Vitruvius. Ten books on architecture

Mark Vitruvius Pollio (lat.Marcus Vitruvius Pollio; I century BC) - Roman architect and mechanic, scientist and encyclopedist. Vitruvius is also the author of the proportioning system that later became widespread in the visual arts and architecture under the name "Vitruvian Man". Vitruvius' views were based on the idea of ​​the universal objective meaning of numerical laws and proportional relationships in the structure of the Universe and man.

Vitruvius's treatise is a veritable encyclopedia of technical sciences. Architecture, in the understanding of the author, includes three main areas: architecture in the narrow sense of the word, i.e., construction techniques and construction art (Book I-VIII), gnomonics, i.e. the manufacture of instruments for measuring time (Book IX), and mechanics, ie, the manufacture of lifting and water-lifting machines and siege and throwing tools (Book X). Covering the entire range of knowledge necessary for a builder and engineer, Vitruvius's treatise is not just a collection of recipes and not only a practical guide, but also a certain system of theoretical scientific knowledge. According to the author's own definition, practice is based on theory, experience is tested and guided by science. Science, on the basis of the laws of nature established by it, explains why it is necessary to build this way and not otherwise, shows how to build, and evaluates what has already been built. The book will be very interesting both for students studying in architecture and design specialties, and for a wide range of readers.