Firmness, commodity, and delight ( la, firmitas, utilitas et venustas) are the three aspects of good

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

declared by the Roman architect

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...

in his book "

De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide f ...

" ("On architecture", 1st century BC) and are also known as Vitruvian virtues, Vitruvian Triad. The literal meaning of the Latin phrase is closer to "durability, convenience, and beauty", but the more familiar version is derived from Henry Wotton's liberal translation of Vitruvius, "The Elements of Architecture" (1624): "Well Building hath three Conditions; Commodity, Firmness, and Delight". The

theory of architecture A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

has always been concerned with this interrelated triad of structural integrity, proper use of space, and attractiveness. However, the relative importance of each component varied in time, and new elements had been introduced into the mix from time to time (cf.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

's "

The Seven Lamps of Architecture ''The Seven Lamps of Architecture'' is an extended essay, first published in May 1849 and written by the English art critic and theorist John Ruskin. The 'lamps' of the title are Ruskin's principles of architecture, which he later enlarged upon i ...

" that include "sacrifice" and "obedience").

Evolution

The order of words chosen by Vitruvius, with structural integrity coming before the utility, can be explained in two ways. Either the emphasis on firmness was driven by an understanding of architecture as an "art of building", or by the fact that buildings frequently outlive their initial purpose, so "functions, customs, ... and fashions ... are only transitory" (

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

), and architecture's true impression is in the construction. While popular again nowadays, the original order of words was modified in 15th century by Leon Battista Alberti who moved the commodity to the first place in the triad. This order was repeated in the 16th century by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

in his " I quattro libri dell'architettura" ( it, l’utile o comodità, la perpetuità, e la bellezz) which was apparently the source for Wotton's translation. 19th century brought the new materials and construction techniques that allowed

architectural form In architecture, form refers to a combination of external appearance, internal structure, and the Unity (aesthetics), unity of the design as a whole, an order created by the architect using #Space and mass, space and mass. External appearance Th ...

s to be built seemingly defying the laws of gravity, and societal changes that forced a rethinking of proper spatial arrangements. This gave an additional momentum to the idea, first expressed in the late 18th century by Jacques-François Blondel, that beauty ("decoration") is the only worthy aspect of the architectural theory, while the space planning and

structural analysis Structural analysis is a branch of Solid Mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and thei ...

should be left to practitioners (and later, to other disciplines). These considerations had affected teaching of the architectural theory for a long time, but they eventually went out of fashion, and, since the 1960s, the education of architects returned to the synthesis of structural, spatial, and perceptual elements (

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

as envisioned by Robert Venturi) or

architectural phenomenology Phenomenology in architecture can be understood as a discursive and realist attempt to understand and embody the philosophical insights of phenomenology. According to Dan Zahavi:Phenomenology shares the conviction that the critical stance proper ...

of Christian Norberg-Schulz.

Venustas

la, venustas ( "of

goddess Venus Venus (), , is a List of Roman deities, Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, Sexuality in ancient Rome, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her s ...

") carries strong association with the erotic love, so Alberti changed it to la, amoenitas ("pleasure") in the 15th century. He also split the beauty into essential la, pulchritudo, the beauty of proportions, and superficial la, ornamentum that only goes skin-deep ("auxiliary brightness"). Much later

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

held the view that beauty in architecture stems essentially from good mathematical proportions. The distinction between the two sides of beauty was watered down in the early 20th century when ornament started to be thought of as an integral part of the building; both were completely fused together by

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

with its explicit "goal, ... the great building, in which the old dividing-line between monumental and decorative elements would have disappeared for ever" ( Walter Gropius, 1935). After introduction of

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

in the 18th century, the emotional impact of the buildings was thought to include not just the beauty, but sublimity, picturesqueness, even ugliness. The latter, for example, was proposed to express in architecture the virtue of

manliness Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors cons ...

Utilitas

The purpose of buildings is to provide space for some functions, so the notion of the utility ("commodity") is the least controversial of the triad. The

is influenced by the building's purpose, so frequently "

form follows function Form follows function is a principle of design associated with late 19th and early 20th century architecture and industrial design in general, which states that the shape of a building or object should primarily relate to its intended function ...

". However, in many cases it is impossible to predict that proper spatial allocation for the future function and, in the real world, the buildings are often more durable than the need for their original function. When repurposing the building for, say, a social institution, the structure of that institution not infrequently is influenced by the layout of the building, a case of "function follows form". For example, the system of seating used in the UK House of Commons (government and opposition facing each other) has roots in the constraints of the its original location,

St Stephen's Chapel St Stephen's Chapel, sometimes called the Royal Chapel of St Stephen, was a chapel completed around 1297 in the old Palace of Westminster which served as the chamber of the House of Commons of England and that of Great Britain from 1547 to 1834. ...

. French Legislative Assembly was originally seated in the Théâtre des Tuileries with audience addressed by orators. None of the two buildings was built for the democratic debates, instead, they had differently affected the legislative processes in the two countries.

Firmitas

The primacy of structural integrity ("firmness") declared by Vitruvius came under scrutiny in the 20th century. Some theorists are arguing that due to rapid obsolescence of the modern building, the architects should design temporary buildings that are easy to demolish after a few years of use. Since the economic efficiency of such construction are unknown, many practitioners, like Vitruvius, believe in permanency of buildings. The subject of interplay between the external beauty of the building and its

structural system A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

is also a subject of debate. Since the

Classic antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

and until 18th century, the question on whether it is better to provide visual clues to the structural elements underlying an

("emphasize the structure") or "hide the structure" was considered unimportant, although Alberti in the 15th century recommended the building exterior to reflect the

trabeated In architecture, post and lintel (also called prop and lintel or a trabeated system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold up ...

system regardless of the actual structural elements used. In general, in Italy the construction practice frequently involved building the structure with bricks and then covering it in marble or plaster for appearance, and the architects accepted the independence of the structure and appearance of the forms. In French

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

, with its abundance of high-quality stone that did not need covering, the architectural theory suggested that the structural elements should stay visible. The architects were still expected to manifest the structural integrity of the building in its exterior, creating "apparent stability".

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

in the middle of 19th century upended this agreement and stated that

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...

with its exposed structure is a much better expression of ''firmitas'' than the westwork that hides its structural role behind the bulky appearance. The Revivalist architects also declared the need for "truthfulness" in the buildings, both in the use of materials (foreboding the "

truth to materials Truth to materials is a tenet of modern architecture (as opposed to postmodern architecture), which holds that any material should be used where it is most appropriate and its nature should not be hidden. Concrete, therefore, should not be painted ...

") and the use of structural elements. This new doctrine stimulated the rapid changes in architectural forms in the 20th century, when rapid progress in structural materials (like steel frame) made old architecture forms unusable.

Triad as a slogan

''Firmness, commodity, and delight'' is one of the "great slogans" of architecture, along with ''

'', ''

'', '' less is more'', ''emphasize the structure''. The triad is listed on the reverse side of the

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

medal.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite journal , last1=Banham , first1=Reyner , author1-link=Reyner Banham , title=A home is not a house , journal=

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...

, date=1965 , volume=2 , issue=4 , url=http://problemata.huma-num.fr/omeka_beta/files/original/876/Fig1_BANHAM_home_not_house_.pdf Architectural theory