The construction of knowledge in architecture and urbanism: the differences between ancient and modern buildings

• Grant number: 10/08949-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: October 01, 2010 - September 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning
• Principal Investigator: Paulo de Assuncao
• Grantee: Paulo de Assuncao
• Host Institution: Centro de Pesquisa. Universidade São Judas Tadeu (USJT). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project focuses his discussion on goal in the construction of knowledge in the field of architecture and urbanism during the Enlightenment in Portugal and Brazil, with the intention to analyze the work of Mathias Ayres, Problema de Architetura Civil, published in 1770. The Enlightenment represented to the realm of architecture and urbanism, a new way of approaching the city and how it was organized. Urban interventions made in Lisbon, after the earthquake in the eighteenth century, allowed a wide discussion was undertaken with regard to the idea of an ideal city. It is possible identify that in the late eighteenth century scholars on the subject suggested a new way of seeing the space planning, architecture and the city, influenced by scientific progress and the Enlightenment spirit. Therefore, the traditional practices of the School of Military Engineering Portuguese were questioned, giving rise to new treaties. The interest in analyzing the work of Problema de Architetura Civil is to identify the questions that faced the architecture and urbanism in relation to city planning. The text provides insight into how the city-designed ideal, drawn from basic rules. (AU)