Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1760-1835)

Born in Paris, 1760

Pupil of Etienne-Louis Boullee

Studied at the Academie Royale D’Architecture

Professor and Chair of Architecture at Ecole Polytechnique (1795 – 1830) teaching engineering students

2 Major Published works Recueil et parallele edifices de tout genre anciens et modernes (1800)

- basically an encyclopedia of historical architecture Precis des lecons (1802)

- Durand’s lectures to his students

Systematic categorization of the worlds architecture

Drawings (plan, elevation and section) were uniformly scaled and arranged

Précis de lecons

Lectures to his students at the Ecole Polytechnique

Introduction

2 kinds of buildings

- Public

- Private

Variations in Public and Private Buildings

The Study of Architecture

-the principles of art and science come from

observation. For observation to be effective,

it requires method.

3 Parts of Architecture

1. Decoration

2. Distribution

3. Construction

Architecture is devoid of decoration, it is unecessary and only accessory.

The aim of architecture is, “public and private utility, the happieness and the protection of individuals and of society”. (Durand p.84)

2 main principles of Man

- love of comfort and,

- function - a building should be utilized to its greatest possible function, making it as fit as possible for its purpose.

- the dislike of exertion.

- efficientcy - build buildings with a reduction of labor and cost.

“fitness and economy are the means that architecture must naturally employ, and are the sources from which it must derive its principles.” (Durand p.84)

Fitness – fit for its purpose; it must be

- solidity- the correct use of quality materials, establishment of solid foundations and the sufficient number of perpendicular supporting elements that uniformly distribute the load.

- salubrious – it must be situated in a wholesome place, established off the soil to protect from humitidy, with interior walls that respond to the exterior walls and their openeings so that the issues of ventalation, protection from the elements and solar exposeure are addressed.

- commodious – the composition and cost of the building are in the closest possible relation to its ultimate purpose.

Economy

- use of the circle, square and parallelogram in square grids to promote

- symmetry

- regularity

- simplicity

to design a building in its most efficient capacity.

Good architecture cannot be without

- variety

- effect

- character

General Principles of Architecture – (construction)- Building Elements- Combination of elements to comprise a part- Compilation of parts to make a whole

The talent of the architect comes down to 2 solutions:

- creating private buildings to be as “fit” as possible for its cost

- creating public buildings where function is inevitable and the building is constructed at the least possible expense.

“Economy is one of the principal causes of beauty.” (Durand p.86)

Pantheon

The truth of the nature of architecture

- its object – composition and execution of public and private buildings

- its purpose – to satisfy the needs of the users and allow ourselves to fufill all possible needs.

- its means – the employment of fitness and economy

Part I – Elements of Buildings

Qualities of Materials

Uses of Materials

Forms and Proportions

Part II – Composition in General

Combination of the elements

The Parts of Buildings

Buildings as a Whole

Part III – Examinations of the Principal Kinds of Buildings

Principal Parts of Cities - approaches to Cities, Tombs, Streets, Bridges, ect.

Public Buildings – Temples, Palaces, Museums, Theaters, ect.

Private Buildings – Townhouses, Apartments, Inns, ect.

Graphic Proportion

General Ideas

- how to formulate and communicate ideas

Building Elements

- individual elements contributing to a space

- detached supports and the horizontal members that connect them

- floors and roofs

- vaults and drawing caissons

Combinations of Elements

Composing Building Parts by using Combined Elements

The Ensemble - the composition of the Parts

Works Cited:

Kruft, Hanno-Walter. A History of Architectural Theory: From Vitruvius to the present. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1994.

Durand, Jean-Nicolas-Louis. Précis: of the Lectures on Architecture. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2000.

Evers, Bernd. Architectural Theory: From the Renaissance to the Present. Cologne: Taschen, 2006.

Madrazo, Leonardo. Durand and the Science of Architecture. Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 48, No. 1. (Sep.,1994), pp. 12-24.