and
the basis of his classification system.6
chitecture. The work of Jean-Nicolas-Louis 1801, and Precis des lefons d'architecture Classification and systematics also
Durand (1760-1834) epitomizes this effort influenced architecture. Some of the archi-
donnees ~h l'tcole polytechnique, published
to achieve a systematization of architectural for the first time between 1802 and 1805. tecture books of the time show buildings
Durand believed that architectural organized in tables in much the same way
Journal ofArchitectural Education, pp. 12-24, education should not be based on the that animals or plants were shown in biol-
? 1994 ACSA, Inc. ogy
study of particular buildings or styles: "Itbooks.
is A significant example of this

September 1994 JAE 48/1 1 2

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kind of work is the book Ruines des plus logical survey. This suspicion is further
beaux monuments de la Grkce by Julien- confirmed by the fact that Durand con-
David Leroy, first published in 1758. In a sciously modified some of the plans to
table that appeared in the 1770 edition of make them appear more regular and geo-
the book, Leroy showed the temples of the metric than they actually were. In the
past drawn in plan view and at the same plates that correspond to the Roman ruins,
scale7 (Figure 1). for example, it can be seen that the draw-
In their quest for systematization, ings are not so much a faithful description
both the biologist and the architectural of some old buildings as idealized images
theorist were using similar conceptual cat- of them. His justification for this was that
egories; the species of the natural sciences the drawings of the Roman ruins made by
corresponding to type in architecture. By other authors before him, like those made
means of these categories, it was possible to by Palladio or Piranesi, could also not be
transcend the study of separate individual considered authentic.'o
examples and to discover more generic It can be asserted that what Durand
principles that lay behind them. Classifica- was intending with the simplification and
tion, therefore, was a technique for extract- regularization of the drawings was to use
ing general principles from particular cases.8 the individual buildings to illustrate some
generic principles of architecture. This is
the reason he found it necessary to elimi-
Durand's Recueil: nate individual or accidental traits by sub-
History versus Theory jecting the representations of buildings to a 1. J.-D. Leroy, comparative analysis of temples and churches,
1770.
process or regularization. In this context,
Similar to Leroy's book, Durand's Recueil
also shows the buildings of the past
grouped according to certain classes. The
categories Durand used generally fall
within two major groups: historical (Egyp-
---- ~ -AA.--
tian temples, Roman palaces, Moorish de- Oo?? I'L
4L i
tails) and functional (theaters, markets,
jl m ElP
Ci~MEZ
hospitals). There is, however, one plate in
the book that falls outside these two main
categories. The title of the third plate is:
"Round temples" (Figure 2). This is not a
historical or functional classification, but
dw? pd

rather one that considers form as a distinc- A.44- d 4Y,4,ilu r? d, ~

tive feature of a building.9 This significant

lop... ti: Q @i tr~AW.W" -W i?
exception among the plates of the Recueil
opens a new path of theoretical develop-
ment and anticipates the direction that
A? r- ~n1 _i~~ " '
Durand took in his next book, the Precis
des le'ons.
What the classification of buildings
according to form also indicates is that in
spite of its appearance, the Recueil cannot 2. J.N.L. Durand, Temples ronds, Recueil et Parallele des
be considered a purely descriptive archaeo- 6difices, 1801.

1 3 Madrazo

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 ntroducon -EXEMPIE DESFUNSTES I~FPETS based on the distinction between, on the
qui resultent de I'irnolrance ou de 'inAbservatiot deo vrais Printcipes de I'Architecture.
one side, simple, geometric forms and, on
the other, complex and more architectural
ones. According to this distinction, a type
corresponds to a simple, geometric form,
from which more elaborate forms can be
derived. It is this concept of type that
. ... t. . . .. Cdficc
cet .. epitomizes the genuine principles of ac
archi-
,+ iique
1

---- - ----- --------- tecture that Durand pretended to find.

---

9Ai ........ ' 9

The Elements of Architecture

11 1 i 1 1ILA To determine the fundamental principles

of architecture, it was first necessary to es-
LI Z e tablish the basic elements that characterize
it as a discipline. Effectively, just as Euclid-
.-,-C A m aa A ean geometry begins with the definition of
the point and the line, architecture also
needed to have its own axiomatic elements.
3. J.N.L. Durand, E
Iignorance The fundamental
ou de elements of a I'
L'Architecture, Pr
building and, by extension, of architecture
were for Durand those that can be found in

antique any building,

that underlie the complex forms of the ac- buil regardless of its style or ep-
terial for Durand from which he made a tual design. Thus, the plan that Durandoch. Thus, he argued, the simplest elements
that can be found in most buildings include
case about the systematization of architec- proposed is the illustration of those prin-
tural knowledge. ciples that, according to him, were ne- walls and openings, columns and the parts
With the Recueil, Durand initiated a glected by the architects of Saint Peter's.
to which they give support, slabs and roofs,
and vaults. These are the lements des
dialectic relationship between past and These principles are based on the economy
6difices (Figure 4). Porches, lobbies, stairs,
present that would continue in his next of means exemplified by the use of grids,
book, the Precis des lefons. The secondsimple geometric figures, and simple lounges, and courts are those parts of the
plate of the Precis shows the plan of Saintbuilding types. buildings, or parties, which result from the
Peter's and next to it, another plan that is According to Durand's interpreta-combination of the simplest elements. Fi-
an invention of Durand's. It is based on nally, the last step is the ensemble des
tion of the history of architecture, even
though true principles had existed in the
the original basilica that once stood on the 6difices, which means to combine the parties
same spot where the Basilica of Saint past, a progressive distancing from those to produce a building."
Peter's was built (Figure 3). original principles had occurred as archi- Durand considers the dlements des
In accordance with the tendency totecture evolved. The complex forms of the idifices to be "that which words are to dis-
simplify existing buildings, as demon- course, and notes are to music."12 However,
existing temple of Saint Peter's, therefore,
were to him nothing more than a deriva-
strated in the Recueil, a different interpre- the comparison of language or music with
tation of the relationship between the two tion of some original and simple forms. architecture is not completely justified in
plans depicted in the plate can be made. Behind Durand's interpretation of this case because words and notes are purely
The plan proposed by Durand could alsohistory lies a concept of type that, as will abstract symbols, whereas Durand's dliments
be understood as a simplification created be shown in the following pages, consti-des edifices (walls, columns, and vaults) are
tutes one of the main pillars of his theo-
after the existing plan of Saint Peter's, the not abstractions, but rather physical compo-
purpose being to reveal the true principles retical construct. This concept of type nents
is that make up a building.

September 1994 JAE 48/1 1 4

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 At this point in his theoretical dis- itiSIENTS DES iDarprcYS.

course, Durand ran across one of the per-

manent dilemmas of architecture: the
D ID

separation between the abstract and the

physical realms.'3 He responded to this di-
lemma immediately after defining the :.. . ........ . ......
ildments, when he wrote that the study of
those elements will be considered from
. . .... .. ... . .......

two points of view: first, with regard to

materials and construction, and, second,
tol
form and proportions.
The illustration of the elements re-
flects this separation of the abstract and
physical realms (Figure 4). Some elements, ?~lip
like the pitched roofs and slabs, are de- sfx",

i 1 :55
picted in much the same way as they would
appear in a construction manual. The
drawings of vaults, on the other hand, are
more conceptual and schematic. They are
reduced to geometric figures and symbols.
4. J.N.L. Dur
In the light of Durand's elements, a 1821.

distinction between building and architec-

ture has to be made. As the title of the
plate properly indicates, Durand's ele-
the schematic representations of vaults and istics of architecture are lost when architec-
ments are in fact the elements of buildings,
the more detailed ones of other building ture is represented through the abstractions
but they could barely become the elements components, the drawings of columns ap- of another discipline.
of architecture. Hence, walls and vaults,pear, which still carry connotations of the
considered as physical components, could classical language. In this case, the illustra-
tion reveals some unresolved issues in
constitute the elements of a building science
but not of a science ofarchitecture. To es-Durand's theoretical construct. The Method of Composition
tablish a science of architecture, its basic The conflictive issues that are implicit
elements should be abstract rather than in the definition of elements adopted by Once the elements of architecture have
physical."4 Durand are revealed in the next step of the
been defined, the next logical step, accord-
Apart from the separation between development of his theoretical construct,ing to Durand's strategy, is to define a
abstract and physical realms, Durand faced namely at the moment that he introducesmethod
a of composition by which the most
a second issue in his attempt to define the generic method of composition to produce
primitive elements may be combined, in a
elements common to all buildings; that of buildings. As we will see in the next section,
logical fashion, into more complex ones to
the classical orders. Because Durand had
produce a building. The definition of ar-
faced with the difficulty of defining abstrac-
previously acknowledged in the Recueil
tions that are specific to architecture,
chitecture at the beginning of the Precis is
that there are buildings in the past that doDurand turned to geometry to borrow its consistent with this principle of composi-
not derive from the Greek classical model, abstractions. Only then was it possible fortion: "Architecture is the art of composing
considering the parts of the classical orderarchitecture to exist in the realm of abstrac-
and executing allpublic and private build-
as fundamental elements would contradict tion, making attempts to convert it into a
ings."15 To design, then, is to compose, that
the basic premise that the elements should scientific discipline meaningful. The priceis to say, to combine some previously deter-
pertain to any building. However, a look at
for borrowing these abstractions, however,
mined elements according to certain proce-
the illustration shows that, together withmay be that some of the essential character-
dures that can be made explicit.'6

1 5 Madrazo

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 MARCHB A' SUfVRBE p. Y C.t/,,',rN
a seo awa 1 Method to Follow in the Composition
ofAny Project
- -- -- - ... ...
In the didactic manner that characte
.. .......

his whole work, Durand describe

eg~ Situatiou A1?---
method graphically as a step-by-step
i .s Partisrincpale Tr Mur cess. This method is illustrated in th

... ... .. . .... .. plate of the first volume under the

"Marche d suivre dans la compositio
44-1 O Projet quelconque."
At first sight, it looks as if the
f7T- - -- 7v 7- pose of the method is to produce a
classical building in a logical way. T
. . ~.. . ---..
-- ----
. - ---------- ---------,--
not the case, however, because th
. 4,, .
wa~mlar O Situation
~...-..........,.............
that Durand is pursuing with his m
-4 .6u?cn~ir aes Prtiessecon Mac
Oun
is independent of stylistic considerati
The process described in the pla
aes C;7 CA based on six stages (Figure 5). The
T-r a r o~v
stage consists of the layout of the mai
of the composition (nombre et situatio
parties principales). In the second st
5. J.N.L. Durand, Marche a suivre new grid
dans laof secondary axes complem
composition d
Projet quelconque, Precis des lecons, 1813.
the primary ones (nombre et situati
parties secondaires). Then, walls are l
along the axes (trace' des murs), and
umns are placed within the areas bo
by walls (placement des colonnes). I

-~~~ - ... ',il fifth stage, the walls, porticoes, stair

other architectural elements are dra
?--H -A7 , .,-ii- 4::#j --!!-- 4,. plan view. Finally, the elevation and
section are generated from the plan.
1 i A -TT A fundamental aspect of the me
is the fact that it can be described by
of a graphic. The graphic, in this c
4 9 A -Till much more than a mere illustration
procedure that could be described by
means; it is the expression of an arc
tural concept by means that are exclu
architectural. Because of this, a det
K -- ?-.
- =/; I= ------L. . . .. analysis of the illustration is not only
nent, but also necessary to assess the
of the method proposed by Durand.

Analysis of the Illustrated Method

Although Durand's previous taxon
6. Method of composition in the order proposed by Durand.
(6liments des edifices-parties-ensemb

September 1994 JAE 48/1 1 6

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edifices) might suggest that a method of have started with a set of architectural ele- it is possible for a genuine "science of ar-
composition should start with the selection ments rather than with geometric lines. chitecture" to exist.
of a set of architectural elements, his However, those architectural elements More than anything else, Durand's
method does not reflect this. The illustrated would have inevitably carried connotations illustration of the method of composition
method does not start with a selection of of a certain architectural form or style. This should be taken as an expression of his per-
walls and vaults, for example. Rather, it is precisely what Durand tried to avoid be- ception of the relationship between archi-
starts with a geometric scheme made up ofcause the purpose of his method is to ex- tecture and geometry-one of the constant
lines in plan view. Moreover, the idea of a emplify some fundamental principles of issues of debate in the architectural tradi-
method being a set of rules for combiningarchitecture. As the title of the illustration tion. The question that the illustration
simple elements into more complex ones claims, the method needs to be universal; it raises is where and how the boundary be-
cannot be derived from the illustration ei- cannot be specific to a particular style. tween architecture and geometry can be
ther. Durand's method does not explain Geometric elements, unlike repre- defined, or in other words, where geom-
how to combine walls and domes into lob- sentations of architectural form, are not etry stops and architecture begins in the
bies or porches.17 tied to a particular style; they underlie all process of design.
What Durand actually described is a architectural forms regardless of style or
step-by-step transformation of a rough epoch. It is because of this that the method Looking at the Process in Reverse
scheme into a detailed representation of a starts with lines rather than with represen- Because, as Durand maintained, geometric
building, that is to say, a transformation oftations of walls, columns, or vaults. There- elements underlie all architectural forms,
geometry into architecture (Figure 6). At fore, geometric lines, rather than walls and they can be considered the fundamental
the beginning of the process, the basic fea- domes, constitute the fundamental ele- elements of architecture. Geometric
tures of the design are determined by ments of the discipline of architecture. schemes, therefore, are the result of a pro-
means of geometric elements in plan view. Effectively, this means that, in much cess of abstraction of architectural forms.
Then the points and lines of the scheme are the same way that mathematical operations This relationship between architecture and
replaced by representations of architectural rely on the existence of numbers as abstrac- geometry is manifested more clearly when
elements, such as columns and walls. At the tions, a method for designing a building the order of the transformations in
end of the process, a reference to some ar- also needs a set of fundamental abstrac- Durand's method is reversed (Figure 7).
chitectural form and style is made through tions that are specific to the discipline ofThis is, in fact, a more accurate way to
the explicit representations of architectural architecture. In the absence of those ab- read the illustration because the process
elements in section and elevation.'8 stractions, Durand turns to geometry to does not conclude with the creation of the
To be consistent with the idea of a borrow from it, the fundamental elementsfinal design, as Durand pretends, but
composition being a combination of ele- of architecture. However, by doing that,rather starts from the design of an existing
ments and rules, Durand's method shouldDurand raises some doubts about whether project made by the architect Percier.'9

.....-. ......- - .. . .. -- - - ----.---+ --

7. Durand's method of composition reversed.

1 7 Madrazo

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 ..mB Lse swS u ane ss r .. stage of that process. This suggests that the
initial geometric scheme can be considered

O ] ?UE m O EI the type, according to Argan's definition.

As was discussed earlier, Durand's
initial intent was to present geometric fig-
ures as an abstraction of architectural
form; that is, the geometric scheme is the
result of "reducing a complex of formal
variants to a common root form," using
m.Fl... Argan's terms. In the illustrations of the
later editions of the Pricis, however, the
83 ~ ii~~III~El 11 geometric scheme becomes the generator
m ~ ~ ~~ Ose ~ t~Li of the architectural form, rather than a by-
product of it. At that point, the geometric
figure becomes the "principle which con-
$-
+ ~ti #~o
~t -I- E-i?j
" Q tains the possibility of infinite formal
variation and further structural modifica-
tion of the type itself," as Argan contends.
This change in the relationship between
geometric figure and architectural form
8. J.N.L. Durand, Ensembles d'edifices resultants des divisions
can be traced through the evolution of the
du quarre, du parallelogramme et de leurs combinaisons avec le
cercle, Precis des lecons, 1802. plates of the successive editions of the
Pr&cis.
When the order of the transforma- the process of comparing and superimpos-
tions is reversed, the plan based on the ex- ing individual forms so as to determine theType and Geometric Figures
isting design becomes the first stage in the 'type,' particular characteristics of each in-The first edition of the Precis in 1802 in-
process. The next step is to minimize any dividual building are eliminated and onlycludes a plate named Ensembles d'&difices
references to a particular style so the design those remain which are common to everyresultants des divisions du quarre, du
is reduced to a plan made up of basic ar- unit of the series. The 'type' therefore, isparallelogramme et de leurs combinaisons
chitectural elements, such as walls and col- formed through a process of reducing a avec le cercle (Figure 8). In spite of the title,
umns. It is possible to create an even more complex of formal variants to a commonthere are no buildings represented in this
abstract representation of a building by re- root form. [The type] has to be understood illustration; only geometric figures. It can
placing the walls and columns with pure as the interior structure of a form or as a be assumed, however, that each one of the
geometric elements, for example, a set of principle which contains the possibility offigures is the abstraction of one or more
axes and an orthogonal grid. By continu- infinite formal variation and further struc-buildings, as it is the case with the illustra-
ing with the process of abstraction, the es- tural modification of the type itself. "20 tion of the marche a suivre (Figure 5).
sential characteristics of the design are According to the method described In a new edition of the Pricis, the so-
revealed when all references to architec- by Durand, the fundamental properties ofcalled Nouveau Precis that appeared in
tural form have been eliminated, leavinga design are already present in the geomet- 1813, the former plate is replaced by a new
only the geometric scheme. ric scheme of the plan. In the illustrationone (Figure 9), which shows geometric ele-
of the method of composition (Figure 5), ments and buildings together.2' The corre-
the cross shape is one of the fundamentalspondence between geometric figures and
The Discovery of the Type properties of the design. In spite of the for-buildings is made explicit. In most of the
mal transformations that take place in theillustrations, this correspondence is
In his article, "On the Typology ofArchitec-process of composition, the characteristicunivocal; that is, for every building, there
ture, "Giulio Carlo Argan writes that "in cross shape can be recognized in everyis one geometric figure assigned to it. In a

September 1994 JAE 48/1 1 8

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few other examples, several buildings cor- iFsultants dp aiverses Comiinaaor Horisoutalces.et Verticolem,

respond to only one geometric figure. .. . ."

A step further in the changing rela-
tionship between buildings and geometric
figures is taken in the drawings of the
Partie Graphique des cours d'architecture,
...H
which appeared in 1821. In the plate titled
u u
Ensembles ddificesformes par la combinaison
de parties de cinq entr'-axes de largeur (Fig-
ure 10), the geometric schemes are drawn
in the center of the illustration. Two differ-
ent buildings are represented in plan, sec-
tion, and elevation on either side of the
schema. In much the same fashion that is ... . q-a.-
illustrated in the plate of the marche h
suivre, this plate also describes a process for
arriving at architectural form from an ini-
tial geometric scheme. The starting point,
in this case, is represented by a scheme
......... ......

made up of five points, one placed at each

9. J
of the four corners and the center of the
square. The corners are, in turn, connected
by lines. Two more abstract schemes follow
the first one, suggesting a step-by-step pro-
gression toward the final architectural plan. ENSEMBLES D'EDIFJCES
rorlads par la2 collibillatiou tie Pill-tis Ile vilq cljt?A%'ttie lar g-elt1%rt?
However, unlike the illustration of the pre-
vious method of composition, the process
results in two different architectural plans,
rather than one.
In summary, while in the first edi- + +

tion of the Precis the geometric scheme is

just the abstraction of the architectural larsjur l'ou compose- Ll LX Y 2t~r~

form (Figure 11), in the later editions, this

process is inverted. The geometric figure is
I M II (? t
no longer a simplification of an existing ar-
chitectural form, but rather the starting i-:Ik<IL: UU 111cle - F
-T i x
point for the creation process of a design
(Figure 12). Therefore, it can be affirmed LL+I/_ jPILJV AL j
that an idea of type, in the terms expressed
by Argan, is implicit in Durand theories,
R0 1
even though he did not use the term in his
writings.22
For Argan, the concept of type con-
veys a distinction between objectivity and
10. J.N.L. Durand,
subjectivity in the design process. The ob-
jective part of the design process is repre-

1 9 Madrazo

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 sented by the selection of a t
jective part corresponds to th
formal variations that can be
the type. A similar separation
jective and subjective process
Durand's plate of the Ensem
i-i (Figure 10). The process of
starts by selecting a geometr
this case the square. This is t
part of the process. The subje
11. The geometric scheme is the exemplified
result by the two form
of the abstraction of
architectural form.
that, among many others, c
from the initial geometric figur

Architecture: Art and Science

In a passage of the Precis, Durand reflects

on the double artistic and scientific nature
of architecture:23 "Architecture is a science
/x and an art all at the same time: like a sci-
ence, architecture demands knowledge; like
art, it requires talent. Talent is none other
than the just and easy application of knowl-
edge. This correctness and facility cannot be
acquired except by sustained exercise and
multiple applications. In the sciences, one can
know somethingperfectly after having done it
a single time. But in the arts, one cannot
know how to execute something well without

IA
having done so a considerable number of
times. "24

The division between objective and

subjective components in architecture is
expressed here as an opposition between
science and art. For Durand, science is
J / based on generic principles: those that, like
the Pythagorean theorem in geometry,
Lt E = =ILJ need only be defined once.25 However, in
F... I< architecture, unlike the sciences, the accu-
mulation of individual works over time
does not result in an objective body of
knowledge. There is also an artistic com-
12. Different architectural forms derived form the same
geometric scheme. ponent in architecture, which is based on
particular applications rather than generic
principles.

September 1994 JAE 48/1 20

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 Even though Durand admits to the world of nature and the artificial world of Therefore, even though the underly-
double nature of architecture, artistic and human-made creations. Architecture be- ing motivation of both works might be
scientific, he cannot mask his predilection came part of a system of abstract ideas and identical, Durand and Palladio's ap-
for generic principles. In effect, he main- concepts, self-sufficient and detached fromproaches can be considered antithetical in
tains that the architect should first learn the natural world, its ultimate purpose toanother regard because, in contrast to
the fundamental principles and then apply replace nature itself.26 Durand, Palladio searches first for the gen-
them many times "with talent." These fun- eral principles through experimentation
damental principles are precisely what with his own designs. At a certain point in
Durand is searching for architecture. Ar- Architecture: Buildings or Methods this process he was able to design a build-
chitectural knowledge, Durand seems to ing, the Villa Rotonda, which embodies his
reason, is inseparable from the individual Durand's attempt to systematize architec-whole architectural theory. Expressing ge-
works and their authors. He attempted to ture had a notable precedent in the workneric principles with a single building, as
formalize that knowledge, that is, to make carried out by Palladio in the QuattroPalladio does with the Villa Rotonda, is to-
it generic and explicit. Libri. Both Durand and Palladio at- tally alien to Durand's approach, which is
One way to prove that architectural based on the predominance of the generic
tempted to arrive at some generic prin-
knowledge can be made objective is by de- ciples of architecture that transcended over the individual building. The
procedure
fining methods for creating buildings. Af- application
individual works, and both attempted to of the sort of composition
ter a method or methods have been express those principles by graphic
mechanism that is proposed by Durand can
means.27
created, architectural knowledge is no lead to endless variations of a single theme.
longer embedded in the buildings them- Palladio showed most of his designs However, a generic procedure cannot guar-
fortovillas together in the second book antee
selves, but rather in the procedures used of histhe sort of singular building that
create them. By codifying architectural stands
Quattro Libri. The different villas were re-as a symbol of a whole culture, as is
knowledge in the form of a method, it drawn
be- in a consistent manner, emphasiz-the case with Palladio's Villa Rotonda.28
ingtothe aspects that were common to all of
comes objective: it can be transmitted
them and eliminating some of the irregu-
and be applied by other architects; in other
larities,
words, it becomes scientific. As a result, ar- Conclusion
just as Durand did later in his
chitects would not need to learn architec-
books. Also, as was the case with Durand,
Palladio
ture by studying the works of the past, but The
was not interested in showing underlying motivations that led
the
Durand
particularities of his designs, but rather
rather by learning and practicing abstract in to develop his theoretical system
using them as a vehicle for expressingwere
methods of design. According to Durand, some not exclusive to his time; they are an
of what he believed to be the fundamental
only then could architecture be taught active part of our culture. Few areas of
properly in the schools of architecture.principles of architecture. knowledge have escaped the process of
The idea of method can be consid- In spite of their different back-scientification that has occurred over the
ered the cornerstone of Durand's theories grounds, Palladio being a practical archi-
last two hundred years. In the last thirty
and his main contribution to the architec- tect and Durand a theorist, the ultimate
years alone, attempts to achieve a formal-
tural debate. In effect, the idea that the de-goal of both texts, the Quattro Libri
ization
and of architectural knowledge have in-
sign of a building is the result of a rational the Pre'cis, was identical: to determine
tensified. Although the motivations have
beenTo
procedure had not been suggested in such some general principles of architecture. different, the common denominator
a bold manner by anybody before Durand.achieve that goal, Palladio began with behind
the these attempts has been to replace
In a broader cultural context, Durand's particular cases and finished, eventually,
individual and subjective works with ge-
theoretical system expresses the changeswith the definition of some generic neric
prin- and objective procedures.29 Surpris-
ingly,
that science in general and architecture inciples. Durand, on the other hand, did the architecture has shown some
particular underwent between the fifteenthopposite: his primary goal was to define
resistance against such attempts. The result
of these formalizations has not necessarily
and eighteenth centuries. By the beginning generic principles that embody the proce-
of the nineteenth century, architecture dures for, in a second step, creating been better
a architecture, but rather no ar-
could no longer stand as a link between the building. chitecture at all. Therefore, what we can

21 Madrazo

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still learn from Durand is that the exist- Notes of architecture. According to the first rule, the first
step is to recognize what defines architecture in a way
ence of architecture might depend on the
1. Interests in method and systematization that cannot be denied, that is to say, to start with the
permanence of those unsolvable dilemmas
seem to be symptomatic of a moment of crisis. Faced study of the existing buildings. It is for that reason
he touched on in the process of building with a conflictive situation, the reaction from the ar- that the theoretical work of Durand must start with
up his theory. If this is so, we might as well chitectural discipline shows an introspection directed the Recueil. Then, it is possible to define the funda-
acknowledge that the ultimate conse- at identifying the origin of the problem in order to mental elements of architecture by analyzing the
solve it. It is precisely the sense of crisis that explains buildings of the past. The method of composition
quence of making architectural knowledge
the interest in method, in how to make architecture. that Durand introduces later, aims at synthesizing
objective and explicit is to consummate
This sense of crisis was present at the end of the eigh- those elements in order to create a building. Finally,
the death of architecture.
teenth century, as classical language started to lose its the possible combinations that can be achieved by
exclusivity as the only possible model for architecture. applying the method of composition are enumerated
Also, around 1970, after the great masters of the in the engravings of the Precis.
Acknowledgments Modern Movement had disappeared, architecture en- 6. Peter Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern
tered a new period and again the method, rather than Architecture (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University
the buildings, became the center of attention. Press, 1965), p. 149.
In the summer of 1991, Professor Werner 2. Werner Szambien, Jean-Nicolas-Louis 7. Szambien, J.N.L. Durand, p. 28.
Oechslin and Professor Gerhard Schmitt, Durand, 1760-1834. De l'imitation la norme Szambien shows some illustrations that preceded the
from the Department of Architecture at (Paris: Picard, 1984), p. 69. Engineering students at Leroy-Most notably, an illustration by J.-A.
one by
the Ecole Polytechnique spent one in seven lecture
Meissonnier that showed temples at the same scale
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
hours in Durand's course. but in elevation view. Leroy is the first to show
(ETH), Zurich, organized an exhibition 3. Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand, Precis des temples from different periods of the past in the
under the title of Lineamenta-CAAD:
lefons d'architecture donnees a l'Ecole Royale same scale and in plan view. Collins, Changing Ideals
Instrumente einer Architekturwissenschaft.
Polytechnique, vol. 1 (Paris, 1819), p. 28. in Modern Architecture, p. 82, writes, "Being an ar-
At that time, I had been involved in the 4. Ibid., p. 28. chitect by training, Leroy was faced with a dilemma,
5. Durand's overall strategy to define the new to the age, of deciding whether the ruins of an-
development and implementation of a
fundamental principles of the discipline of architec- tiquity were to be studied as architectural history or
theoretical framework for a course at the
ture, from the most simple elements to the methods architectural theory; for he had the perspicacity to
ETH Zurich aimed at bringing together
to operate on them, is still a reflection of the ratio- see that the two were not the same thing. He there-
design and computers. The course was
nalism that dominated European culture in the pre- fore divided his book in two parts, and in the second
built on the concept of type. ceding centuries and, particularly, of the ideas dealing with theory, he suggested that the whole
developed by Descartes in the domain of philosophy. question of the proportions of the Orders might re-
As a result of seeing the plate of
In the Discours de la methode, published in 1637, quire renewed study in the light of his own re-
Durand's method of composition thatDescartes set up his four basic rules that should serve search." For Collins, Leroy's illustration made it
Werner Oechslin displayed in the histori- as a guide for the mind to solve any kind of problem: necessary to distinguish, for the first time in modern
cal section of the exhibition, I "discovered" history, between the history and the theory of archi-
Durand and became interested in studying * The first rule was never to accept anything as tecture.

his work. I am therefore thankful to Pro- true that I did not know evidently to be so.... 8. Philip Steadman, The Evolution of De
* The second, to divide each of the difficulties (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1
fessor Oechslin for having reintroduced
I was examining into as many parts as pos- 29, has contended, "The practical purpose of c
me to Durand's work and for the subse-
sible and as is required to solve them best cation in architecture, beyond historical desc
quent opportunities of discussing various (rule of analysis). and scientific analysis, lies in the hope that ou
aspects of the work presented here. I * The third, to conduct my thoughts in an or- ordering of the variety of buildings of the p
would like to thank Gerhard Schmitt for derly fashion, commencing with the simplest come theoretical principles, which may be app
and the easiest to know objects, to rise gradu- designing new buildings, of new forms, to
providing an atmosphere conducive to new programmes and new circumstances."
ally, as by degrees, to the knowledge of the
work and study. My special thanks to most composite things (rule ofsynthesis). 9. A significant precedent in classif
Sharon Refvem for her comments in refer- buildings according to their form was establi
* And last, everywhere to make enumerations
ence to this text. so complete and reviews so general that I Sebastiano Serlio, The Five Books ofArchit
would be sure of having omitted nothing (New York: Dover, 1982; reprint of the Engli
(rule ofenumeration). tion of 1611). In the fifth book, Serlio showe
lection of temples and churches that starts w
Durand seems to follow these four rules in ideal form of the Renaissance, the circle.

his attempt to determine the fundamental principles 10. Szambien, J.N.L. Durand, p. 96.

September 1994 JAE 48/1 22

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 11. In 1902, almost a century later than "Qu'est-ce que I'architecture? La ddfinirai-je avec 19. Werner Szambien, "Durand and the
Durand, Julien Guadet made a distinction between Vitruve l'art de bdtir? Non. Ily a dans cette definition Continuity of Tradition," in Robin Middleton, ed.,
the elements ofarchitecture and the elements of compo- une erreur grossire. Vitruve prend l'effet pour la cause. The Beaux Arts and Nineteenth Century French Archi-
sition. Walls, roofs, and domes, for example, are ele- Ilfaut concevoir pour effectuer. Nos premiers peres tecture (London: Thames and Hudson, 1982), p. 21,
ments of architecture. Rooms, lobbies, and stairs are n'ont bdti leurs cabanes qu'apres en avoir confushows the project for an Academy of Arts made in
elements of composition. Translated and quoted in limage. C'est cette production de lesprit, c'est cette1786 by Charles Percier, which Durand used in the
Reyner Banham, Theory and Design in the First Ma- creation qui constitue I'architecture, que nous pouvonsplate of the method of composition.
chine Age (New York: Praeger, 1960), p. 20. en consequence, definir l'art de produire et de porter si 20. Giulio Carlo Argan, "On the Typology
12. Durand, Precis, vol. 1, p. 29. It does not la perfection tout 6difice quelconque. L 'art de batir n 'estof Architecture," Architectural Design 12 (1963):
seem reasonable to conclude from his reference to donc qu 'un art secondaire, qu il nous parait convenable 564-565.
words and notes that Durand's theory is based on de
a nommer la partie scientifique de l'architecture. " 21. Werner Oechslin, "Premises for the Re-
sophisticated linguistic model. What Durand tried to 14. Christian Norberg-Schulz, Intentions in sumption of the Discussion of Typology," Assemblage
express by means of this analogy to language and Architecture (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1963), pp.1 (1986): 37-54. The substitution of one plate by
music was the idea of composition in its most intui-133-140, has proposed a theory of architecture con- another is noted by Oechslin in this article. Oechslin
tive form, that is, as the process by which complexsisting of elements and relations. Following Paul contends that Durand replaced one for the other to
parts are created from simple ones. Frankl, who had previously introduced the conceptsmake his ideas clearer. He also comments on the fact
13. The discussion regarding the division ofof "space-cells" (Raumzellen) and "mass-forms"that buildings are absent from the first plate, whereas
architecture into physical and conceptual realms has(K6rperformen), Norberg-Schulz proposes threein the second, buildings and geometric figures are
a long tradition in French theory and is directly re-kind of elements: mass, space, and surface. Althoughshown together.
lated to the debate about the scientific nature of ar-he considers these elements to be physical and mea- 22. Durand does not use the word type in his
chitecture. Claude Perrault, in his Ordonnance des surable entities, his systematization is more generic text. Instead he uses genre to refer to buildings with
cinq esp ces de colonnes selon la methode des Anciens,and comprehensive than those based on the idea ofdifferent functions, private or public. It was
published in 1683, wrote that "one must suppose physical components and the like. Quatremere de Quincy, a contemporary of Durand,
two kinds of beauty in architecture and know which 15. Durand, Precis, vol. 1, p. 1. who introduced the concept of type in architecture
beauties are based on convincing reasons and which 16. Durand's concept of composition had a in an explicit way. For Quatremere's distinction be-
depend only on prejudice .... Against the beauties Ilasting effect on the education of architects. Alreadytween type and model, see the article on "Type" in
call positive and convincing, I set those I call arbi-in the twentieth century, Julien Guadet stated in histhe third volume of his Encyclopedie Methodique,
trary." For the English translation, see Claude Elements et Theories de lArchitecture that "to com-Paris, 1825. Argan's article builds upon Quatremere's
Perrault, Ordonnance for the Five Kinds of Columnspose is to make use of what is known (ce qu'on sait).definition of type. After this article had been written,
after the Method of the Ancients, trans. Indra Kagis Composition has materials just as construction has,Sylvia Lavin's book, Quatremere de Quincy and the
McEwen (Santa Monica, CA: The Getty Center, and these materials are, precisely, the Elements ofInvention ofa Modern Language ofArchitecture (Cam-
1993), pp. 50, 51. Perrault's distinction betweenArchitecture." Translated and quoted in Banham, bridge: MIT Press, 1992) came to my attention, spe-
positive and arbitrary beauty conveyed a separation Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (Newcifically her point that Durand never used the term
between physical and abstract components in archi- York: Praeger, 1960), p. 20. type. I have not been able to consult this text, but it
tecture. At the turn of the eighteenth century, Andrd 17. There are plates in the Precis where appears that we have independently come to the
Felibien, Michel de Fremin, and Abbe Cordemoy co- Durand shows how the ensembles can be producedsame conclusion.
incided in considering architecture mainly as an art from the horizontal (in plan) and vertical (in eleva- 23. The split between subjectivity and objec-
de bdtir. Marc-Antoine Laugier also considered thetion) combination of the parties. However, these tivity represents another of the permanent dilemmas
basic elements of architecture to belong to the physi-pure combinatorial exercises do not necessarily resultof architecture. This division is already implicit in
cal realm. In his Essai sur Iarchitecture, first pub-in the creation of a building understood as a com-Vitruvius when he writes that the architect, "ought to
lished in 1753, he writes that "the parts of an plete unity, that is to say, as something more than be both naturally gifted and amenable to instruction."
architectural Order are the very components of the the mere combination of parts. In the plate of theVitruvius, The Ten Books ofArchitecture, trans. Morris
building; they must therefore be employed in such a marche a suivre, on the other hand, Durand addressesHicky Morgan (New York: Dover, 1960), p. 5.
way as not only to decorate a building but to consti- the description of a procedure whose goal is the cre- 24. Durand, Precis, vol. 2, p. 1.
tute it, whereby if a single element is removed, theation of a complete formal structure. 25. The idea that in architecture, generic
whole building will collapse." Translated and quoted 18. As Collins explains in Changing Ideals in principles exist as they do in the sciences has not yet
in Collins, Changing Ideals, pp. 200-201. Still, by Modern Architecture, p. 226, at a certain point the been confirmed either by Durand's work or by those
the end of the eighteenth century, there were voicesword composition could be applied equally in both ar-who later shared similar beliefs. As a matter of fact,
that rejected the idea of an architecture considered chitecture and painting. Somehow, the association already in this century many opposing arguments
mainly as the art of building. Among them wasbetween architecture and painting still persists in thehave been made. Edmund Husserl, Origin of Geom-
Etienne-Louis Boullke, who had a direct influence onmethod of composition proposed by Durand. The etry: An Introduction (New York: Nicolas Hays,
Durand. He held the opinion that physical aspectsmethod, rather than being specifically architectural, 1978), p. 160, suggests that architecture cannot be
were secondary to conceptual ones. In his Essai surresembles the way a painter might work, startingpart of an "ideal objectivity" as sciences are: "This is,
I'art (Paris: Hermann, 1968), p. 49, he writes:from a very rough scheme that is later refined. we note, an "ideal objectivity." It is proper to a

23 Madrazo

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whole class of spiritual products of the cultural has in architecture. They excelled in presenting their endemic incapability to express anything beyond
world, to which not only all scientific constructions ideas graphically to the point that it is not an exag- themselves. For a compendium of these built works,
and the sciences themselves belong but also, for ex- geration to argue that the influence of both books is see Szambien, J.N.L. Durand, pp. 295-335.
ample, the constructions of literature. Works of this due more to their illustrations than to the texts 29. The repeated attempts to make architec-
class do not, like tools (hammers, pliers) or like ar- ture a scientific discipline suggest that what is actu-
themselves. James Ackerman, in a short bibliographi-
chitectural and other such products, have a repeat- cal reference on the Quattro Libri, writes that there is being attempted is an adjustment of architecture
ally
ability in many like exemplars. The Pythagorean little abstract theory in Palladio's books and that
to the predominant conception of science in a par-
theorem, (indeed) all of geometry, exists only once, ticular historical period. This was the case in the
their extraordinary influence on so many generations
no matter how often or even in what language it may early sixties, when the so-called Design Methods
of architects is mostly due to the illustrations. See
be expressed." Effectively, it would be difficult to Dora Wiebenson, ed., Architectural Theory and Prac-
group attempted to create a science of design, based
find in architecture the sort of concept that, like the tice from Alberti to Ledoux (Chicago: Architectural
on rational principles, which according to their theo-
Pythagorean theorem in geometry, needs to be for- Publications, 1982). ries embodied not only architecture, but any human-
malized only once. 28. The practical results of the applicationmade
of production. In the domain of architecture,
26. Alberto Perez-G6mez, Architecture and Durand's theories can be seen in the numerous de- some architects in the seventies borrowed the idea of

the Crisis of Modern Science (Cambridge: MIT Press, syntactic structures from linguistics to attempt a for-
signs realized by the students of the lcole des Beaux
1983), p. 322, writes that "architectural theory dur- malization of architectural knowledge. Behind all of
Arts. These works can be praised for their coherence
ing the nineteenth century would be founded on the these attempts, ideas and concepts founded in the
and consistency as much as they may be criticized for
belief that all the variables of the real world can be emerging area of computing played their part. It is
the limited vision of architecture that they exhibit as
reduced to the conceptual realm and the resultant of a whole. What Durand's method provided was a sort
precisely in the area of design and computing that
any architectural problem is a direct "function" of of conceptual space within which endless variants the quest for a systematization of architectural
the combination of these variables." knowledge has received major attention. However,
could be created. The limits of that space, however,
27. The fact that the illustrations play a sig- were not questioned. The very same coherence ex- much work that has been developed in this area is
nificant role in both books, the Quattro Libri and the based on the dubious assumption that architecture
hibited by these works prevented them from address-
Precis, is by no means secondary to the discussion ing architecture in its full complexity. The few built
can be expressed in terms of geometry or mathemat-
ics, both of which are more suitable for computer
about the systematization of architectural knowledge. projects, which can be considered the ultimate ex-
Both architects, Durand and Palladio, were aware of pression of Durand's principles, are also purely syn-
implementation than architecture.
the importance that graphical expression of an idea tactic exercises, lacking soul and distinguished by an

September 1994 JAE 48/1 24

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