The Mathematics of the

Ideal Villa and Other Essays

Colin Rowe

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts,
and London, England

Copyright 0 1 976 by
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book was set in IBM Composer Theme by Techdata Associates, Inc. and printed and
bound by The Murray Printing Company in the United States of America,
Second printing, 1977
Third printing, 1978

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Rowe, Colin.
The mathematics of the ideal villa and other essays.
Includes bibliographical references.
CONTENTS: The mathematics of the ideal villa.-Mannerism and modern architecture.Character and composition.-Chicago frame. [etc.]
I . Architecture, Domestic-Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Title.

NA7110.R68
720'.8
ISBN 0-262-18077-4

75-33908

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

The Mathematics o f the
Ideal Villa
Mannerism and Modern
Architecture
Character and Com posit
or Some Vicissitudes o f
Architectural Vocabular
in the Nineteenth Centu

Neo-'Classicism' and
odern Architecture I
eo-'Classicism ' and
odern Architecture I I
nsparency : Literal