3.2 FATHER OF ARCHITECTURE

3.2.1 “Firmitatis, Utilitatis & Venustatis.”


“The end is to build well. Well building hath three conditions: firmness, commodity, and delight.’’ - Vitruvius.


The ‘Ten Books of Architecture’ are the core source for architects and designers to create good building. The author of this book is no other than the father of architecture, Marcus Vitruvius (born c. 80–70 BC, died after c. 15 BC). As the father of architecture mentioned above, a true and successful buildings should have the basic three conditions: “Firmitatis, Utilitatis & Venustatis” or it is also known as durability, utility and beauty. He explained that architecture is a focus where these three conditions converged together yet accomplished their particular task with their own nature. These are the fundamental standard of architects, designers and builders. Now, let us referred to each of these conditions in turn.

Firstly, durability refers to an architecture that stands up robustly and remains in good condition, creating a firm structural forces and material properties building. For example, the most basic requirement is that a building should be able to bare the forces of nature, rot, decay and corrosion free for a long duration. This is to reduce wastage and the needs to substitute the building materials frequently. Next, the second condition is utility. Utility here is judged via how successful the designers managed to supply the practical end to the general needs and purposes (size, mass, characteristics) of mankind efficiently. In other words, it should have the selection of the right building materials apply for the right purpose, depending on location, orientation, availability and durability. As for the third condition, beauty, it is rather personal yet has to be directed together with the previous two conditions: durability and utility. In this context, beauty depends on: “ordinatio, dispositio, eurythmia, decor and distributio” (refer Appendix A). However, beauty has to be guided by the other two conditions: durability and utility, with its own standard and own authority.

Therefore, these fundamental principles should accentuate the architects, designers and builders philosophy of practice because these same old principles are as relevant today as they are during the ancient times. These principles are as a guideline to us not merely for individual building design, but also for the wider scope of communities and cities design. In addition, the Vitruvius law is also applicable in any situation. This means that this law is not only mend for large and mega scale projects, but also the smaller and individual scale projects. At this point, perhaps most of the builders have not paid as much heed of how relevant and beneficial this Vitruvius law to us and this is the exact time where it deserved our re-evaluation.