JEAN-NICOLAS-LOUIS DURAND

Paris porn architect one of the most important theorists and teachers of the early c19 he worked for Boullee, and for civil engineer Jean-Rodolphe Perronet (1708-94-who designed the Pont de la Concorde, Paris).became a Professor of Architecture at the Ecole polytechinque in 1795. By the end of the eighteenth century, there was a growing concern that architecture was falling behind the new science terms of progress. As a result, attempts began to be made to construct a science of architecture. The work of Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1790-1834) epitomizes this effort to achieve a systematization of architectural knowledge. The task he set for himself was to discover the generic principles that are implicit in works of architecture. In pursuing that goal, Durand necessarily touched upon some of the dilemmas that are inherent to architecture: particular versus general, abstract versus physical, subjectivity versus objectivity, and art versus science. Because of this ,his theoretical work transcends the limits of a particular historical period; it has a timeless value that makes it a necessary reference in any discussion about the systematization of architectural knowledge.

Vitruvius, Boullee and Durand

"Shall, I like Vitruvius, define architecture as the art of building? No, for this would be confuse causes and effects. The effects of architecture are caused by light" Etienne Louis Boullee. The early beginning of modern architecture already showed opposing viewpoints as to the correct approach of making buildings. The doctrine of Vitruvius, being commodity firmness, and delght was distilled like oil and water by Boullee and Durand. Boullee subscribed to the purity of true geometric forms, like cubs, pyramids and most forcefully, the sphere. He believed the sphere was the perfect, all encompassing expression of architectural from.He was strictly interested in the delight part of Vitruvius doctrine. His works was fantastical, neglectful of program, and unbuildable at the time of conception. The sphere is some ways ridiculos shape for architecture, having no easy way to ingress the volume let alone figure out how to fit program into it. Boullee was not an architect interested in practicality, his motives were purely aesthetic. He was a dreamer in a profession governed by the practical needs of constructability and appropriateness of program: firmness and commodity! Durand on the opposite end based his theories strictly on logic. His ideas proposed that buildings need not concern themselves with aesthetics; aesthetic forms would arise by the correct usage of construction and planning. He also believed in the cylinder and sphere, not as a spiritually perfect form, but as the most efficient and economical mass for the design. He advocated the logic of the grid, which promoted regularity and ease of programming. Durand could doctrine of delight. "Architects should concern themselves with planning and nothing else" Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand.

His ideas and theories

Durand believed that architectural education should not be based on the study of particular buildings or style "it is not in such a manner that one study architecture." For him ,the study of any subject ,whether scientific or artistic, had to be based on the study of general principles "A man who playwright does not learn how to do this or that tragedy; a musician this or that opera; painter this or that painting ;Before composing ,in whatever genre ,one must know what one composes with"

To identify the general principles of architecture, Durand followed a logical path that started by verifying that which confirm unquestionably the existence of architecture itself , that is to say , by recognize the existence of the buildings from the past. This first step is exemplified by the Recueil, in which the classified. In a second step, the analysis of past buildings revealed their common features, that is, the general principles of architecture. did not mean function with its common meaning that we are knowing today he had discussed the building as system and order but he did not make a consider to its program ;so he have used symmetrical form which have gave the appeal of classic buildings on his designs. But his ideas about studying architecture can be considered as reference for any who want to teach or study architecture. Ahmed Mohamed Abd El- Fatah Mohamed Saber SEC:1 B.NO:11