Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(1) Literary
(2) Surviving building plans which were not project drawings.
Draw-
ings &
models
h e literary evidence is very strong. Vitruvius (I ,2.2) dei nes three types of archi-
tectural drawings—plans, elevation and perspective. h ese exactly compose the
portfolio of drawings required in the submission of a building project today. Fur-
thermore there are a number of passages in dif erent authors stating that various
well known persons made such drawings, or that such drawings were submitted
in connection with a building project—e.g. Plutarch states that Pompey drew a
plan and an elevation; Cicero mentions a project plan in his possession; Seuto-
nius speaks of the project plan for a Gladiator School; Cassius Dio mentions that
Hadrian himself drew up plans for a projected building; and Aelius Gellius states
that several architects submitted plans for a building project (v Heisel, p. 185).
On the other hand numbers of plans of building or building complexes which
are survey drawings of existing buildings do survive (drawn on stone slabs). h ese
are dei nitely not project plans, but give evidence that such plans could be made
and illustrate something of their nature. h ere is also abundant evidence of the
instruments used to make such drawings, both by way of ancient representations
(e.g. on draughtsmen's tombstones) and the survival of the instruments themselves
(v Heisel, p. 200; H.W. Dickens “A Brief History of Draughtsmen's Instruments”).
h ese include straight edges, measuring rules, compasses etc., also special templates
and French curves.
Also there is surviving evidence of full scale details in elevation inscribed on
masonry which continue the Hellenistic mode identii ed at Didyma and other sites.
Here it is to be noted that these full scale details mostly occur in the Roman Orient
in connection with traditional style ashlar building, e.g. at Baalbek and Bziza in the
Lebanon (v Heisel, pp. 208-13). No such drawings of elevation details for Roman
concrete structures have been observed (e.g. of brick arches in concrete domes).
However, there is literary attestation of such drawings in Dio Cassius' account of
the snub directed by Apollodoros to (the future Emperor) Hadrian “Go away and
draw your pumpkins” (i.e. lobate, “umbrella domes”).
h e survival of survey drawings incised on stone slabs for public record, together
with the survival of architectural detail drawings incised on masonry blocks,
whereas, on the other hand, there is no surviving evidence of building plans
made as project drawings points to a common sense conclusion. Project drawings
(which must be portable) were made on fugitive materials. An obvious vehicle is
parchment and there is record of the use of parchment as a vehicle for drawing
in Roman times (v Aelius Gellius Attic Nights XIX 10.3; Heisel, p. 200).
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