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, elec-
tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and re-
trieval 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

P
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 75-33908
ISBN 0-262-18077-4
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