THE BIRTH OF THE TECTONICS: FROM THE HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION TO THE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

My study on Bauforschung(2), and the influences of the great archaeological finds of the late nineteenth century on architectural teaching in the first German and Italian Faculties of Architecture, led me to identify the teaching of History of Construction as an important reference in the didactics of architectural design and conservation. Such discipline has represented an important cross-disciplinary blend of Sciences of Antiquity in the Art Academies and in the technical Universities and allowed Architectural Art, History and Construction to become mutually indispensable. The relations among these various research and teaching tools were established also thanks to the elaboration of the concept of tectonics. A concept which represented food for thought, comparison and even clash among the researchers and the planners, protagonists of the new didactics of architecture. What I would like to highlight is the introduction, thanks to tectonics, of a very close relationship between Mathematics and Art of Building. I am convinced that the amazing topicality of History of Construction for the teaching of the Structural analysis and the Management of the architectural plan is grounded also on such relationship. Finally I would like to propose an illustration also of the work of architects such as K.O. Muller, W. Stier, F. Adler, K. Botticher, united by the fact of being Professors of the Bauakademie and/or at the Preussischen Akademie der Kunste, researchers in archaeology and designers, so we could have an exemple of a path in the History of Construction that should be taken into account for the education of future designers and conservators.